Like Gold Chain Cowboy, it pairs Parker with producer Jon Randall (Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley), a fellow Texan who understands exactly what fuels Parker’s artistry: authenticity, vulnerability, and a little bit of defiance. Never Enough bristles with honesty and attitude and is shot through with equal parts rock guitar and country songwriting.
“What I do best is write songs from a very real place and sing country music, but also be very ‘me’ and not try to sound like someone else,” Parker says. “We definitely did that on this record and every one of the 15 songs sounds different.”
Compare album opener “Hurricane” and the confessional ballad “Have Your Heart Again” to hear his point. “Hurricane,” a song about a strong-willed girl who blows through your life and leaves it in tatters, is a driving rock anthem with a guitar riff that calls to mind the theme from Friends (“I’m sure some people will hate on that, but I don’t give a shit,” Parker laughs. “I thought it was cool”). “Have Your Heart Again,” meanwhile, is a simple vocal-and-piano arrangement with Parker hitting a stunning falsetto note. The songs are each irresistible and unique, rich in lyrical imagery, and unlike anything you’ll hear coming out of Nashville today.
Credit that to Parker, as sturdy as a live oak, for knowing exactly who he is.
“This town can eat you alive, the music business can eat you alive, with artists trying to remain relevant and have hit songs. That’s something I never cared about when I’m writing or making a record,” he says. “I’m never thinking about singles. I’m trying to just write songs that can potentially stand the test of time. That’s the sole purpose of writing songs for me.”
Even Never Enough tracks that have since become gold-certified hits weren’t written with radio in mind. To Parker, “Handle on You” was just a drinking song with clever lyricism (“I tell myself that I should quit/but I don’t listen to drunks”) and a late-Eighties country sound as smooth as Tennessee whiskey or, perhaps, a Shiner Bock.
“That song is a nod to some of the great records I grew up with,” says Parker, who counts George Strait, Willie Nelson, and cult hero Chris Knight as chief inspirations. “A lot of radio songs nowadays are kind of bubble-gummy. I don’t have any problem with pop-country, but I’d like to hear a little more classic country too. My team kept saying ‘Handle on You’ was a radio song and I said, ‘If y’all put that on the radio, then hell yeah.’”
A mostly solitary songwriter prior to his entrée into Nashville, Parker has now written with some of country music’s finest. Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, and Liz Rose (a.k.a. The Love Junkies), David Lee Murphy, Brett James, and Ashley Gorley all contribute to Never Enough, along with Parker’s Texas peers Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen, and Ryan Beaver.
“That’s been the biggest change since coming to Nashville: having access to some of the best songwriters in the world and sitting in a room with them to write,” Parker says. “The way these songwriters care and write, it’s from a place that I think I do as well. It’s made me look at songwriting differently.”
The proof is in Parker’s chart history. He scored his first-ever No. 1 country hit with 2020’s “Pretty Heart,” his debut single. “To Be Loved by You” followed suit, also hitting No. 1. Now, he’s staring down a career-making single in “Burn It Down,” a moody, smoldering break-up song that equates a busted relationship to a house reduced to just ashes and smoke.
Written with the Love Junkies, “Burn It Down” was born during a writing session at Parker’s home, where he spontaneously started singing the words “burn it down” over and over again. “Some days are like that, where the melody and the idea for the song is so good and everybody is on the same page,” he says. “If you’re talking about moving the needle in my career, ‘Burn It Down’ is probably going to be the song.”
Parker lives for the type of spontaneous creation that happened that day. He’ll often challenge himself to write a song without changing a single word. He did that with “Too Tight This Time.” With a pretty acoustic guitar lick, a Dobro guest shot by Jerry Douglas, and a heavy dose of humility and introspection in Parker’s vocal performance, “Too Tight This Time” is Parker’s favorite track on Never Enough.
“I said, ‘Let’s pour this thing out and whatever it is in 15 minutes, that’s what it’s going to be forever.’ I love to write songs like that and live with the end result. This one was easy to do because the melody was so good,” he says. “The line ‘There must be something broken inside this lonely man’ just hits so hard.”
For all his quiet strength and rough-hewn masculinity, Parker isn’t afraid to bare his soul. But, ironically, one of the most personal songs on Never Enough is the only song he didn’t write: “Things I Never Told You,” penned by Monty Criswell, Lynn Hutton, and Taylor Phillips, parallels Parker’s relationship with his mother. “When I moved away from home/I didn’t realize how much I’d miss ya,” he sings. “A phone call don’t take the place/of your smilin’ face cooking in that kitchen.”
“Those lines were all in there. People send me songs all the time and I never really hear any that I’m blown away by,” he says. Currently getting ready for a massive summer tour, including stadium dates with Morgan Wallen, Parker debuted “Things I Never Told You” for his mother during rehearsals. “We were in this massive amphitheater and my mom came the last day and I sang it for her. It was pretty cool.”
To Parker, the gesture was a way to show he cared. Never Enough then is a testament to how much he cares about country music.
