On CMA Award-nominated album 29: Written in Stone, Carly Pearce pulls off one of her most impressive feats yet— Matching the vocal might and storytelling acumen of Ashley McBryde on "Never Wanted to Be That Girl."
The duo wrote the new song with one of Nashville's most prolific wordsmiths, Shane McAnally. Its lyrics offer the perspectives of two women trapped in a cheating husband's web.
"Nobody ever thinks it will happen to them," Pearce explained in a press release. "You never see it coming, but there's always an explanation. You know, who'd ever want to think that way about someone they love. Why would you? And so, that's where this song started: the things you don't see, because you'd never look.
"Ashley is such a great drop-into-the-moment writer, she was able to bring that reality bomb truth to what we were doing," the Kentucky-born singer continued. "She's fearless, and she understands human nature in a way that let us both really write to the hurt of realizing we've been lied to by someone we're intimate with."
McBryde heaps equally glowing praise on her newest duet partner.
"Carly isn't afraid to face the less potable subjects," McBryde said in a press release. "As a writer she's willing to get in there and get very honest. Writing this song together with Shane strengthened our friendship and taught us more about one another and ourselves. Seriously, nobody wants to be the other woman. And when you find you are ... damn. It's such a gut punch."
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Again, again! What a performance from @CarlyPearce and @AshleyMcBryde at the #CMAAwards ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gmUQaWENh3
— The Women of Country (@TheWomenCountry) November 11, 2021
The pair performed the song live for the first time on Nov. 10 at the CMA Awards, matching the power of their studio recording,
Pearce's new album also includes the Patty Loveless duet (and Loretta Lynn tribute) "Dear Miss Loretta." Co-writers of note range from Kelsea Ballerini ("Diamondback") to Old Dominion's Matthew Ramsey ("Day One").
"Never Wanted to Be That Girl" Lyrics
You helped me change a tire
In a Citgo parking lot
You said we both could use a beer
And I said, "Hell, why not"
What started out as one night
Turned to six months just like that
You never had a ring on
So I never thought to ask
But then last night I saw a message on his phone
It said, "Hey, babe, what time you coming home?"
I never wanted to be that girl
I never wanted to hate myself
I thought this kind of lonely
Only happens to somebody else
Being the other one when there's another one
God, this feels like hell
I thought I knew who I was
But it's getting hard to tell
I never wanted to be that girl
I've heard about those women
Who didn't have a clue
The ones who made excuses
Like my mama used to do
And he jumps in the shower
Just as soon as he gets home
And I'll spend half an hour
Going through his phone
I never wanted to be that girl
I never wanted to hate myself
I thought this kind of lonely
Only happens to somebody else
Being the other one when there's another one
God, this feels like hell
I thought I knew who I was
But it's getting hard to tell
I never wanted to be that girl
Oh, and I feel stupid
I feel cheap
I feel used
I feel weak
I never wanted to be that girl
I never wanted to hate myself
I thought this kind of lonely
Only happens to somebody else
Being the other one when there's another one
God, this feels like hell
I thought I knew who I was
But it's getting hard to tell
I never wanted to be that girl
I never wanted to be that girl
I never wanted to be that girl
