Sugarland - "Joey"

There's a difference between lyrics that are so vague as to be nearly inaccessible, and lyrics that are just vague enough to be mysterious. "Joey" falls quite squarely into the latter category. Will radio play this mysterious new song from the superstar duo?

There's a difference between lyrics that are so vague as to be nearly inaccessible, and lyrics that are just vague enough to be mysterious. "Joey" (listen here) falls quite squarely into the latter category.

Written by Sugarland's two members along with Bill Anderson, a man who has shown remarkable songwriting consistency over the past 40-plus years, "Joey" finds the female narrator asking a series of "what if’s”  about Joey, whom she has just lost: "What if I said yes? What if I'd gone out that night? What if you'd left and everything would've turned out right?" The next line, however, is the clincher: "What if I spoke up? What if I took the keys?"  Solidifies the fact that Joey was killed in a drunk-driving accident. There really aren't too many details fleshed out in the lyrics, but just enough details are fleshed out to keep the listener hooked.  Jennifer Nettles sounds like she's on the brink of tears in each line, really driving home the emotion of even something so simple as "I'm so sorry." The production emphasizes the acoustic guitar and organ, bringing to mind the almost eerie, stripped-down simplicity of "Stay.”

"Joey" is a risky move in so many ways. It's a ballad being sent to radio in the summer; it's just a little left of center both lyrically and sonically; and well, who likes sad songs anymore? But Sugarland certainly has the star power to take a few creative risks, and it's certainly thrilling to see them doing just that again and again. Here's hoping that "Joey" is yet another chart-topper in the duo's rapidly-growing list of interesting, unusual hits.

You can support Sugarland by purchasing this single at iTunes icon| Amazon.

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