Jerrod Niemann, ‘What Do You Want’ – Lyrics Uncovered

Jerrod Niemann's latest single, 'What Do You Want,' showcases a softer side of the handsome singer, revealing his vulnerability as he copes with heartache over a failed relationship.

Last year, Niemann took the world of country music by storm when he scored the No. 1 position on the country singles chart with his remake of 'Lover, Lover.'  This time around, he's dealing with an ex who continues to open the wound she left on his heart when she walked out of his life:

"Now tell me, what do you want? / What do you want? / What do you want from me? / Are you tryin' to bring back the tears or just the memories? / You keep takin' me back, takin' me back where I've already been / When we hang up it's almost like I'm losing you again / Can't you see? / So what do you want, what do you want from me?"

"Basically I realized I was being used as nothing but a piece of meat by an ex-girlfriend," Niemann tells Taste of Country. "My self-esteem was very low. I was very vulnerable. She was taking advantage of me. After so many times of that, the idea of 'What Do You Want' came to me."

As the song progresses, Niemann keeps asking the question, drawing upon various scenarios that keep his heart in a fragile place, singing:

"I get so tired of living like this / I don't have the time, neither do my friends / To stay up at night, to pull me through / And to find the things to keep my mind off of you ... What do you want me to say? / That I'm content? / That I'm on the fence? / That I wish you would've stayed?"

"You come to Nashville trying to sound like your heroes and trying to be like them," Niemann says. "It’s finally when life kicks you in the heart when certain songs just come out, and I needed that to happen. This song’s changed my life and the way I approach writing songs. Sometimes you just realize you’ve got to be somebody, so you might as well be yourself."