Bones

Album: The Road to Here (2005)
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Songfacts®:

  • This scathing song from the Country quartet Little Big Town is directed at their record company. The group was signed to Sony Records, which marketed them as a slick Pop-Country crossover act, which met with derision from the Country fans and left LBT wondering what happened to their identity. Signed to Clint Black's label, they found their true sound on their 2005 album The Road to Here. Discussing the song in our 2011 interview, Little Big Town's Phillip Sweet told us: "There was a little bit of attitude from us to the label. But it wasn't like there was one particular person. It was more of like the big, bad label that won't let you be yourself, you know what I mean? (laughing) We were just saying 'this is who we are,' and then we eventually got dropped. And we were able to take that music and come out with it on an independent label.

    It wasn't just the label, it was like: Man, we can't seem to figure this business out. And what did we do creatively, and why are we getting berated by the critics? This isn't who we are. We're not this poppy slick band. And I don't think the label necessarily meant to do it, but they were just trying to fit us into something that could sell records. In hindsight, I don't blame any one entity. It was just an overall kind of blanket, like, 'No, this is who we are.' We had a little bit of attitude, chip on our shoulder about it. And I think we just needed to write through that and deal with it."
  • When they play this live, Little Big Town often segues into "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac. Sweet told us: "No one ever said that in the room or had that idea, 'We've got to write a song like 'The Chain.'' But it was probably in our subconscious. We grew up with it and loved that stuff. I don't think we set out to make music that sounded like that. And I really do appreciate the association that people have kindly bestowed upon that. But it really was all innocent."

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