I’ll never forget being a baby faced junior in college, and my girlfriend at the time told me that “it just wasn’t going to work out between us,” and 21-year-old me’s heart was ripped into shreds.
So naturally, I got in my car and drove to Timbuktu, trying to clear my head and listening to every sad country song imaginable, because ya know we all love sad country songs.
However, the mood did a complete 360 when a certain song from this guy named Kolby Cooper came across my Spotify shuffle, called “It Ain’t Me.”
All of a sudden, I found myself ready to run through a brick wall head first and ready to bounce back after hearing that kickass chorus:
“You can call up your friends
And cry to your mama
Talk shit about me
Start a whole lot of drama
I really don’t care what you do
As long as I ain’t around
You can go out and party with everybody you know
Throw back some longnecks and hit a few tokes
I don’t give a damn if you screw everybody you see
As long as it ain’t me…”
I MEAN, COME ON.
Tell me that wouldn’t fire you up after a breakup? It’s the ultimate middle finger to every toxic ex out there that’s wanted to drag your name around in the dust.
Little did I know, that night would be one of the first times I got acclimated to the Texas country rock scene, opening up a whole new world that I never knew existed.
Not to mention, it was one of Cooper’s first big time hits, and put his name out there nationwide.
Believe it or not, Cooper was borderline tired of playing the song, and was contemplating even putting it on his first EP, Kolby Cooper Vol. 1- EP. He explained to the radio station Big Star97 a few years back:
“(This song) is actually my favorite off the EP. It’s one we went in and were trying to figure out which five songs we were gonna put on it.
We played, I guess probably 11 or 12 originals, and this one I was fucking tired of playing, but me and my producer re-wrote it and now it’s one of my favorites on the EP.”
Needless to say, I think Cooper is extremely grateful he decided to cut the song and put it on the EP, because now the guy is a household name, and even signed with a big time label with BBR Music Group. Now, there is no ceiling for the kid from Anderson County, Texas.
If you still haven’t heard it, do yourself a favor:
And the interview with Big Star97:
