“She Don’t Love You”
Eric Paslay
Written by Eric Paslay and Jennifer Wayne
Any time a new country single invites comparisons to “Life Turned Her That Way”, you know you’re in for something good.
“She Don’t Love You” is a simple country song about a woman who has been hurt too many times, and Eric Paslay sings the fire out of it. You can actually hear him do that, as he’s backed by little more than an acoustic guitar through a good part of the record.
Sure, you can see the ending coming from a mile away. Spoiler alert: the narrator is the one who broke her heart. But surprise endings only work the first time you listen to it. What keeps you coming back for more is sincerity, authenticity, and sometimes, some good old-fashioned heartbreak.
Grade: B+
I love this song, I would easily give it an “A” if given the choice. Maybe I love it because it is so different than anything and everything else at Country radio, tasteful production, intelligent lyrics with heart, and a male singer who can actually sing well, not being forced to sing lyrical crap.
Honestly, I found the vast majority of Paslay’s debut album to be pretty forgettable. This song stood out however and I am glad they are giving it a go at Country radio. I’m not sure what to make of Paslay just yet, he has written or recorded some pretty forgettable songs, but he has the backing of Vince Gill and songs like this show he has both the writing and singing chops to produce some really good Country music, hopefully we see more of this Paslay than the forgettable “Friday Night” version country fans were introduced to.
Honestly this song is an A+. I saw somebody say Eric somehow manages to make you feel sorry for the narrator and the subject and Eric perfectly depicts and it surprised me when I first heard this song. Eric’s voice is top-notch 10 years ago this wouldn’t have stand out as much but to be honest this is one of the best mainstream songs I’ve heard of in a long time.
An easy A imo. Great lyrics, great melody, understated production, and the heartbreak in his voice is palpable. This is why I love country music. I’m just not used to hearing it on the radio anymore.
This is a really good song. Strong lyric, and a very nice and simple production. I like the rating of B+, though, because Paslay’s vocal sounds strained in places to me. I applaud what he did with the song in spite of that, though.
Great review of a great song and great comments. I’ve seen Eric twice at the Bluebird so I can attest to his ability to sing live.
I agree with Mike that i can’t use “great” to describe Eric’s debut album. Other than “She Don’t Love You”, which i would rate A+, the only other song I bought was “Less Than Whole”, which Eric wrote with Big Kenny,
I’ll keep it simple:
LOVE. THIS. SONG.
This is far and away the best song on the album – easily worth an A, maybe even an A+.
I really like the subdued background on the song – the steel could be a little more prominent but really it is a nice production – sort of a minimal Billy Sherrill arrangement without the vocal choruses
from country california:
“I’ve had people say Eric Paslay/She Don’t Love You is a career song, but we can’t play it because ballads kill format.” RJ Curtis #CRS2015 ●
— @RossOnRadio, tweeting from the Country Radio Seminar.
bob,
I just read that, too. I literally felt sick.
This song is an A for me too.
@ SRM – even though I rarely listen to country radio, i like to see songs that i think highly of do well on the charts so the artist will continue to put out good music. I would estimate that about 70% of the songs i like best are ballads.