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.”
Pretty Heart
Parker McCollum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I knew that you were good
You were golden on the inside
And you loved me the best you could
I'm the one who dropped the ball
Got you high and let you fall
Let the best thing I ever had slip away
I could do you like I did
That I could break an angel's wings
What does that say about me?
That I stood there like a fence post
As you drove off in your car
What does that say about me
Now that I've broke your pretty heart?
Your pretty heart
I've been drinking like a drunkard
In these Austin neon lights
Burning smokes and wondering
If there's anything I've done right
Well I wish that I could go back
Hang on to what I had
Guess that's all, babe
Nothing but a dream
What does that say about me?
I could do you like I did
That I could break an angel's wings
What does that say about me?
That I stood there like a fence post
As you drove off in your car
What does that say about me
Now that I've broke your pretty heart?
Your pretty heart
What does that say about me?
I could do you like I did
That I could break an angel's wings
What does that say about me?
That I stood there like a fence post
As you drove off in your car
What does that say about me
Now that I've broke your pretty heart?
Your pretty heart
Your pretty heart
Your pretty heart
The lyrics of "Pretty Heart" by Parker McCollum tell the story of a man who reflects on his past relationship with a woman who loved him genuinely and sees himself as the reason for their downfall. He acknowledges that she was a good person, beautiful both inside and out, and loved him the best way she could. However, he failed to reciprocate her love and dropped the ball, causing her to fall and eventually slip away. He questions his actions and what they say about him as a person that he could hurt someone who was an angel in his eyes. He stood there as a fence post watching her drive away and now regrets breaking her pretty heart.
The song is a confession of the man's wrongdoing and the realization of the gravity of his actions. He has been drinking and trying to understand what he did right or wrong, wishing he could go back in time and hold onto what he had. He knows now that all he has is a dream, seemingly unattainable. He questions what kind of person he is for letting go of something so precious and causing someone pain who only loved him genuinely.
Overall, the song portrays a sense of regret and self-reflection. The singer acknowledges his mistakes and questions his behavior, leading the listener to realize that it is crucial to value and appreciate those who love us genuinely.
Line by Line Meaning
I didn't think I was a bad guy
Despite my actions, I thought I was a decent person
I knew that you were good
I recognized your inner goodness
You were golden on the inside
Your kindness and compassion glowed from within
And you loved me the best you could
You showed me the most love you were capable of
I'm the one who dropped the ball
I failed to keep up my end of the relationship
Got you high and let you fall
I led you into happiness and then caused your pain
Let the best thing I ever had slip away
I allowed the most valuable part of my life to slip away from me
What does that say about me
I am reflecting on my own character and actions
I've been drinking like a drunkard
I am consumed with regret and grief
In these Austin neon lights
I am seeking solace in my surroundings
Burning smokes and wondering
I am experimenting with harmful habits to cope
If there's anything I've done right
I am grappling with self-doubt and a sense of failure
Well I wish that I could go back
I am haunted by a desire to reverse time
Hang on to what I had
I regret not valuing what I had when I had it
Guess that's all, babe
I am coming to an acceptance of my situation
Nothing but a dream
My relationship with you is over and can only exist in my dreams
Now that I've broke your pretty heart?
I acknowledge that I hurt you deeply
Your pretty heart
I am specifically referring to the beauty that was in your heart
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Parker Yancey Mccollum, Randy Montana
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@blobVR
The saddest part of life is when the person who gave you the best memories becomes a memory.
@timmytwotone65
Agree 💯Been there…
@greyfive4691
This song speaks directly to me. My own ignorance and unchecked emotions cost me the most golden hearted person I had ever met. 5 years gone because of me.
@timkreisher2890
Yep, we alll fuck up, it stays forever
@nancysiler
Yep, me too! I did the same thong, like a fool!
@arelygranadosgonzalez9109
Go get her back !!!!
@CJ-dr7ic
Yep. I kept hearing this song at work and finally sat down and gave it a listen. 7 years we were together..after 6 months I tried to reach out..I broke an angels wings. And I think about it every damn day.
@bobbywilliams780
I’m 4 years lost from mine. We worked together in the same building. Just before she divorced me, she moved to a different building but still in the same company. I reached out to her last week, I found a box in my attic of hers a few months back. Took me three months to work up the nerve to message her. She said she’s coming back to my building and we could meet before work to exchange some stuff. I’m not sure I can do it, I was so broken when she left….seeing her may kill me for sure. I don’t know what to do
@dwight6263
Is it just me or is this actually some of the best music out there?
@JasonMaldonado-mg9xk
It’s not just you