I had my phone on shuffle in the car the other day, and one of Riley Green’s older tracks came on that I hadn’t listened to in a while.
“That’s How Ya Left Me” started playing through my speakers, and it got me thinking about what a good song it really is.
A co-write with Randy Montana and Tyler Reeve off of his 2017 breakout Outlaws Like Us EP, it’s a deep cut that really deserves more credit.
He’s put out quite a bit of music since that EP, with his debut studio album Different ‘Round Here, his recent Behind The Bar project, as well as a few other EP’s in between, but you just can’t beat an oldie like this one.
You get a real sense of how heartbroken and sad he is in that moment, with little comments about the oil stain her car left, or her running out of the house in bare feet, painting such a vivid picture of how it all went down:
“Your two bare feet running through my yard
To the driver side of your two door car
There was an oil stain on the concrete
As you backed out into the street
I thought real hard about chasing you down
As I watched your taillights fade on out
And I never knew these boots could feel so damn heavy
That’s how you left me”
He also throws in some great lyrics about how he imagines her drive home going, hoping that he’ll be able to hear the train go by in the distance and that it would literally stop her in her tracks on “Dogwood Lane”.
He thinks that maybe, just maybe, it would be long enough for her to change her mind and go back to him:
“I was hoping I’d hear that midnight train
It’d hold you up down Dogwood Lane
And maybe you’d have time to think about turning around”
On top of all the beautiful imagery, his raspy, strong vocals shine with this specific production. And really, if you’re a country music fan, how can you not love a good old fashioned break-up tune?
Like I’ve said before, break-up songs are his bread and butter, and you absolutely cannot go wrong with this one:
