Bet Ain't Worth The Hand

Album: Good Thing (2018)
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Songfacts®:

  • Good Thing finds Leon Bridges expanding on the retro-soul sound he established on his debut album, Coming Home, by adding elements of modern R&B. "Bet Ain't Worth The Hand," released alongside the single "Bad Bad News," opens with a falsetto even Bridges wasn't sure he was capable of pulling off. The singer credits producer Ricky Reed (Kesha, Twenty One Pilots) for pushing him out of his comfort zone.

    "I didn't want to sing a falsetto or sing in that range," he told Forbes. "And Ricky pushed me to hit the vocals and I was able to execute it surprisingly."
  • In the song, Bridges is afraid he's the wrong man for his girl and makes the painful decision to leave the relationship before either of them gets hurt.
  • In 2019, this tied with PJ Morton's cover of "How Deep Is Your Love" for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance. Good Thing was also nominated for Best R&B Album, but lost to H.E.R.'s self-titled album.
  • Natalie Rae, who directed the music video, explained the meaning of the clip in a press release: "'Bet Ain't Worth The Hand' is about the human desire to connect to each other while we live in a world increasing separating us. We watch Leon unable to be grounded as he floats through the lives of people who are disconnected. As he sings we tap into an increasingly common feeling of disconnection from each other and ourselves. Leon tries to feel connected through bringing comfort to the people he crosses like a guardian angel, until we find out who he is looking for. The video leaves us wondering what may linger in loss and regret if we are not able to be present to the relationships around us."
  • This was used in the 2018 movie Dog Days, starring Nina Dobrev and Vanessa Hudgens.

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