With more than 64 million albums sold worldwide, 18 #1 singles, with seven as co-writes, Seven Grammys, and countless other accolades---all achieved with four albums in less than eight years---some artists might feel as though they’d earned the right to rest on their laurels, but not Carrie Underwood. Fueled by a restless creative spirit, good-natured competitive streak and abundance of God-given talent, Carrie unleashes her most ambitious project yet with Blown Away.
Teaming again with producer Mark Bright, Carrie delivers a 14-song collection that covers a particularly vast expanse of emotional territory. She celebrates the understated pleasures of small town living in “Thank God for Hometowns” and explores the exquisite fragility of life in “Forever Changed.” She’s not averse to tackling abuse and betrayal then doling out a little sweet revenge with such compelling tracks as “Blown Away” and “Two Black Cadillacs.” Musically the songs range from rollicking up-tempo anthems, such as the hit first single “Good Girl” to the island-flavored escape of “One Way Ticket” and the steel guitar-laced country lament of “Wine After Whiskey.”
Such musical and lyrical diversity is the foundation of Carrie’s artistry. After all, this is a young woman who has performed with Steven Tyler on a top-rated edition of CMT’s “Crossroads,” scored a No. 1 country hit with good friend Brad Paisley on “Remind Me,” and sang with the iconic Tony Bennett on the 2012 Grammy telecast, delivering the classic “It Had to be You,” their collaboration on Bennett’s Duets II album.
The Oklahoma native is a fan of all types of music, yet she’s purposefully planted herself in the country format, even while her eclectic tastes have influenced her creative output. She’s been careful to not get pigeonholed and prides herself on not being predictable. “I feel like I’ve taken all of my albums into as many different directions as possible while still keeping them cohesive,” she says. “I love this album from start to finish and love every song on it. There’s not one single song that’s like another song I’ve ever done. I think it’s my best album. I really do think there’s something for everyone.”
Her ability to be unique yet accessible has been crucial to Carrie’s career from the beginning. She became America’s sweetheart in 2005 when she won the fourth season of American Idol, a vehicle that transformed her from a shy Oklahoma girl with a great voice to a budding superstar. Since then she’s become the popular franchise’s most successful alumni.
She’s won a vast array of awards including three female vocalist awards from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). In 2010, when Carrie garnered her second win as ACM Entertainer of the Year, she became the first female artist to win the award twice, and only the 7th female to take the award in the 40-year history of the ACM category, among Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, and the Dixie Chicks. Carrie also received the ACM Triple Crown Award, thanks to her past wins for the categories of Entertainer of the Year, Top Female Vocalist and Top New Female Vocalist, which has been won by only one other female artist – Barbara Mandrell in 2004. In addition to the above, Carrie’s won 7 American Music Awards, 6 People’s Choice Awards, 9 CMT Music Awards, 9 American Country Awards, and 7 BMI Songwriter Awards. Carrie also received a Golden Globe nomination in 2010 for “Best Original Song” for “There’s A Place For Us” from Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader which she both recorded and co-wrote.
Carrie’s 2005 debut Some Hearts topped Billboard’s Country Albums chart for 27 weeks, has sold over 7 million copies, and was voted #1 Country Album of the Decade by Billboard. Both her 2007 sophomore album, Carnival Ride and 2009’s Play On debuted at No. 1. Her current album, Blown Away, debuted atop the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, where it held the No. 1 spot for two consecutive weeks. Over the course of four albums, she’s saturated country radio with such hits as “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” “Before He Cheats,” “So Small,” “Last Name,” “Just A Dream,” “Cowboy Casanova,” “Temporary Home,” “All-American Girl,” “Undo It,” “Mama’s Song,” “Good Girl,” and “Blown Away.”
Carrie’s highly acclaimed concert tours have further helped to establish her into the elite status of the country music community, or in any genre of music, with her stellar performances. In 2008, after wrapping her “Carnival Ride Tour” she became the top selling country female touring artist of the year selling out many of the 137 shows before 1.2 million fans. In that year, Carrie also became the most-heard artist at country radio and was named the #1 Hot Country Songs Artist by Billboard and #1 Top Country Artist by Radio & Records. In 2010, her next headline arena tour, the “Play On Tour,” played 108 shows with one million fans attending which resulted in Carrie being named again as the top-ranked female country touring artist of the year. Carrie is currently on her critically-acclaimed international “Blown Away Tour”, which began at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall, and continued throughout Australia, before launching in North America in September of 2012.
