Somebody Else Will

Album: Kinda Don't Care (2016)
Charted: 59
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The second single released from Kinda Don't Care, the song was penned by Kelly Archer ("Sleep Without You"), Adam Hambrick ("How Not To") and Canadian singer-songwriter Tebey Ottoh during a co-write at the Red Creative Group offices in Nashville's Berry Hill neighborhood on March 1, 2016.
  • It was Adam Hambrick who threw out the title. "I was thinking it would be a more emotional kind of title," he recalled to Billboard magazine. "I was thinking of it as 'I better hold on to her, because if I don't, somebody else will.'"
  • Kelly Archer took it in another direction: a faster tempo with an ascendant chorus. "When he said the title, she had a vision of what she thought we could write," said Tebey. "She kind of started rocking that chorus, and Adam and I just picked up the guitars and started rocking out."
  • The trio set the song in a barroom. A beautiful woman enters grabbing the attention of its male patrons and the singer knows he needs to move quickly.

    Somebody else will if I don't
    Walk up and ask you your name right now
    Offer to buy you a drink
    Sit down and tell you your looks could kill


    Archer explained: "This song's about a girl who is just a little bit special, and he recognizes it. It's a cool message about being brave enough to approach a girl when you know that there's something special about her, without it making it sound like you just want her for one thing in particular."
  • Hambrick first sent the demo to Rascal Flatts, who put it on hold, before declining it. When Red Creative owner Jeremy Stover, who doubles as Justin Moore's producer, heard the tune he quickly recognized it as a contender for the singer's Kinda Don't Care album.

    Once Stover played the demo for Moore, he was immediately onboard. "The demo was totally different from the way we recorded it, but I could tell it was a really hooky song and something a little different for me," Moore said. "Maybe I could kind of make it me all at the same time."
  • The song's music video was directed by Shane Drake and was filmed at The Sutler just off 8th Avenue South in Nashville. The action takes place inside a neon-lit bar, as a motorcycle-riding woman and a firefighter strike up a romance on the dance floor.

    Drake said, "This song is super freaking cool and for this shoot day I really wanted to match that with the visuals. We are in a VIP underground club that has a futuristic/neon/Bladerunner vibe which you don't typical associate with Country."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And Scandals

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And ScandalsSong Writing

Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Michael Bolton

Michael BoltonSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."