In 1995, Terri Clark released her eponymous debut album. The record kicked off what remains one of the most successful acts in country music. Clark had several hit singles, songs that fans still love today, including several she wrote.
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We found four of our favorite Terri Clark songs, which feature her as a writer.
“Better Things To Do”
“Better Things To Do” is Clark’s first single and her first Top 5 single. On her freshman record, Clark wrote “Better Things To Do” with Tom Shapiro and Chris Waters.
The tongue-in-cheek song is about a woman who has much better things to do than be sad that a relationship ended. “Better Things To Do” says, “I could wash my car in the rain / Change my new guitar strings / Mow the yard just the same as I did yesterday / I don’t need to waste my time crying over you / I got better things to do.”
In 2024, Clark released Take Two, duet versions of some of her biggest songs. She chose to sing “Better Things To Do” with Ashley McBryde.
“She talked in the press about how when she was a kid in Arkansas growing up, she saw this girl with rolled-up t-shirt sleeves and a cowboy hat on and said, ‘I was looking for a girl that I could identify with, and that was Terri,’” Clark tells Nashville Lifestyles. “So, it struck me that my debut single should be one that I sang with her.”
“Emotional Girl”
On Clark’s sophomore Just The Same record, Clark wrote “Emotional Girl” with Waters and Rick Bowls. The song is a cautionary tale before anyone gets too involved with her.
“Emotional Girl” says, “I’m an emotional girl / I can’t help myself Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry / Sometimes I do both and I don’t know why / I got a passionate heart / And that’s just the way things are / You and me could give it a whirl / But I’m warning you, boy, I’m an emotional girl.”
“No Fear”
“No Fear” is on Clark’s fourth studio album, appropriately called Fearless. Clark and Mary Chapin Carpenter are the writers of “No Fear”.
The song is a positive song about embracing life without being afraid. “No Fear” says, “I used to hit every wall there was / I used to run away from love / All I ever wanted was right here / But I had to reach way down inside / I had to have faith I’d find / No fear.”
“If I Were You”
Clark’s first No. 1 in her native Canada is “If I Were You”. Written solely by Clark, the song is on her debut album.
“If I Were You” is about a woman giving advice to another woman. The thought-provoking tune says, “If I were you / I’d run back home tonight / Tell him everything’s alright / Yeah, I know what I’d do / If I were you / I’d never let him go / I’d have someone to hold / My whole life through / If I were you.”
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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