Career
Carly Pearce was born in Taylor Mill, Kentucky. She dropped out of school when she was 16 and moved to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in order to perform at Dollywood five times a week, in addition to contributing to bluegrass music compilation albums. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee when she was 19. She signed a developmental deal with Sony Music Nashville in 2012, which was ultimately unsuccessful.
In 2016, she was a featured vocalist on Josh Abbott Band's "Wasn't That Drunk", which charted in the top 40 of Country Airplay. Pearce also toured with the band to perform the song, including a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The song's success led to her working with songwriter and producer busbee on her solo debut single "Every Little Thing". After this song received airplay on Sirius XM's "The Highway" channel, Pearce gained a contract with Big Machine Records, which released the single to country radio on February 22. The song also received a music video, which features Pearce performing the song live at Brown Owl Studio. On October 13th, 2017 her first studio album named after the title track "Every Little Thing" was released.
At the time of its release, Pearce established herself further with further musical projects. This included touring with Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett, and Blake Shelton. Her next single release, "Hide the Wine", was spawned from her 2017 album. It became Pearce's second major hit, reaching number 13 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in 2018. The same year, she issued a single that was to be the lead release of her upcoming second studio album. Entitled "Closer to You", the song was released in November 2018 and reached the top 40 of the Billboard country charts.
In October 2019, Pearce released a second single from her upcoming second studio album. The song, "I Hope You're Happy Now", was a duet with country artist Lee Brice. The song was her second to reach the number one spot on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. After taking time to marry singer Michael Ray, her self-titled second studio album was issued in February 2020. It would be Busbee's final production project before his death in 2019. It debuted at number six on the Top Country Albums list and number 73 on the Billboard 200.
In June 2020, Pearce revealed that she was recording new music and that her next single will not be a track off of her second album. In September 2020, she released the single, "Next Girl". In February 2021, Pearce released her first extended play, “29”. The album's name was derived from personal setbacks she endured during her twenty ninth year. These events included her divorce from singer, Michael Ray, and the death of her long-time producer, Busbee. The EP received praise from critics, with American Songwriter calling it an "exquisite seven song collection.". Following its release, "Next Girl" reached the top 15 of the Billboard country airplay chart
In June 2021, Pearce was invited by Dolly Parton to become a cast member of the Grand Ole Opry. A month later, she announced the release of her third studio album titled 29: Written in Stone alongside the promotional single "Dear Miss Loretta", a tribute to Loretta Lynn featuring Patty Loveless. The album was a continuation of her 2021 EP. It was officially released in September 2021. It reached number nine on the Billboard country albums chart and number 83 on the Billboard 200. The disc received positive reviews from critics, including AllMusic, which praised her "vulnerability" and Variety, which highlighted its traditional musical sound. The disc spawned the 2021 single, "Never Wanted to Be That Girl", a duet with Ashley McBryde. It became Pearce's third single to top the Billboard Country Airplay chart. In October 2022, Pearce headlined two sold-out shows at the Ryman Auditorium. The album's third single "What He Didn't Do" reached number one on the Aircheck/Mediabase chart, becoming the first woman in 80 weeks to top the country radio charts with a solo track.
In early 2023, Pearce won her first accolade from the Grammy Awards for her performance on "Never Wanted to Be That Girl". In March 2023, Pearce's first live album was released titled 29: Written in Stone (Live from Music City). It featured the entirety of her previous album, along with several additional tracks and special guests.
In 2024, Pearce announced the release of her next studio album Hummingbird. The original release was scheduled for June 14, but Pearce pushed the release date to June 7 to correspond with CMA Fest. Hummingbird rose to number 31 on the US country albums chart. Its lead single "We Don't Fight Anymore" (featuring Chris Stapleton), reached the US country top ten in 2024.
Feel Somethin'
Carly Pearce Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been flying every flag, shooting every gun on this battleground
I've been a wreck on the side of the road hoping you might look at me
I don't know where you stand 'cause you're too afraid to show anything
Oh, make me laugh, make me cry
Make me wish we'd never met
Make me feel somethin'And if it hurts, it's alright
At least I know that we're not dead
Make me feel somethin'
Make me feel somethin'
You're the vodka I drink every night but I don't ever get drunk
You're the knife turning in my heart but I'm way too numb
When did you stop trying, when did I become so comatose?
