Walmart

Album: yet to be titled (2023)
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Songfacts®:

  • Despite being titled after a major retailer, this ballad is actually about breakup and acceptance. It tells the story of Sam Hunt's meeting with his ex-girlfriend's mother and daughter in a small-town Walmart years after their spilt.
  • The song starts with an introspective Hunt mulling over an old flame. He initially regretted breaking up with her, but that feeling abated as the years passed.

    I used to run into you over Christmas, but I hadn't seen you in years
    I used to think that I messed up, wonder if I should've stayed
    I thought I'd always regret letting you go but all that regret went away


    But heartache still lingered until a chance encounter with his ex's mother and young daughter in a Walmart aisle.

    I saw your mama at Walmart with your little girl
    She had your eyes and your smile, she had your nose and your lips
    Somewhere in our little small-town, small talk girl
    Lost in the grocery aisle, holding a bag of some chips


    The fact that she has a child elicits an emotional response from Hunt because deep down he had hoped she still had feelings for him. Her daughter serves as tangible evidence that life has continued for both of them since they separated.

    I realized that everything happens for a reason
    Losing your love ain't the end of the world
    I saw your mama at Walmart with your little girl
    Your little girl, your little girl


    The chance meeting helped Hunt walk away with some post-breakup closure.
  • Hunt wrote this song with Zach Crowell, Shane McAnally, and Josh Osborne. He released it as a single on February 10, 2023. The same four also co-penned Hunt's previous single, "Start Nowhere."
  • Hunt and Crowell co-produced "Walmart" with Chris LaCorte and King Henry. LaCorte also played acoustic guitar. The other musicians are:

    Kristin Wilkinson: viola
    Carole Rabinowitz: cello
    David Davidson: violin
    David Angell: violin
    Alex Wright: synthesizer and piano
    Aaron Sterling: percussion and drums
    Kris Donegan: electric guitar
    Devin Malone: acoustic guitar
    Ilya Toshinskiy: acoustic guitar
    Josh Osborne: background vocals

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