Hey, girl – Carly Pearce has a warning for you in her new single, ”Next Girl.” She’s been where you’re at, and she’s hoping to keep you from ending up where she is now.
With an assist from hitmaking co-writers Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne and inspired by the powerful female country singers of decades past, Pearce delivers her warning: “He knows how to say all the right things / Knows how to get you outta that dress / Knows how to make you think you’re the best thing / But I know what happens next, girl,” she sings. Her skillful delivery makes it come across like a hushed warning from a friend of a friend who dated the guy you’re seeing now.
Pearce delivers her lines conversationally, each chorus-ending “girl” imbued with a bit of concern, a bit of caution and just a hint of “Come on, you’re better than this.” It’s easy to infer that she’s drawing, at least a little bit, from her marriage to fellow artist Michael Ray, whom she filed to divorce in June, just over eight months after their wedding.
2020 CMA Musician of the Year nominee Rob McNelley and ace studio guitarist Ilya Toshinsky add a bit of warmth to “Next Girl,” while dobro player Josh Matheny and drummer Fred Eltringham add to a twangy, peppy melody that feels both classic and modern at once.
Pearce released her newest album, a self-titled project, on Valentine’s Day, but “Next Girl” isn’t on that project. She’s been “extremely creative” during quarantine.
Carly Pearce, “Next Girl” Lyrics:
Hey, next girl, you don’t know me / I’m just the one he says went crazy on him / That’s just what he does / But once upon a time, I was / The next girl, I’ve been where you’re at / You overlook a lot when he looks like that / He’ll charm your mama with that smile / Hide the red flags for a little while
Chorus:
I bet you probably met him at a bar / Let him walk you to your car, I bet / He said he never falls this hard / Yeah, I remember that part / He knows how to say all the right things / Knows how to get you outta that dress / Knows how to make you think you’re the best thing / But I know what happens next, girl
Hey, next girl, you think that you know better / Maybe the last girl was just a little bitter / And jaded, yeah, there ain’t no doubt / But if he ever talks about the ex girl / She tried like hell, it was too late to save herself / So now she’s just trying to help the next girl
Repeat Chorus
Bridge:
You’re gonna think it’s all your fault / It’s just a switch that he turns off / He’ll make you think it’s love / But I promise you it’s not / Oh no, it’s not, no
Oh, and …
Repeat Chorus