“One Mississippi” may be Kane Brown‘s new radio single, but it was a particularly life-changing song for his co-writer, Levon Gray. The Alabama native tagged Brown in an Instagram Story and wound up signed to Brown’s Verse 2 Music.
It wasn’t quite that easy, of course — Brown was impressed with what he heard on the social media platform, but Gray still had to prove himself in a co-writing session in Nashville, with Brown, Jesse Frasure and Ernest Keith Smith. That’s where “One Mississippi” came from.
“He brought the title and the meaning behind it,” Brown says of Gray (quote via the Nashville Soundbite). Kent Earls, who co-helms Verse 2 with Brown, adds “Levon wowed us from his first co-write, and after getting to know him as a person, he continues to wow us with his graciousness and work ethic” (quote via MusicRow).
In “One Mississippi,” Brown finds himself in an on-again, off-again romance that’s by now predictable: They run into each other during a night out, and by the time he’s “five minutes out of downtown,” he knows just what to expect.
“One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three shots of whiskey / Are you on your way? / Way tipsy / Baby, come kiss me / I can’t wait, I can’t wait,” Brown sings in the chorus. “Mississippi, two Mississippi, three in the mornin’ / We’ll be on our way / So tipsy, can’t stop kissin’ / I can’t wait, I can’t wait forever …”
Brown’s latest release is his Mixtape, Vol. 1 EP from August of 2020. More recently, he’s been featured on collaborations with Chris Young (the country radio No. 1 “Famous Friends”) and hip-hop/R&B artist Blackbear (“Memory”).
Kane Brown’s “One Mississippi” Lyrics:
You and I / Had this off and on so long / You’ve been here, then you’ve been gone / So many times / And every night / Yeah, I’m always bumpin’ into you / We do the same things we used to / It’s your place or it’s mine, so …
Pre-Chorus:
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh / Well, I swear we’re through with the lonely drunk and déjà vu / Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh / Five minutes out of downtown / Ain’t nothin’ but a countdown …
Chorus:
One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three shots of whiskey / Are you on your way? / Way tipsy / Baby, come kiss me / I can’t wait, I can’t wait / Mississippi, two Mississippi, three in the mornin’ / We’ll be on our way / So tipsy, can’t stop kissin’ / I can’t wait, I can’t wait forever …
Mmm, every time I’m at this bar, tap on the shoulder, turn around / And, baby, there you are / And it’s fire / You’re like this Bourbon, hundred proof / Yeah, they don’t burn the way you do / Yeah, we’re better in the dark, so …
Repeat Pre-Chorus
Repeat Chorus
Kinda like that Georgia wind / We’ll be gone and back again / But always wind up right back where we are / Playin’ roulette with our hearts / And blowin’ smoke rings in the dark, yeah …
Repeat Pre-Chorus
Repeat Chorus
Every time I’m at this bar, tap on the shoulder, turn around / And, baby, there you are …
Best Country Albums of 2021 – Critic’s Pick
There have been many creative country albums in 2021, but not all have hit the mark. Artists are more than ever toying with distribution methods and packaging as much as they are new sounds, so you get double and triple albums, Part 1 and Part 2, and digital EPs in lieu of a traditional 10 or 11-song release.
More than ever, this relied on staff opinion and artistic merit to allow for some parity among major label artists and independents. The 10 albums listed below are not ranked, although the year-end list published in the fall will crown a true best album of 2021.