Carrie Underwood’s Storyteller album releases this Friday, October 23rd, and Carrie talks with us about the 13 songs that make up her fifth studio album. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)
“Renegade Runaway” (Carrie Underwood/Chris DeStefano/Hillary Lindsey) (:41)
“‘Renegade Runaway’ — she’s a love ’em leave ’em – she is dangerous. She’s wild. She’s not cold, like, it’s not like she’s evil or anything. She’s just…she can’t be tamed. She knows what she wants, and like, she’s good. She doesn’t need anybody to complete her. The song as a whole has this great, like, western, like, Young Guns kind of feel to it. But it’s just a fun song about this free spirit who just doesn’t have time for any man.”
“Dirty Laundry” (Zach Crowell/Ashley Gorley/Hillary Lindsey) (1:14)
“‘Dirty Laundry’ kind of starts out this story about the whole lipstick-on-the-collar kind of thing. I mean, it’s not lipstick, but it’s a take on a cheater in a familiar way, with the lipstick on the collar and the red wine, and like, there’s all these tell-tale signs that he was with another woman, and it shows on his dirty laundry. But it’s also like, she airs it out for the whole world to see, you know, metaphorically and literally, airs his dirty laundry out (laughs) to the world, strings it up on the porch. In case you feel like comin’ back, this is gonna be a reminder to you not to do that. She’s gonna tell everybody everything — every lowdown, dirty thing that you did. So it’s a woman fed up, but she does something about it, too. She kicks him out, and she also kind of ruins his reputation. (laughs) So, yeah, it’s a good, strong, empowering song, again, on a familiar storyline but a definite new take on it and a new twist on it that’s really fresh and cool.”
“Church Bells” (Zach Crowell/Brett James/Hillary Lindsey) (1:04)
“‘Church Bells’ is…it’s like Fancy’s little sister (laughs) — Reba and ‘Fancy.’ And she gets out and makes a name for herself by, you know, she’s got her dancin’ dress and all that stuff. And this one’s kind of…she starts out, you know, she’s young, she’s pretty, she’s poor — doin’ what she can to survive, meets a man that has a lot of wealth and is supposed to, you know, take care of her and get her out of this. And she ends up with him, and he ends up not being a good guy at all, and it forces her to be strong, and it forces her to do something that she never thought she’d be able to do. Again, it’s just one of those, there’s a beginning, there’s a middle, and there’s resolution at the end of the song. It’s a movie in song form. And a lot happens in, like, three and a half minutes. And it’s just a cool story of a strong woman.”
“Heartbeat” (Carrie Underwood/Zach Crowell/Ashley Gorley) (1:17)
“‘Heartbeat,’ is…it’s definitely in some ways, it’s me: it’s my story. It’s, you know…my husband and I are so lucky to be able to, like, go to so many events and things. And you know, we live our lives, like, in the public and around people, but I’m the kind of person I just want to be alone with him and be one on one. And I don’t typically do very many love songs, but ‘Heartbeat,’ when we were writing it, just, there was something so real about it. And it was like, you know, all that stuff’s great, hangin’ out with our friends is great, being around all these crowds and these people are, you know, it’s wonderful, but I just want you. And that’s all I need, and you know, we’re gonna drive out to where we can’t be touched. We can’t be touched by technology, and we can’t be interrupted, and it’s just gonna be the two of us. And it’s just something I feel like a lot of people will be able to relate to because we live in just this crazy, loud world where just so much stuff is flyin’ at us. Sometimes we just need to get back to what’s simple and what’s real.”
“Smoke Break” (Carrie Underwood/Chris DeStefano/Hillary Lindsey) (:42)
“‘Smoke Break’ is all about the overworked, the tired, the people that just run to catch up. You’re just trying to meet expectations — your own expectations, your family’s expectations, your work expectations. Like, everybody’s just trying to reach something that’s just out of reach and working so hard to do it. And the crazy thing is, whatever you’re…there’s always gonna be something out of reach. There’s always gonna be something that you’re gonna be just running yourself ragged to be tryin’ to do. And ‘Smoke Break’ is all about just takin’ a step away for just a minute and being able to clear your head and collect your thoughts.”
“Choctaw County Affair” (Jason White) (:33)
“When I first got the demo sent to me of ‘Choctaw County Affair,’ my brain immediately went to, like, it’s a cheatin’ song — you know, like affair. And so it actually took me a few (laughs) days to listen to it, and then as soon as I did, and I heard, like, the swampiness of it, and then the (singing) oh, oh, oh, ooh, ooh, like in the beginning, I was just like, ‘Ah! What is this?!’ Like, ‘This isn’t at all what I thought it was gonna be!’ So I, you know, turn it up and get sucked into the story.”
“Like I’ll Never Love You Again” (Hillary Lindsey/Lori McKenna/Liz Rose) (:48)
“‘Like I’ll Never Love You Again,’ to me, there’s something so special about this song because it was so real and the way it just paints the picture of the couple and her wanting to just give herself to him. And like, ‘I want to love you like I’ll never love you again,’ and the pictures that it paints are very real, like them listening to records and havin’ wine, and it’s just real. It’s real love. It’s a conversation that anybody could have with their partner, with their mate, with the person that they love more than anything, you know, on this planet. So it’s real, and those are the best kinds of love songs, movies, like, the ones that are real.”
