Summer Dean isn’t sugar-coating it: The only reason the protagonist of her new song “You’re Lucky She’s Lonely” is getting anywhere with the woman who’s caught his eye is because she’s heartbroken and lovesick.
“Just make your move / You’ve got nothin’ to prove / You’re lucky she’s blue,” the born-and-raised Texan sings in the first verse, over an utterly weepy steel guitar that adds to an already mournful melody. At the end, she and duet partner Colter Wall add, “You’re lucky she’s lonely / And she don’t give a damn.”
Not only does Wall sing with Dean on ”You’re Lucky She’s Lonely” — which is premiering exclusively on The Boot — he co-wrote it with her, too. It’s the Canadian artist’s first co-write and duet with another artist.
“I guess I was wearing my broken heart on my sleeve when I wrote this one,” Dean tells The Boot of the song’s inspiration. “When Colter sent over his verse, the rest of the song just kinda fell into place. He added just the right amount of sand to give the song the truthfulness it deserved.”
“You’re Lucky She’s Lonely” will appear on Dean’s forthcoming debut album, Bad Romantic. Recorded at Fort Worth, Texas’ Niles City Sound, the record follow her 2016 EP, Unladylike.
“When I released my first EP, I was feeling a little sorry for myself,” Dean admits. “But now, it’s more of a pride thing. This is who I am, and I like it.”
Dean is the granddaughter of a cattle farmer and the daughter of a land conservationist. She spent a decade teaching elementary school before officially making the move to music.
“That’s what small-town Texas girls do: We teach school, work at the bank or at the courthouse. Then we get married and have babies and a few dogs and die happy, buried next to our husbands,” Dean says. “But here I am, age 40, quitting my stable job, cashing in the wedding money my momma put aside for me and making this album.”
“You’re Lucky She’s Lonely” is due out widely on Friday (May 14). Bad Romantic will be released this summer; additional details on the project are forthcoming.