Brantley Gilbert, ‘You Don’t Know Her Like I Do’ – Lyrics Uncovered

The lyrics to Brantley Gilbert's new single, 'You Don't Know Her Like I Do,' are a big leap in the other direction from his previous chart-topper, 'Country Must Be Country Wide,' as well as the two tunes he penned for Jason Aldean ('Dirt Road Anthem' and 'My Kinda Party'). But the Georgia-based singer songwriter says it's all part of who he is at the end of the day.

"I don't sing anything that I don't know or write anything I don't know," Gilbert tells Taste of Country. "My songs do reflect my life ... you've got your good times and your happy, party songs, then you've got your sad songs. And as you know, there’s a certain ex who I’ve written a thousand songs about [laughs]. I was in a situation where she and I broke up, and I wasn’t over it. It had been a long time, and I still wasn’t over it."

"I can’t forget, I’m drowning in these memories / It fills my soul with all the little things / And I can’t cope, it’s like a death inside the family / It’s like she stole my way to breathe / So don’t try to tell me I’ll stop hurting / And don’t try to tell me she ain’t worth it," Gilbert and songwriter Jim McCormick wrote in the song.

"I guess I just happened to have a bad day that day," Gilbert says with a laugh. "I was having some woman troubles. I didn’t really understand why all my friends were like 'Man, you’ve just got to get over it.' It got aggravating for me. I didn’t really feel like anybody understood how close we were. She really was my best friend. There was more to it than just a relationship; there was a friendship there, too. There was just this really strong bond."

"'Cause you don’t know her like I do / You’ll never understand / You don’t know what we’ve been through / That girl’s my best friend / And there’s no way you’re gonna help me / She’s the only one who can / No, you don’t know how much I’ve got to lose / You don’t know her like I do," they wrote in the lyrics of the chorus.

"People really didn’t seem to understand where I was coming from," notes Gilbert. "So this song was kind of a message to all of them to say, 'You know what … leave me alone [laughs]. I’m stuck on this deal, and I’m going to be for a while. It’s going to take some time, so get off me [laughs]!'"