Carrie is a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry and expanded her resume making her acting debut in the 2011 film “Soul Surfer.” She can be seen in print and TV ads as the North American face of Olay beauty products, and has a long-running deal with vitaminwater®. One of Country Music’s most respected young ambassadors, Carrie has served as co-host of the CMA Awards with Brad Paisley the past five years.
Yet for those who think they know Carrie, Blown Away is likely to catch them by surprise, particularly the cinematic title track with its swirling, atmospheric production and intense lyric about abuse and revenge. “I got chills,” she says of the first time she heard the Josh Kear/Chris Tompkins penned stunner. “I remember where I was when I heard it and called my manager and said, ‘Do not let anyone else have this song. It’s my song’ . . . It’s such a visual song. You listen to it and you can see everything that is happening. It’s so dramatic. I’m not a drama person, but when you can make a movie in song form in 3 ½ minutes, it’s surreal.”
“Blown Away” finds a daughter getting revenge on an abusive, alcoholic father and the next song, “Two Black Cadillacs,” also has a larger-than-life cinematic quality which makes both tunes feel like mini-movies set to music. “Two Black Cadillacs” relates the story of a wife and mistress who conspire to get even with the man who betrayed them both. “It’s just more drama,” says Carrie, who co-wrote the tune with Josh Kear and Hillary Lindsey. “It was so much fun creating all this drama and singing about it. That’s the great thing about being an entertainer; you’re just a big actor. When we start sitting down and writing songs, you just never know what’s going to come out.”
Carrie co-wrote eight of the 14 songs on Blown Away, including the first single, Good Girl" which reached number 1 on the country airplay charts and is certified platinum. ‘Good Girl’ was one of the last ones I wrote for the album,” she says of the tune she penned with Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley. “We wanted something a little more fun and up-tempo. Chris DeStefano is just a mad scientist with his Pro Tools and he can play every instrument. We walked out of that writing session with a demo. It sounded awesome. It was ready to go. We let everybody hear it and everybody was so excited.”
“Cupid’s Got a Shotgun” is another of the album’s high-energy tracks and it gets an extra kick from Paisley contributing his signature guitar licks. “Once we got into the studio, I was like Brad Paisley HAS to play on this. He’ll make the song,” Carrie says of the tune, she wrote with Kear and Tompkins. “We left so much space in the song for him to come in and play. He did his thing and sounded awesome. He added that last piece of the puzzle and it’s just so country. It’s really cool.”
In addition to being musically inventive, Carrie has long been known for delivering songs with substance, and the new album delivers its share of potent messages. “Nobody Ever Told You,” which Carrie wrote with Luke Laird and Hillary Lindsey, boasts an empowering lyric and a breezy, engaging melody. “People need to hear compliments more,” she says of the song’s life-affirming lyric. “People need to hear ‘I love you’ more. People need to hear ‘You are beautiful’ more.”
“Good in Goodbye,” co-written by Carrie, Lindsey and Ryan Tedder, is a bittersweet look at life beyond heartbreak that offers tender truth in the lines “As bad as it was/As bad as it hurt/I thank God I didn’t get what I thought I deserved.” On the other end of the emotional spectrum, “Thank God for Hometowns” is a sweet salute to small town life. “I heard that one when I was going back to my 10 year high school reunion,” the Checotah, OK native says. “I listened to the demo when I was driving in to go stay with my parents. It was just very fitting in my heart at that time.”
“Forever Changed” is a beautiful ballad that brings tears to Carrie’s eyes as she discusses it. “I had a hard time recording it and I still have a hard time listening to it,” she says of the Tom Douglas/Hillary Lindsey/James T. Slater penned ballad. “That is the most wonderfully well written song I’ve ever heard in my life. There’s this young girl meeting the love of her life, getting married and having a baby. It takes you back in time and there is something old fashioned about it. At the end, the mom’s obviously slipping a way a little bit. It is a sad song, but it’s not meant to be a sad song. It’s about love, being forever changed, forever loved.”
In a few short years, Carrie has seen the power music has to change lives---to incite dialog, to instill hope, and to simply entertain. She’s aware of the platform she’s been given. She respects it and appreciates every moment. “I’m very happy in my life and I count my blessings every day,” she says. “Seven years ago when I decided to try out for American Idol, my life changed completely in the blink of an eye. I went down a different train track and took off at about a million miles per hour. I feel like I’m still learning. In the beginning, it was like, ‘Oh, I have a No. 1. That’s awesome!’ I didn’t really understand what that meant. ‘Jesus, Take The Wheel’ and ‘Before He Cheats’ were No. 1 for several weeks, and that doesn’t happen often, but I had no idea. I realize now what hard work it actually is and I feel like I can appreciate those victories even more. Touring is more fun because I know what it’s like to headline a tour. I feel like I’m able to be more and more creative all the time. I always feel like I’m taking steps forward.”