“Sometimes I wish I didn’t care so much because everything would be easier. Hopefully one day people will look back at what I’ve done in country music and think it was honest and good for the genre,” Parker says. “This album may be called Never Enough, but if they see that what I did was real, that’ll be enough for me.”
All Day
Parker McCollum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It ain't hard
I found the whole towns
Sweetest heart
Wake up lucky
Wake up high
There ain't nothin' in the mornin gonna make you feel this right
It's been all day
I thought I could take it
You done what you did
Oh everybody knows bout you lovin' on the Limestone Kid
Lie to me lady
Keep your love in disguise
Baby you can take my money
Just please dont ever leave my side
It's been all day
Feelin' like I'm still on what I took last night
And it's hard not to want it back
When it's the best I've ever known
And it's easy just to give on in
When I never seem to get you gone
Just couldn't shake it before the mornin light
Just couldn't shake it before the mornin ligh
Just couldn't shake it
Just couldn't shake it
Just couldn't shake it for the mornin light
Its been all day
Feelin' like I'm still on what i took
It's been all day
Feelin' like I'm still on what I took last night
The song "All Day" by Parker McCollum talks about the aftermath of a night where the singer took something and feels the effects all day long. It starts with the contradictory statement "It ain't easy, it ain't hard" indicating that sometimes things just happen and it's not easy or hard to deal with them. The next line talks about finding someone with a sweet heart in a small town. The chorus repeats that the singer feels like they are still on what they took the night before, all day long. In the next verse, the singer talks about a person whom everyone knows about, and who lied to them. Despite being lied to, the singer is still willing to do anything for this person, even give them money, as long as they don't leave their side. The song concludes with the singer admitting that they couldn't shake the effects of the night before, even until the morning light.
The song seems to be about the struggle to let go of a feeling, substance, or person. The language used in the song is simple and plain, with no complicated metaphors or poetic devices, making the emotions conveyed more immediate and relatable. The driving rhythm of the music adds to the sense of urgency and desperation in the lyrics. The lines that repeat twice in the song, "Just couldn't shake it before the mornin' light," emphasize the singer's difficulty in moving on from the night before.
Overall, "All Day" is a song that encapsulates the feeling of being stuck in a loop of wanting something you know is not good for you. The singer is struggling to shake off the effects of the night before, but they can't seem to move on. It's a relatable feeling for anyone who has struggled to let go of something or someone they know is not good for them.
Line by Line Meaning
It ain't easy
Life isn't simple
It ain't hard
Life isn't tough
I found the whole towns
I got to know everyone in town
Sweetest heart
Nicest person
Wake up lucky
Grateful for what I have
Wake up high
Feeling great
There ain't nothin' in the mornin gonna make you feel this right
Nothing feels as good as waking up like this
It's been all day
I've been feeling this way all day
Feelin' like I'm still on what I took last night
Feeling like I'm still under the influence of drugs from last night
I thought I could take it
I thought I could handle it
You done what you did
You did what you did
Oh everybody knows bout you lovin' on the Limestone Kid
Everyone knows about you being attracted to Limestone Kid
Lie to me lady
Deceive me, woman
Keep your love in disguise
Hide your feelings for me
Baby you can take my money
You can have my money
Just please dont ever leave my side
Please don't abandon me
And it's hard not to want it back
It's difficult to resist wanting it again
When it's the best I've ever known
When it's the best I've ever experienced
And it's easy just to give on in
It's easy to give in
When I never seem to get you gone
When I can't seem to forget you
Just couldn't shake it before the mornin light
Couldn't get over it before morning
Just couldn't shake it
Just couldn't let go
Just couldn't shake it for the mornin light
Couldn't let go before morning
Its been all day
I've been feeling this way all day
Feelin' like I'm still on what i took
Feeling like I'm still under the influence of drugs
It's been all day
I've been feeling this way all day
Feelin' like I'm still on what I took last night
Feeling like I'm still under the influence of drugs from last night
Contributed by Eva W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Elizabeth Robinson
All time favorite! Goodness, Parker can’t make a bad song. They are all incredible! ❤️❤️❤️
Renee Greene
Wow just wow I get so overwhelmed when I listen to your songs they are awesome and someone is very blessed to have you in this life to deserve all your hard work you put into your songs thank you for sharing ❤
Etho Thunderbird
One of the first songs I heard from him.. We need this guy to come back..
Elwood
Love this song. I can relate
Christopher Robertson
Man what a great jam.... Really makes a work day go by easier. Thx Mr. Limestone Kid!
RealTigerFan92
Bad ass jam keep it up brother big salute from Alabama love your music
lori worden
I learned..something in the past week. Almost lost my momma. I'm stronger now. I can love him like that. 😅
Andrew Olguin
Sounds like my drive from ft worth to Lubbock after last night lol. Great fuckin song.
barb quaid
I seen in Chicago last year for my birthday n I never heard this song! My new favorite bc of T. H,I love you ❤
Derek Flores
I’m 100% sure this song is about cocaine and I’m for it.