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The Grammy-winning quartet Little Big Town not only is topping Billboard’s country chart with its latest single, but it also is sparking an outpouring of emotions from fans on the lyrics database metrolyrics.com.
“Better Man,” written by Taylor Swift and named one of Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Songs of 2016, is the lead single from the group’s seventh album, “The Breaker,” set for release Feb. 24.
The biting song is about a relationship dissolving after a woman realizes she is better off without the destructive behavior of her man.
Here are a few comments about the song:
“After merely five months of marriage, I found myself running, wishing I had married a better man.”
“Emotional abuse is not at all easy. But when you get to that point that you can turn and walk away, don’t look back.”
“The first time I heard this I cried. I am the one that I wish was a better man.”
“My girlfriend and I split up two weeks before our eight-year anniversary. I asked her to hear this song and because of this song I have made it my mission to be a better man. I am lucky that she has seen the changes I have made to better myself for her, because she is worth it and she and I are back together.”
In concert
Who: Little Big Town
When: Following San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: AT&T Center, One AT&T Center Parkway
Tickets: $25.50; 210-225-5851 or sarodeo.com
“The moment that we heard it, we were like, ‘Man, that is a song that we’re gonna cut,’” singer Karen Fairchild said during a Facebook Live session last fall. “The only reason we didn’t say (Swift wrote it) is because we wanted you to hear the song for what it’s worth.”
Fairchild added that the song was special to Swift, who sang it during a pre-Super Bowl concert Sunday, and that she sent the band the song because she thought their harmonies would do it justice.
Little Big Town will sing “Better Man” and other powerful hits — some on a more upbeat note — after the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, which starts at 7:30 tonight at the AT&T Center.
Another song from the upcoming album is “Happy People,” which is available on music streaming services. It’s a laid-back, folk-style song that intends to put smiles on listeners’ faces instead of tears.
“‘The Breaker’ is about letting go of things that break you; it’s about the new ground you try and break as a human being and as a musician,” Fairchild said in a statement. “Sometimes you’re the one that’s broken and sometimes you’re the breaker.
“It’s a sentimental record because we’re feeling super grateful for our friends and family and the chance to share the next chapter.”
The release of “The Breaker” will coincide with Country Radio Seminar week and with Little Big Town at the Mother Church, the first artist residency at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The band will play Feb. 24-25 and five more dates through the year.
“As musicians, there is no better feeling in the world than playing on the stage at the Ryman,” Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook — Fairchild’s husband — said in a statement. “To be given the opportunity to headline their first residency means so much to us as a band, and we promise to make each night as memorable for the fans as possible.”
The other members of Little Big Town are Kimberly Schlapman and Phillip Sweet.
The band also will perform during the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
“Better Man” is Little Big Town’s latest No. 1 single, following “Pontoon” and “Girl Crush,” which earned Grammys last year for best country song and best country group/duo performance.
In November, Little Big Town won Country Music Association awards for vocal group of the year and single of the year for “Girl Crush,” which was named best country song.
Those are some of the nearly 20 awards the band took home over the last five years.
The roots of Little Big Town stretch back to the late 1990s, when Georgia natives Schlapman and Fairchild began singing together at Samford University in Alabama.
After they moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music, Westbrook joined them as a trio. Sweet came onboard in 1998.
Little Big Town released its debut single, “Don’t Waste My Time,” in 2002. The band hit paydirt in 2005 with the album “The Road to Here,” which spawned four Top 20 songs and sold more than a million copies.
The albums “Tornado” in 2012 and “Painkiller” in 2014 produced more hits, including “Tornado” and “Day Drinking,” and earned more award nominations and honors.
john@johngoodspeed.com
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