Lyrics Uncovered: Luke Bryan, ‘Home Alone Tonight’
Luke Bryan's "Home Alone Tonight" lyrics are a big change of pace for the singer, marking the first time that he has ever released a male-female duet to country radio.
According to one of the song's writers, it's partly drawn from personal experience. "For me, the premise of that idea came from a very real place," Jaida Dreyer tells Taste of Country.
"I went out one night specifically with the intent of going out with one of my exes' friend and taking a picture so I could post it on Instagram and Facebook, because I knew if I posted it, it would piss him off," she relates with a laugh. "So as we were writing the song, that's where I personally drew from. It's kind of the best payback now, is hearing it on the radio and knowing that he has to hear it on the radio, too!"
She and Tommy Cecil were old friends, and she also knew Jody Stevens well, having written a song with him that wound up on the TV series Nashville. Cole Taylor was a last-minute addition to the writing session that day, and by the time Dreyer arrived, the men had decided they wanted to write a duet.
"I was completely down with that, because I'm a big fan of duets, and have had some success with duets in the past. So I guess duets are kind of my forte!" Dreyer says with another laugh.
It was just magic from the moment we got on that idea, and we knew that we had something.
"I can't remember what exactly we started with, but it was not 'Home Alone Tonight.' It ended up morphing into 'Home Alone Tonight.' It took us a while to settle into the final idea, and once we got on it and everyone was on board, it was a no-brainer and we were going all the way. It was just magic from the moment we got on that idea, and we knew that we had something when we did the whole, "I'll send it to my ex / I'll send it to my ex" tag. That was the goosebump moment. We just kinda looked at each other and said, 'We have something really special,'" she recalls.
The "Home Alone Tonight" lyrics detail a revenge scenario between two strangers who meet in a bar: "So put your drink down, throw your camera up, flip it around and snap a payback picture / I'll send it to my ex, I'll send it to my ex and send 'em both a text / Saying we ain't going home alone tonight."
Bryan was not in anyone's mind when they were writing the song, since he had never cut a duet. But he put it on hold immediately after he heard it, and recorded it with Karen Faichild from Little Big Town, making it into an impact single from his current album, Kill the Lights.
It's an especially sweet career victory for Dreyer, who is also a recording artist and had a previous tie to Bryan.
"Luke actually took me out on one of my very first tours, years ago, so to have him cut this song and make it a single is a full circle moment for me," she says. "It's so cool having this kind of success with, Cole has become one of my best friends, and I was very tight with Jody and Tommy. I can't imagine what it would be like to share something like this with people that aren't your best friends. It makes it that much more special."
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