If you're not a huge fan of country radio then I have a song that'll make you reconsider. At least, that's what Maddie & Tae have done for me. The country duo gave us "Girl in a Country Song" and "Shut Up and Fish" — two songs that critiqued the ways women are portrayed in country music. And that was from their debut album, Start Here. It's no surprise that after coming out of the gate swinging like that, the lead-off single for their sophomore album is also a banger.
While "Friends Don't" got the lyric video treatment back in May, the duo's new video puts Maddie Marlow and Taylor (Tae) Dye in front of the camera. ""We both got to do a little acting and play out separate storylines with a love interest," Marlow told Sounds Like Nashville. "It was pretty outside of the box for us to act, so we just tried to have fun with it."
The music video opens with Marlow at a house party. She texts her gentleman companion, asking if he'd like to leave. He's clearly enjoying himself, and points a camcorder that he's brought to the party at her before disappearing. Meanwhile, across the room, Tae enjoys a deep conversation with another party guest. He leaves her abruptly in the middle of the party. However, at the end of the video, the pairs reunite.
Read More: Maddie and Tae's Next Project is a Concept Album
The song was written by Marlow, Dye, Justin Ebach and Jon Nite. It was inspired by a conversation Marlow had with her younger sister. "To us 'Friends Don't' feels sexy and confident, but with a dash of that uncertainty you have at the start of a relationship because you don't know if the other person feels the same way you do," commented Dye. "We wanted to play off that push and pull we've all felt before."
The upcoming album will be a concept album, depicting the earliest beginning, middle, end, and eventual independence of a relationship.
"Friends Don't" Lyrics:
They don't cancel other plans
Have conversations with nothin' but their eyes
They don't hear each other's names
And forget to concentrate
Hits a nerve and lights you up like dynamite.
Friends don't call you in the middle of the night
Couldn't even tell you why
They just felt like saying hi
Friends don't stand around playing with their keys
Finding reasons not to leave
Trying to hide the chemistry
Drive a little too slow
Take the long way home
Get a little too close
We do but but friends don't.
They don't almost say I love you
When they're downtown somewhere just a little drunk
They don't talk about the future
And put each other in it
And get chills with every accidental touch.
I keep telling myself this might be nothing, might be nothing
But one look in your eyes and God there's something, there's something
You can lie to me and say you don't
But I know you do and I love you too
