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.”
To Be Loved by You
Parker McCollum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Finding out why shouldn't take this long
Easier said than done, I guess
I'm a little bit harder to love than the rest
Why does this have to be so hard?
Doin' my best to hold your heart
And I, I'll never let it go again
So why are you always angry?
Why are you always quiet?
Why do you sleep alone
When I know you don't like it?
Maybe you might be different
Would it kill you to tell me the truth
What in the hell does a man
Have to do
To be loved by you?
Well, I've been running as fast as I can
And you'll never get over what you can't understand
Pissed off, hanging up the telephone
Forever ain't far, I'm heading home
Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong
Last time you ever gonna find me gone
And I, I'll never let you go again
So why are you always angry?
Why are you always quiet?
Why do you sleep alone
When I know you don't like it?
Maybe you might be different
Would it kill you to tell me the truth
What in the hell does a man
Have to doTo be loved by
You?
So why are you always angry?
Why are you always quiet?
Why do you sleep alone
When I know you don't like it?
Maybe you might be different
Would it kill you to tell me the truth
What in the hell does a man
Have to do
To be loved by you?
To be loved by you
To be loved by you
To be loved by you
In "To Be Loved By You," Parker McCollum is wrestling with the challenges of maintaining a relationship with someone who seems elusive and difficult to please. He recognizes that he might not have all the answers and that resolving the issues between them won't be easy, but he's willing to do whatever it takes to hold onto the love he feels for this person. Throughout the song, he pleads for honesty and clarity, wondering why his partner can't seem to open up to him and share what's going on inside.
McCollum's lyrics reveal a deep sense of frustration and confusion as he tries to navigate the complexities of this relationship. He recognizes that he has shortcomings, but he seems to be struggling with someone who is not meeting him halfway, someone who always seems to be angry or withdrawn. Despite the difficulties, however, he remains committed, refusing to give up on this person who he feels so strongly about. By the end of the song, he's finally taking a stand, no longer willing to be drawn into pointless arguments or fights, and demanding that his partner either start communicating with him or let him go.
Overall, "To Be Loved By You" is a moving and poignant exploration of the many challenges that can arise in relationships. It's a powerful statement about the importance of communication and honesty, and it shows just how difficult it can be to maintain a strong and healthy bond with someone you love.
Line by Line Meaning
Hell, maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong
I am not sure if I am right or wrong about us
Finding out why shouldn't take this long
I want to know what's wrong and fix it quickly
Easier said than done, I guess
I know it's not easy, but I want to try
I'm a little bit harder to love than the rest
I know I am not easy to love, but I want to be loved by you
Why does this have to be so hard?
I don't understand why it's so difficult for us
Doin' my best to hold your heart
I am doing my best to keep our love alive
And I, I'll never let it go again
I will never let our love slip away again
Why are you always angry?
I don't understand why you are always upset with me
Why are you always quiet?
I wish you would talk to me more and be open with me
Why do you sleep alone
When I know you don't like it?
I wish we could share a bed and be close like we used to be
Maybe you might be different
Would it kill you to tell me the truth
I hope you can be honest with me and maybe we can work things out
What in the hell does a man
Have to do
To be loved by you?
I don't understand what I need to do to make you love me
Well, I've been running as fast as I can
I have been trying my hardest to make things right
And you'll never get over what you can't understand
I hope we can work through our problems and understand each other
Pissed off, hanging up the telephone
Forever ain't far, I'm heading home
I am angry and frustrated, but I still want to be with you
Last time you ever gonna find me gone
I promise I won't leave you again
To be loved by you
All I want is to be loved by you
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Parker Yancey McCollum, Rhett Akins
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind