Is there a hotter name in country music right now other than Lainey Wilson? The brilliant and beautiful 31-year-old Baskin, Louisiana-born performer boasts two 2024 Grammy nominations and last year took home multiple CMA and ACM honors thanks to her 2022 LP Bell Bottom Country and its stellar hit “Wildflowers and Wild Horses.”
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Not only has Wilson written tracks for other artists, but she’s co-written some of her own biggest hits as well. For more on that, let’s dive into the music below.
[RELATED: 4 Songs You Didn’t Know Lainey Wilson Wrote: Exclusive Video Interview]
“Heart Like a Truck”
Written by Dallas Wilson, Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson
This song was released on Lainey Wilson’s breakout album Bell Bottom Country. Written by Wilson along with Dallas Wilson and Trannie Anderson and produced by Jay Joyce, the song is about strength, perseverance, and triumphing over whatever obstacles lay in front of you. Wilson, who grew up in a tiny town with a farmer father, knows what it’s like to put in a hard day’s work, knows what mud on her skin feels like, and knows the power it takes to get through a long day. That’s what this song is about. On the quintessential country tune, she sings,
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
“Watermelon Moonshine”
Written by Josh Kear, Jordan Schmidt, Lainey Wilson
Another from Bell Bottom Country, this song is the other side of the coin from the track above. It’s about the few hours of relaxation and socialization (and a little romance) when the sun is setting and the work is done. A swig from a jar of a homemade concoction and letting fate lead the way. On the sultry offering, which was written by Wilson, Josh Kear, Jordan Schmidt and producd by Jay Joyce, Wilson sings,
It was right after senior year
Just before the summer disappeared
We went a-ridin’ them old farm ruts
Hangin’ out on the gate of his truck
We threw a blanket ‘neath the sunset
Bein’ brave as 18 gets
We gave each other more than our hearts
With the help of a mason jar
Drinkin’ watermelon moonshine
We cut the burn with a little lime
Parkin’ back in them kudzu vines
I was his and every bit of that boy was mine
Too young to know what love was
But we were learnin’ on a sweet buzz
There’s never nothin’ like the first time
And mine’s always gonna taste like
Watermelon moonshine
“Things a Man Oughta Know”
Written by Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson, Jason Nix
This track comes from Wilson’s 2019 EP Redneck Hollywood, and was later released on her 2021 LP Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’. Written by Wilson, Jason Nix and Jonathan Singleton, the track offers some advice for the fellas out there, as the title suggests (things she herself also knows well due to her upbringing). Of the track, Wilson said, “The list was way too long so we condensed that list. We discussed my childhood and the things that my parents taught me growing up. This song is really about having good character.” And on it, she sings sweetly,
I can hook a trailer on a two-inch hitch
I can shoot a shotgun, I can catch a fish
I can change a tire on the side of a road
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
“Hold My Halo”
Written by Derek George, Monty Criswell, Lynn Hutton, Lainey Wilson
The eighth track from Bell Bottom Country, this song is about putting all the good habits away for a moment (or a night) and letting your carnal side out, if for just a short while. Sure, most of the time you should behave and be good. But when the stress mounts and the work piles up, sometimes you need to cut loose. It’s a feeling we all know and it’s one Wilson captures in this hit, singing,
Been working like a dog, tryna please ’em all
Tryna put another comma in the bank
Tryna get these broke-down dreams to crank
Sometimes a good, good girl’s gotta break out the denim
Gonna pour me a drink, pour my ass in ’em
For heaven’s sake, I need a good time
Lord knows it ain’t no crime
To leave a little lipstick red on a solo
Make a little mess of my head on the Cuervo
I don’t need no help, no, I got this
Coming in hot as hell, y’all watch this
Gonna tear up this town like a drunk tornado
Light it up, let it all go
Tell that angel inside of me to hide her wings and lay low
Hold my halo
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