This Time
Carrie Underwood Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's makin' me feel this way tonight
Maybe it's the words you left unsaid
Maybe it's the stardust in my hand
But I wanna tell ya
That my heart is burstin' at the seams, yeah and
I can't wait another minute
Life is short, love is sweet
Ain't no time like this time baby
Maybe it's the way that the night is still
Or the sound of the rain on my windowsill
That's making all the pieces fit
Makin' it all make perfect sense
But I wanna tell ya
That my heart is burstin' at the seams, yeah and
I can't wait another minute
Life is short, love is sweet
Ain't no time like this time baby
Oh, yeah
Goes by so fast
Can't get it back
There ain't no time
Like this time
Yeah, I just wanna tell ya
That my heart is burstin' at the seams, yeah and
I can't wait another minute
Oh, life is short, love is sweet
Ain't no time like this time baby
My little baby
Maybe it's the way that the stars are aligned
And there ain't no time
Ain't no time
Ain't no time
Like this time baby
Oh yeah
Maybe it's the way that the night is still
Or the sound of the rain on my windowsill
Yeah, yeah
In "This Time," Carrie Underwood sings about the importance of seizing the moment in a relationship. The lyrics suggest that there is no better time than now to express one's feelings of love and devotion. Underwood hints at the idea that there are mystical forces at work, with lines such as "Maybe it's the way the stars are aligned" and "Maybe it's the stardust in my hand." She also points out that life is short, and that it's crucial to take these chances when they arise. The song suggests that there may be no second chances in love, and that the present moment is all we have.
Moreover, the imagery of the song works to support the overall theme of the lyrics. The quietness of the night, combined with the sound of rain on the windowsill, helps to create a sense of intimacy, as well as urgency. The words are left unsaid, but the stardust in hand and the gently falling rain do a lot of talking. Underwood's voice, with its characteristic country twang, helps to convey the intense emotions she's feeling, and the words she's withholding.
So, "This Time" is a song about seizing the moment, expressing the love you feel for someone, and not waiting for another chance to come along. The lyrics are poignant and heartfelt, and the music is perfectly suited to the genre. It's a perfect example of modern country music, with its themes of love, loss, and redemption.
Line by Line Meaning
Maybe it's the way that the stars are aligned
I'm feeling a strong connection tonight, maybe it's because the universe is perfectly aligned
That's makin' me feel this way tonight
This feeling is so strong and unexplainable
Maybe it's the words you left unsaid
There are some unspoken words that are making me feel this way
Maybe it's the stardust in my hand
I'm holding something magical in my hand and that's making me feel different tonight
But I wanna tell ya
I need to tell you something important
That my heart is burstin' at the seams, yeah and
I'm overwhelmed with emotions, I feel like my heart is going to explode
I can't wait another minute
I can't hold these feelings in any longer
Life is short, love is sweet
Life is too short to waste time, and love is a precious thing
Ain't no time like this time baby
I want to express my feelings now, because there's no better time than now
Maybe it's the way that the night is still
The quietness of the night is making me feel serene and peaceful
Or the sound of the rain on my windowsill
The sound of raindrops on my window is making me feel contemplative and introspective
That's making all the pieces fit
Everything is finally making sense to me now
Makin' it all make perfect sense
It's like all the pieces of the puzzle are finally fitting together
Goes by so fast
Time goes by so fast, it's important to live in the moment
Can't get it back
Once the moment's gone, it's gone forever
There ain't no time
We shouldn't waste our time on trivial matters
Like this time
This moment is special and shouldn't be missed
Yeah, I just wanna tell ya
I really need to emphasize how important this moment is
Oh, life is short, love is sweet
Life can be unpredictable and short, so love should be cherished
Ain't no time like this time baby
This moment is truly unique and special, it's important to make the most of it
My little baby
You are my little love, and I want to share this moment with you
And there ain't no time
Time is fleeting, we need to make the most of every moment
Like this time
This moment is too precious to be wasted on trivial matters
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HILLARY LINDSEY, STEVE MC EWAN, GORDIE SAMPSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind