Today, Luke Combs is the embodiment of country music. With a gravely twangy voice, the former bar bouncer has become one of the biggest names in the genre, providing the Platonic Ideal of country songwriting. He’s even brought other songs by other writers, including Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” back into the fore.
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But while so many of the 33-year-old North Carolina-born Combs’ songs and albums are standouts, one might wonder what song lyrics of his are best. When you get down to it and examine the tracks line-by-line, which stand out? Here are the six best lyrics written by Combs.
[RELATED: 5 of the Best Lyrics Written by Don Henley]
1. “Nothing Like You”
Written by Luke Combs, Drew Parker, Robert Williford
I’ve seen California and the fields of Oklahoma / From thirty thousand feet, can’t beat the view / Crossed the Mississippi, watched the mountains over Tennessee / Become a Carolina sky that was so blue / And still ain’t seen nothing like, nothing like you
From Combs’ 2019 album, What You See Is What You Get, this is a song of love. The world can’t compare to the object of your affection when it feels so right. And that’s what Combs sings about here.
2. “Beautiful Crazy”
Written by Luke Combs, Wyatt Durrette, Robert Williford
She makes plans for the weekend / Can’t wait to go out / ‘Til she changes her mind / And says, ‘Let’s stay on the couch and watch TV’ / And she falls asleep
Who hasn’t been there? On either side of it, to be honest. Sometimes you’re raring to go out on the town only to decide minutes later to order delivery and stream a movie. Here in “Beautiful Crazy,” Combs captures the moment he’s experienced with his wife, Nicole. This song came out on the 2017 offering, This One’s for You.
3. “Beer Never Broke My Heart”
Written by Luke Combs, Randy Montana, Jonathan Singleton
Longneck, ice cold beer never broke my heart / Like diamond rings and football teams / Have torn this boy apart / Like a neon dream it just dawned on me / The bars and this guitar / And longneck, ice cold beer never broke my heart
Combs, thanks to his lyricism and singing voice, has a knack for capturing a feeling, a moment, a small experience that when said just feels like everything. Here in this song, which was released on the 2019 LP, What You See Is What You Get, Combs elucidates the very real feeling of turning to beer when heartbreak is afoot.
4. “Going, Going, Gone”
Written by Luke Combs, Ray Fulcher, James McNair
Like a left field home-run ball / Like a whiskey shot at last call / It’s like she was made for moving on / That girl is going, going, gone
The poet Emily Dickinson said for people to tell the truth but to tell it “slant,” meaning to put your own style and perspective on it. Here, Combs achieves that, telling the story of a breakup, but comparing it to a baseball. Usually, home runs are a good thing. But not for the pitcher who has to watch it leave the yard. Like that ball, Combs sings in this song, released on his 2022 LP, Growin’ Up, of a woman leaving him in this tune.
5. “Even Though I’m Leaving”
Written by Luke Combs, Wyatt Durrette, Ray Fulcher
Daddy, I’m afraid, won’t you stay a little while? / Keep me safe ’cause there’s monsters right outside / Daddy, please don’t go, I don’t wanna be alone / ‘Cause the second that you’re gone they’re gonna know
This song, which is from Combs’ 2019 LP, What You See Is What You Get, is about how those who love one another—like a father loves a child—are never really absent from one another. There is even a religious undertone in the song’s chorus, which reads,
Just ’cause I’m leavin’ / It don’t mean that I won’t be right by your side / When you need me / And you can’t see me in the middle of the night / Just close your eyes and say a prayer / It’s okay, I know you’re scared when I’m not here / But I’ll always be right there / Even though I’m leavin’, I ain’t goin’ nowhere
6. “Better Together”
Written by Luke Combs, Dan Isbell, Randy Montana
Some things just go better together and probably always will / Like a cup of coffee and a sunrise, Sunday drives and time to kill / What’s the point of this ol’ guitar if it ain’t got no strings? / Or pourin’ your heart into a song that you ain’t gonna sing? / It’s a match made up in heaven, like good ol’ boys and beer / And me, as long as you’re right here
Luke Combs: King of Country Love Songs. As evidenced by this tune from his 2019 album, What You See Is What You Get.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