If love's a drug, I wish I that I could overdose
Oh, make me laugh, make me cry
Make me wish we'd never met
Make me feel somethin'
And if it hurts, it's alright
At least I know that we're not dead
Make me feel somethin'
I wanna feel you
I wanna feel you
Make me feel somethin'
Sleepwalking through another day where everything feels so polite
But we don't pay attention to the bed we're in and we don't fight
And all that's different is so indifferent lately
And if you love me enough, love me enough to hate me
And make me laugh, make me cryMake me wish we'd never met
Make me feel somethin'
And if it hurts, it's alright
At least I know that we're not dead
Make me feel somethin'
Make me laugh, make me cry
Make me wish we'd never met
Make me feel somethin'
And if it hurts, it's alright
At least I know that we're not dead
Make me feel somethin'
I wanna feel you
I wanna feel you
Make me feel somethin'
In Carly Pearce’s song, “Feel Somethin’”, the lyrics express the longing for passion and emotion in a relationship that has become stagnant. The metaphor of an elevator going down is used to describe the plummeting feeling of the relationship, while the imagery of a battlefield evokes a sense of intensity and conflict. The persona in the song has been reduced to a mess, waiting on the side of the road for a glimpse of attention from their partner. They express frustration with their partner’s inability to show their true feelings, even though the persona is willing to endure pain as long as they can feel something.
The chorus echoes this sentiment, with the persona demanding that their partner make them feel something - even if it hurts. The allusion to vodka and a knife symbolises the way that the persona is trying in vain to get a reaction from their partner, but to no avail. The persona longs for the passion and excitement that came with the beginning of the relationship and questions when their partner stopped trying. The bridge of the song speaks to the tedium and apathy that has seeped into the relationship, with the persona longing for their partner to hate them if it meant they could feel something.
Overall, “Feel Somethin’” is a poignant expression of the longing for passion and emotion in a relationship that has become too comfortable and predictable.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been pushing every button on an elevator that's going down
I've been making wrong decisions and heading towards downfall.
I've been flying every flag, shooting every gun on this battleground
I've been trying my best to keep myself going in this tough phase of life.
I've been a wreck on the side of the road hoping you might look at me
I've been in a very bad condition, and hoping for the person I love to come and help me out.
I don't know where you stand 'cause you're too afraid to show anything
I'm clueless about your feelings as you're scared to show any emotions.
Oh, make me laugh, make me cry
I want to experience a plethora of emotions that come from being in love.
Make me wish we'd never met
I want the feeling to be so strong that it makes me wish to never have met you.
Make me feel somethin'
I want to feel a range of emotions, positive or negative, but at least something worth remembering.
And if it hurts, it's alright
Even if it's painful, it's better than not feeling anything and letting my life go by.
At least I know that we're not dead
I'd rather take feeling pain than feeling nothing because it tells me that I am still alive.
You're the vodka I drink every night but I don't ever get drunk
You're the one I turn to for comfort, but I can never get lost in you.
You're the knife turning in my heart but I'm way too numb
You are causing me pain, but I've become too numb to feel it.
When did you stop trying, when did I become so comatose?
When did you give up on us and when did I become so disconnected from everything?
If love's a drug, I wish I that I could overdose
If love is supposed to make me feel alive, then I wish I could experience a love so strong that it would make me feel like I am dying.
Sleepwalking through another day where everything feels so polite
I feel like I'm going through life without truly living it because everything seems so superficial.
But we don't pay attention to the bed we're in and we don't fight
We don't put enough effort into our relationship and don't try to fix things when they're not working out.
And all that's different is so indifferent lately
The little things that used to make us feel alive now just seem boring and meaningless.
And if you love me enough, love me enough to hate me
If you truly love me, please don't just ignore me, but also call me out on my mistakes so that we can work towards fixing things.
I wanna feel you
I want to connect with you on a deeper level than just physical intimacy.
Make me feel somethin'
I want you to make me feel something so I know I am still alive and not just going through the motions.
Make me laugh, make me cry
I want you to take me through every emotion, so I know that I am still capable of feeling them all.
And if it hurts, it's alright
I am willing to take the pain that comes with feeling something because it's better than feeling nothing at all.
At least I know that we're not dead
Feeling pain tells me that I am alive and that I still have a chance to make things better between us.
Lyrics © CTM Outlander Music LC, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Michael James Ryan Busbee, Natalie Nicole Hemby, Shane Lamar McAnally
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind