Louisiana-born singer/songwriter Lainey Wilson is red hot today in the country music genre. Thanks to her 2022 album Bell Bottom Country and its fiery hit single “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” Wilson’s name has rocketed up the charts and she’s garnered handfuls of prestigious awards.
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But while “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” is a whiplash of a song, that doesn’t mean Wilson doesn’t know how to live on the sensitive side of the sonic street. Indeed, just as she is able to walk through a ring of flames, Wilson is able to tug at your heartstrings. And these three songs from the artist are evidence of just that.
[RELATED: Top 10 Lainey Wilson Songs]
“Rolling Stone,” from Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ (2021)
One of the most important aspects of country music is the honesty it can offer, that heart-on-your sleeve quality. And on Wilson’s 2021 album Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’, she offers that exact quality, especially on the LP’s 11th track, “Rolling Stone.” The track is about love but it’s also about distance—a combination that can tug at anyone’s soul. On the offering, Wilson sings of the juxtaposition between the two.
Ain’t got a thing to do with love
I was born to roll like a tumbleweed does
And I belong to a long highway
And there it goes, callin’ my name
Callin’ my name
Callin’ my name
Think you’re the one that’s gonna turn me around
Give me a ring and settle me down
Got a little old on me, don’t get me wrong
But, baby, my heart runs wild and free
You gotta know ‘fore you fall for me
Like a feather in the wind, I could be gone
You don’t give a rock to a rolling stone
No, you don’t give a rock to a rolling stone
“Heart Like a Truck,” from Bell Bottom Country (2022)
From Wilson’s 2022 album Bell Bottom Country, this song is both powerful and melancholy. Wilson compares her heart to a country music staple—a truck. It’s both sturdy and well-worn; reliable and used. On the song, she’s vulnerable—she goes as far to say heart’s been drug through the mud, which is something many of us can relate to in our own lives.
I never stay in one place too long
A dirt road’s singing me a siren song
I gotta find a field
I need to spin my wheels
I got a hankering for four wide tires
And I can’t help it it’s the way I’m wired
‘Fore you get too close
Boy you need to know
I got a heart like a truck
It’s been drug through the mud
Runs on dreams and gasoline
And that ole highway holds the key
It’s got a lead foot down when it’s leaving
Lord knows it’s taken a hell of a beating
A little bit of love is all that it’s needing
But it’s good as it is tough
I got a heart like a truck
“Things a Man Oughta Know,” from Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ (2020)
Sometimes when you hear words of wisdom the right way, they can make you pause and reflect both on your life and who you were in it. Sometimes it takes an emotional gut punch to stop you in your tracks and help you change course. That’s exactly what this song does. Released first on Wilson’s 2020 Redneck Hollywood EP (and later on the 2021 album Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’), this is the song that put Wilson on the proverbial map—and for good reason. She presents a wise and generous self, mixing with an emotive quality that can put a lump in your throat.
If I can’t have it, I can do without
I can hang a picture same as I can take it down
And how to keep it hidden when a heart gets broke
Yeah, I know a few things a man oughta know
How to know when it’s love
How to stay when it’s tough
How to know you’re messin’ up a good thing
And how to fix it ‘fore it’s too late
And yeah, I know a boy
Who gave up and got it wrong
If you really love a woman, you don’t let her go
Yeah, I know a few things a man oughta know
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