Lyrics & Stories Whisky Priest
Track 02
Heartbreak
Dustin Welch, Super Rooster Music (SESAC); Kevin Welch, Monkey Head Songs (SESAC); Claudia Scott, Family Style Publishing (SESAC)
You don't look like you gonna be a problemBut somehow I know you still will beYea, I got all the answers if you want emBut nobody ever listened to meI'll go ahead and lay it down for you piece by pieceIf you promise me that you'll be goodI got a half a mind to leave you right here right nowAnd the truth is that I probably should
Pre CHO:Oh but one of these days the time will comeWhen you find out love is realOh and nothing else'll matter, no nothing at allAnd all time will seem to stand still
ChorusAnd then you'll know what heartbreak will make you doYea, you will know what heartbreak will make you do
You got yourself in a bad situationAnd I can see how this is gonna go downYea, you can take that one-way street to nowhereOr get your ass outta this townOh, I know you'd like to think you got it all figured outCause you can drive about any man wildYou keep telling yourself you got it under controlBut to me your just a long lost child
Repeat pre-chorusRepeat chorus (2×)
Played by
- Dustin Welchresonator guitar, vocals
- Drew Smithacoustic guitar, vocals
- Kyle Ellisonelectric guitar
- Trisha Keeferviolin
- Joe Beckhamelectric bass
- Joe Humeldrums
- Dan Dyervocals
- Carrie Elkinvocal
The story
My friend Skylar Wilson came over to pick me up one day to go play frisbee in the park, and I was working on this weird narrative style that I'd never tried in a song. It was totally a one sided conversation, very simple in language, but kinda complex to the ear. So I showed him this thing and then went, "So I want one line in the chorus I can repeat, that's real basic but would be something profound to the person the main character is talking to. Something like, 'And then you'll know what heartbreak will make you do.' " It just fell out of my mouth like that and Skylar looked at me and said, "Or something exactly that, there it is. C'mon, can we go play frisbee now?" So after a couple weeks of not getting anywhere further past the chorus, I brought the thing over to my dad's and showed it to his partner at the time, the fabulous Norwegian recording artist Claudia Scott. It made me look at the characters differently because all of a sudden it was about an older, more experienced woman sitting down this young, reckless girl telling her she needed to get her act straight. Every once in a while, we'd get stuck on a line, and my dad would stick his head in and suggest something, and the three of us finally polished the thing off as we were making dinner and setting the table.