Florida Georgia Line is climbing the country singles chart with their new song, “Talk You Out Of It.”
Alysa Maria Vanderheym, Hunter Phelps, Jameson Rodgers and Michael Hardy are the songwriters behind “Talk You Out Of It,” and they use several techniques that help the song stand out- and stand a chance of getting cut. In short, they made this song “Cut/able.” Here are a few of those techniques.
YOU GOTTA TALK TO HER.
This song is all about the sexy. And that type of song is perfect for direct address. That’s when the singer sings directly TO the listener. In this case, he’s saying “I just wanna talk YOU out of it.” The writers could have written the singer to sing “I just wanna talk HER out of it,” about how his girl is getting ready to go out on the town and how she looks so good. But, you know what? Talking ABOUT your love interest isn’t nearly as powerful as talking TO your love interest. This is especially true for sexy songs. The difference between “you” and “her” can be the difference between “hit” and “miss.”
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PAINT THE PICTURE.
They use some great imagery in this song, and it really helps the story to come to life. They give us so much to “see,” from the downtown lights to the bottle in a bucket of ice to him watching TV. And that’s just in the first verse! The chorus is also full of imagery. The “playlist you play when you’re in the shower” brings in not just a visual image, but the audio image of music. It’s important that you don’t forget your other senses. Visual imagery is important, but sound, smell and other types of sensory images can really bring an authenticity to your lyric.
DOUBLE THE MEANING, DOUBLE THE IMPACT.
Country songs love double meanings, and this song is no exception. The chorus starts off with “I talked you into…” getting ready to go out. And they could’ve just said, “you look so good, I want to talk you out of it,” meaning, “I want to talk you out of going out on the town.” But the writers brought the chorus to an image of her in “that fine little dress.” Now, when the singer says, “I just wanna talk you out of it,” it means, “I wanna talk you out of going out on the town” AND “I wanna talk you out of that dress.” It adds another twist on this hook, making it a lot more powerful. You want your hook to land with impact, and a well-crafted double-meaning can help you do that.
THE VIBE MATCHES THE LYRIC.
Last, but certainly not least, the vibe (melody, groove, production) fits the meaning of the lyric. Now, you can have great success with sad songs that feel happy, for example. But for sexy songs, it really works when the lyric and vibe match. And it certainly does here. A big fun melody/groove might’ve still been cut/able, but it sure wouldn’t have been sexy. And that is definitely the goal here: sexy. So the vibe reflects that. There’s a focus to this song. The writers know what they want the listener to feel, and everything moves in that direction.
Knowing pro techniques like this can make a big difference in YOUR songwriting. Applying them will help you write market-smart songs: songs that have a competitive advantage in the market.
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God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,
Brent
Brent Baxter is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ray Stevens and more. He’s written a top 5 hit in the US, a #1 Single of the Year in Canada, and a top 10 in Texas… so far. He also hosts a top-rated songwriting and music business podcast called, “The C.L.I.M.B.” which can be found on iTunes or your favorite podcast app.
