Mind Reader

Album: Where It's At (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Written by two of the three Peach Pickers - Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip - this track finds Dustin Lynch paying tribute to an intuitive woman. He explained: "'Mind Reader' is about a girl knowing what she wants and what her guy wants even before he does."
  • This was released as the third single off Where It's At. "It's got a great groove to it and melodically is incredible - and I love the message behind it," Dustin Lynch told People regarding why he chose this tune. "It's encouraging the girls, 'Hey, it's okay if you guys make the first move.'"
  • The Mason Dixon-directed video was shot in downtown Nashville at night. The clip opens on a girl reading tarot cards; we then see her having a fun night out with Lynch. The singer explained: "The whole time that she's turning these cards over, she was predicting the night that was about to happen. I love the twist to it. I thought it was really fitting for the lyrics of the song and it was a lot of fun to make."
  • The lyrics are based on a real-life incident that actually happened to Rhett Akins. Ben Hayslip explained to. Taste of Country: "Anybody who knows Rhett knows Rhett loves the ladies. The night before we wrote the song, I don't know if he'd been on a date or he'd been hanging out with some girl he didn't know very well. He'd just kinda met her. And Rhett doesn't really like to be tied down; he's one of those guys that wants to do his own thing.

    We came in the next day, and we're just trying to figure out what to write, and he's telling me about the night before, and he's like, 'Man, this girl last night, she scares me. You ever had a girl who just knows what you're thinking every second and just almost reads your mind?'"
  • Rhett Akins recalled the date that inspired this song to The Boot: "I was thinking about where to take her to dinner, and she said, 'Kentucky Fried Chicken,' and I was like, 'She's reading my mind, buddy'. Somehow, the title of "Mind Reader" got thrown out, and that's where we took it."
  • The "Baby, you're a little mind, baby, you're a little mind reader" at the end of the chorus wasn't originally in the song. Akins explained: "That came up in the studio when we demo-ed the song. The chorus doesn't end with, 'You're a mind reader;' it still doesn't. We didn't want to say 'mind reader.' It was hard enough to do it once; we can't end it with 'reader.' That's just hard, so we just ended it with 'reading my mind.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple PilotsSongwriter Interviews

Stone Temple Pilots bass player Robert DeLeo names the songs that have most connected with fans and tells the stories behind tracks from their Tiny Music album.

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

David Sancious

David SanciousSongwriter Interviews

Keyboard great David Sancious talks about his work with Sting, Seal, Springsteen, Clapton and Aretha, and explains what quantum physics has to do with making music.

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."