“Chaser” (Carrie Underwood/Mike Elizondo/Hillary Lindsey) (1:05)
“‘Chaser’ is definitely…there’s, like, a few different ways that ‘chaser’ is being used (laughs) in the song. You know, she needs something strong tonight because of this guy who is the kind of guy that chases after what he can’t have. And he…eventually, when she realizes this, she says just, ‘Chase her, just go after her, just leave me alone – I’m done, ’cause this is the kind of person that you are.’ So, it’s not a revenge song, it’s not a oh-love-lost-and-I’m-sad-about-it song, it’s like, oh, this is the kind of guy you are, and this is the kind of girl I am, so I’m just gonna let you go. Like, I’m not gonna fight for you, ’cause you’re not worth it. (laughs) So, it’s just very matter of fact, and it has a really cool…it’s just a cool piece to the Storyteller puzzle, in that, you know, the vibe of it is just really cool and laid back. And it was fun to write and fun to sing, and it’s…yeah, it’s a good piece to the puzzle.”
“Relapse” (Ben Caver/Sara Haze/Brett James) (:53)
“I picture the song ‘Relapse’ being like a newly divorced couple, to be honest. In my head, that’s what I feel, and that’s what I see the story being. And of course it doesn’t say that in the song anywhere: that’s just my interpretation. She has a moment of — it’s not even a moment of weakness, it’s a moment of, like, I know what I’m doing. Whatever this couple had at one point obviously was strong and good, and she just lets herself…she allows herself to be sucked into that for a moment. So, she’s just saying, ‘I’m just fallin’ off of the wagon. It’s my choice. This is what I’m doing.’ And she is owning up to it. She’s still got her wits about her, and she’s still a strong person. It’s not a weak moment. It’s a choice.”
“Clock Don’t Stop” (Blair Daly/Chris DeStefano/Hillary Lindsey) (:58)
“I feel like ‘Clock Don’t Stop’ is something that any couple that’s been together for a bit can understand, because it’s this couple that’s saying…there was obviously a fight. And you know, it’s that moment where you’re like, ‘I’m not even gonna answer my phone,’ like, ‘Yeah he’s callin’ me, but no, no, no, no, no. I’m not gonna answer that.’ And they have a moment away from each other, but at the end, they ultimately choose to let go of the things that are unimportant, and this fight is not important. What’s important is us, you know? So, we don’t know how long we have on this earth, and you have to sometimes say, ‘I’m wrong, you’re right,’ you know, ‘Kiss me goodnight, and let’s not fight over these things anymore. We have to choose the bigger picture and realize that we love each other.'”
“The Girl You Think I Am” (Carrie Underwood/David Hodges/Hillary Lindsey) (1:12)
“‘The Girl You Think I Am’ is the one song on the album that’s most likely to make me cry when I think about it or when I hear it. When we were writing it — myself and Hillary Lindsey and David Hodges — we were all channeling our own experiences. And there are certain lines that apply to our fathers, or to, like, David being the father of girls. So it’s…anybody that knows my family will probably be able to very much pick out the lines that are about my dad. And it’s about how great a father is in a daughter’s life. And when I think about my dad, I know that he thinks I’m so much better than I am, for real. So, I would love to be the girl that he thinks that I am, because he holds me up so high and thinks I can do no wrong. He thinks I’m brave. He thinks I’m beautiful. You know, he thinks I can do anything, and he thinks I’m fearless, and he is my biggest fan. So that’s definitely one that resonates so much with me and my own father.”
“Mexico” (Kathleen Higgins/Jamie Moore/Derrick Adam Southerland) (:46)
“‘Mexico’ is sheer entertainment. It’s purely there for entertainment value. It says a lot without saying a lot. Like, it’s really…the way it was written is really interesting because you can fill in the blanks. You don’t know what they did. You know there’s a car, there’s a gun, there’s some money. You don’t know where they got it. Maybe they robbed a bank — I don’t know. Like, it’s still got kind of that old school, like, Wild West vibe, and they’re gonna run off to Mexico, and…but then there’s cops chasin’ ’em, and it’s just…it’s sheer entertainment. It kind of takes off from the beginning and takes you on this wild ride of them escaping the police and getting down to Mexico.”
“What I Never Knew I Always Wanted” (Carrie Underwood/Brett James/Hillary Lindsey) (1:21)
“‘What I Never Knew I Always Wanted’ is definitely my story. It really is my story. I mean, I’m not the kind of person that, you know, I was just dreaming of my wedding all my childhood and felt like I needed to find a husband, but life, God kind of opened those doors, and I have one, you know, and he’s amazing. And I never thought I needed…we were gonna have a big family, and I didn’t know — I was open to it. I was never like, ‘No! No kids.’ I was never, never, never like that. But I wasn’t gung ho about it, either. So, it was just kind of like we decided we were just gonna let the good Lord have it and see what happened. And the second we found out we were pregnant, it was like, I didn’t know that, like, I didn’t know I actually, like, wanted this. I know that probably sounds weird, but the second we knew he existed, it was like, our lives were forever changed. And he’s the best gift and the best blessing, and now I couldn’t imagine my life without my son or my husband, ’cause they’re just both the most amazing additions. So, I feel like there’s probably gonna be a lot of people out there that relate to this song.”