Dustin Lynch’s ‘New Girl’ Was Inspired by Abusive Relationships
Dustin Lynch has often been surprised to hear that one of his songs helped someone get out of an abusive relationship, so he wrote a song encouraging a girl to get out. "New Girl" is a song he spent six full days getting right.
The mid-tempo progressive track from Lynch's Current Mood album isn't the dark, anti-abuse song one might be expecting, however. On the surface it's a love song that finds a man urging a girl to leave her boyfriend because she deserves better. His fans helped plant the seed for the idea. There have been three or four real-life cases, he says, where songs like "Cowboys and Angels" and "Your Plan" (also on his self-titled debut) led women away from bad circumstances.
"When I write a song I have a thing that inspired that song, and then it gets out in the world. 'Your Plan' means something completely different to this person than that person," he tells Taste of Country. "That's the beautiful thing about music."
So the meaning of "New Girl" is up for interpretation, but it started with this idea that he needed to answer that call. On a personal level, it means something more. "It's a positive message that makes me at least check and go, 'Hey is this relationship the best thing for me?'"
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"Now I ain’t trying to get no drama started / But you deserve somebody good enough for you girl / You need something new girl," Lynch sings at the chorus. Zach Crowell and Ashley Gorley helped Lynch pen a song that he calls this album's version of "Your Daddy's Boots," a song from Where It's At that carried real emotional depth.
Current Mood showcases Lynch's depth as a singer and songwriter. "Seein' Red" is as far toward his pop side as it gets, but "Love Me or Leave Me Alone" is much more traditional. Fans and the media didn't necessarily peg him wrong when they labeled him a traditionalist back when "Cowboys and Angels" was released, he has just evolved.
"Touring as much as we have in front of as many people as we have, I've learned what type of song I need to put on the show that I want," he says. "I think that's really what's steered my songwriting and recording in the direction that it's gone."
Look for Current Mood in stores and at digital retailers on Sept. 8. It also includes his current single, the chart-topping "Small Town Boy."
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