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.”
Falling apart
Parker McCollum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Forever almost never turns out that way
No, I didn't mean to do you wrong
Getting it right just took too long
Maybe you are better with someone else
Maybe I just saved you from myself
When I left you in the dark
The writing on the wall just wasn't enough
You were falling in love and I was falling apart
But it's no secret, honey, I'm a wreck
Everything I touch becomes a mess
Same old story on every page
Yeah the endings never change
Maybe you are better with someone else
Maybe I just saved you from myself
When I left you in the dark
Girl, I knew you'd never call my bluff
The writing on the wall just wasn't enough
You were falling in love and I was falling apart
Girl, someday you're gonna find someone who doesn't waste your time
Baby, you are better with someone else
Maybe I just saved you from myself
When I left you in the dark
Girl, I knew you'd never call my bluff
The writing on the wall just wasn't enough
You were falling in love and I was falling apart
Parker McCollum's song "Falling Apart" depicts a story about two people who were in love, but their relationship didn't work out as expected. The lyrics emphasize that happy endings are rare these days, and sometimes even when we try our best, we fail to make the right choices. At the same time, the song acknowledges the fact that sometimes it's better to let go of someone whom we love dearly to save them from ourselves.
The lyrics also depict the singer's realization that he was falling apart, and his actions resulted in hurting the person he loved. He knew he was not the right person for her, and he left her in the dark, thinking that it was better for her to call it off. The line "Maybe you're better with someone else" shows his understanding that he was not the right fit for her. The song ends with a message of hope for the girl, reassuring her that she'll eventually find someone who doesn't waste her time, and that they both are better off with someone else.
Line by Line Meaning
Happy ever after never happens much these days
Nowadays it is uncommon for relationships to have a long-lasting happy ending
Forever almost never turns out that way
The idea of forever rarely becomes a reality in most relationships
No, I didn't mean to do you wrong
I didn't intentionally harm you
Getting it right just took too long
I couldn't make things work no matter how hard I tried
Maybe you are better with someone else
Perhaps being with another person would be better for you
Maybe I just saved you from myself
It's possible that leaving you was the best decision for both of us
When I left you in the dark
I ended things while keeping you in the dark about my true reasons for doing so
Girl, I knew you'd never call my bluff
I knew you wouldn't question my decision to end things
The writing on the wall just wasn't enough
The warning signs were present, but they weren't enough to prevent the relationship from falling apart
You were falling in love and I was falling apart
While you were getting more invested in the relationship, I was struggling and falling apart emotionally
But it's no secret, honey, I'm a wreck
It's no surprise that I have a lot of emotional issues and struggles
Everything I touch becomes a mess
I seem to have a negative impact on everything I come into contact with
Same old story on every page
My life seems to be a repetitive cycle of the same problems
Yeah the endings never change
The outcomes of situations always seem to turn out the same way for me
Girl, someday you're gonna find someone who doesn't waste your time
One day, you will find someone who will value and respect your time and emotions
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jon Randall, Miranda Lambert, Parker Yancey Mccollum, Randall W Rogers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@arunmusic26
Lyrics
Happy ever after never happens much these days
Forever almost never turns out that way
No I didn't mean to do you wrong
Getting it right just took too long
Maybe you are better with someone else
Maybe I just saved you from myself
When I left you in the dark
Girl, I knew you'd never call my bluff
The writing on the wall just wasn't enough
You were falling in love and I was falling apart
It's no secret, honey, I'm a wreck
Everything I touch becomes a mess
Same old story on every page
Yeah the endings never change
Maybe you are better with someone else
Maybe I just saved you from myself
When I left you in the dark
Girl, I knew you'd never call my bluff
The writing on the wall just wasn't enough
You were falling in love and I was falling apart
Girl, someday you're gonna find someone who doesn't waste your time
Maybe you are better with someone else
Maybe I just saved you from myself
When I left you in the dark
Girl, I knew you'd never call my bluff
The writing on the wall just wasn't enough
You were falling in love and I was falling apart
(also i write songs inspired by Jeremy Zucker/Lauv. I'd love if you give a shot to my music and subscribe 'cause most probably you won't regret<3have a good day:)
@chasebrimm5628
Why all the songs from this album perfection 🤙🏻
@kyleemata7672
fr
@happycheese5135
Because it's a Parker McCollum album, duh
@jamesrobert2861
A
@pandadragonmcyt8114
@@jamesrobert2861 +
@LynSpooner
I’m blown away that you sang this PERFECTLY, and then to find out Miranda wrote it? 🔥🔥
@parkermccollumfanpage3809
Hello 😘❤️ Thank you for your love and support. Thank you for the likes and comments on my Page. I appreciate your love and support towards my career. Many thanks to you for being a supportive member… ❤️❤️❤️
Where are you supporting me from ?
@arunmusic26
Lyrics
Happy ever after never happens much these days
Forever almost never turns out that way
No I didn't mean to do you wrong
Getting it right just took too long
Maybe you are better with someone else
Maybe I just saved you from myself
When I left you in the dark
Girl, I knew you'd never call my bluff
The writing on the wall just wasn't enough
You were falling in love and I was falling apart
It's no secret, honey, I'm a wreck
Everything I touch becomes a mess
Same old story on every page
Yeah the endings never change
Maybe you are better with someone else
Maybe I just saved you from myself
When I left you in the dark
Girl, I knew you'd never call my bluff
The writing on the wall just wasn't enough
You were falling in love and I was falling apart
Girl, someday you're gonna find someone who doesn't waste your time
Maybe you are better with someone else
Maybe I just saved you from myself
When I left you in the dark
Girl, I knew you'd never call my bluff
The writing on the wall just wasn't enough
You were falling in love and I was falling apart
(also i write songs inspired by Jeremy Zucker/Lauv. I'd love if you give a shot to my music and subscribe 'cause most probably you won't regret<3have a good day:)
@tonibruno3637
Best song on the album!
@tammysmith3497
thats because Miranda Lambert wrote it!!