Lyrics Uncovered: Ingrid Andress, ‘More Hearts Than Mine’

When considering the most vulnerable song on her debut album, Lady Like, Ingrid Andress points to “More Hearts Than Mine.”

The country newcomer co-wrote the track with Sam Ellis and Derrick Southerland just before the holiday season, toying with the idea of bringing the guy she was seeing at the time home to meet her family in Colorado.

“That's usually a time when you have to figure out if you're introducing somebody to your family. I really wasn't sure if I wanted to or not, but that idea came into my head,” she tells Taste of Country about the song’s concept.

The thought of bringing her new love interest home reminded her that her family has a tendency to become emotionally attached to significant others, so much so they continue to talk about them long after the breakup.

“I feel like I've usually bounced back pretty quickly, but my family still asks about this guy that I dated in college. He's their favorite. Even if they're going through old pictures, they're like, ‘Here is this guy,’” she recounts. “They just hang on really tightly to the people that they love, which is a great thing, but also not so much [if] that person does not stay around.”

Andress captures this sentiment throughout the song that predicts how each of her family members will react to her new love interest. She forewarns her date that her sister is bound to ask a million questions, her father will pour him a glass of whiskey over ice, yet fake his disapproval of the couple, while her mother is likely to be more heartbroken than she is in the event of a breakup.

“If I bring you home to mama / I guess I'd better warn ya / She falls in love a little faster than I do / And my dad will check your tires / Pour you whiskey over ice and / Take you fishing but pretend that he don't like you / Oh, if we break up, I'll be fine / But you'll be breaking more hearts than mine,” she details in the chorus.

The hidden gem of the song is how Andress offers just enough insight into her family’s sensitive nature without giving away too much personal information, a factor that was important to the protective artist.

“That's probably the most vulnerable I've been about writing about my family because I usually want to keep that pretty private. So it was a big step for me to be like, ‘I’m going to talk about my family and my life,’” she states.

Andress’ decision to submit “More Than Hearts Than Mine” as her debut at country radio played in her favor. The heartfelt ballad earned Andress the designation of being the only solo female artist to reach the Top 20 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with a debut single in 2019. She and Gabby Barrett also made history as the first time that two solo female artists have had debut singles reach the Top 10 simultaneously since the Country Airplay chart was instituted in 1990. Andress says she was intentional about making it her introduction to country radio, as the song shows off her songwriting capabilities and demonstrates what makes her a unique artist.

“I was so proud of how it was written as a songwriter, but then I also I haven't heard a song talk about this before. It’s such a personal, meaningful song to me,” she observes. “I think vulnerability is scary to all of us, but it's so worth it if you can be honest about your life because I think more people can connect to it. We all have more in common than we think.”

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