Sam Hunt’s ‘Hard to Forget’ Is a Nod to (Really) Old School Country [Listen]
Sam Hunt literally fuses classic country with his progressive, pop sounds during "Hard to Forget," his new radio single.
Hunt teased the song on social media prior to the release, sharing the artwork and audio of Webb Pierce singing his multi-week No. 1 hit from 1953, "There Stands the Glass." Fans were left wondering if this would be the song he'd sample in his latest, given that he'd been talking about bringing a more traditional country vibe to his new work.
While the song does incorporate Pierce's ode to drinking one's heartache away ("There stands the glass / that will ease all my pain / That will settle my brain"), lacing bits and pieces the tune throughout Hunt's vocals, the overall result isn't 100 percent a traditional country song. Rather, it's a brilliant meld of old-school country with a distinctly modern, multi-groove tone.
The Pierce verse melts into a rollicking pop, almost reggae vibe from the very start, with Hunt noting wryly a bunch of commentary about a woman who won't leave his thoughts. After explaining that he's tabulated where her mother and sister are hanging out, and that he is itching to call her (but isn't), he begins to get even more irritated.
"You showed up in that dress / Just to mess with my head," he notes of the girl in question, who is cold-hearted and asks him to leave her things out on the porch so she can fetch them when she has a moment. "It's just jeans and a shirt / But it's a whole lot of hurt," gripes Hunt. Despite the song's darkly pessimistic lyrics, the melody and arrangement are buoyed by a contrasting and ironically bright tone throughout.
Find "Hard to Forget" on Hunt's Southside album on April 3, his first album since Montevallo in 2014.
Did You Know?: "There Stands the Glass" co-writers Audrey Grisham, Mary Jean Shurtz and Russ Hull are included on the credits of Hunt's "Hard to Forget."
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Sam Hunt, "Hard to Forget Lyrics"
Sample:
There stands the glass / That will ease all my pain / That will settle my brain / It’s my first one today.
Repeat Sample
I saw your sister at work / I saw your mama at church / I’m pretty sure I saw your car at the mall / I see your face in the clouds / I smell your perfume in crowds / I swear your number’s all my phone wants to call / It’s kinda funny how I can’t seem / To get away from you / It’s almost like you don’t want me to.
Chorus:
You’ve got a cold heart and the cold hard truth’s / I got a bottle of whiskey but I’ve got no proof / That you showed up tonight in that dress / Just to mess with my head / So much for so long, out of sight, out of mind / Girl you’re looking so good, it’s driving me out of mine / Aw you’re breaking my heart / Baby you’re playing hard to forget.
Told me to leave all your things / Out on the porch on the swing / You’d come and grab them by the end of the week / It’s just some jeans and a shirt / But it’s a whole lot of hurt / I think I know why you’ve been dragging your feet / Ain’t it funny how I can’t seem / To get away from you / It’s almost like you don’t want me to.
Repeat Chorus
Repeat Sample
Repeat Chorus
Aw honey I’m falling apart / You’re playing hard to forget