“I swear I don’t know how I trusted
A Montero with the AC busted
A couple bad demos on a burned CD
Would take me all the way to Tennessee”
There is nothing I love more than when I can relate to a song. With that being said, I would like to thank Maren Morris for the gem that is her new single, “Circles Around This Town.”
On January 7, 2022, Maren Morris released her first single since (really) the release of her 2019 sophomore album, ‘Girl.’ This single is titled, “Circles Around This Town,” which is the first single off her highly anticipated third studio album, ‘Humble Quest,’ coming out on March 25, 2022. “Circles Around This Town,” is her first co-write ever with the pop hitmaker, Julia Michaels (who has written songs for artists like Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber). Morris’ husband and also country artist, Ryan Hurd, is also listed as a co-writer, along with Jimmy Robbins in addition to Julia Michaels and it is produced by Greg Kurston (a major producer in music who has produced for artists like Adele, Pink, Beck, Kendra Lamar, and The Foo Fighters).
I always had a love for Maren Morris ever since my best friend Gabi introduced me to her debut album, ‘Hero,’ back during our early years of college. That whole album front to back is one to remember and her sophomore album, ‘Girl,’ didn’t fall short for me either. Julia Michaels is my personal favorite songwriter of all time, so when I saw they teamed up for the first time to write Morris’ new single, “Circles Around This Town,” I couldn’t have been more excited. Between both writing styles, I just KNEW the world was in for a treat with this single and we were MOST certainly TREATED.
For any other fellow songwriters out there like myself, “Circles Around This Town,” is an absolute songwriters’ anthem. In the song, Maren Morris talks about her journey to becoming the songwriter and Grammy-winning musician she is now and how she still continues to struggle to figure out what to write next. She wants whatever she write to be meaningful enough for people to listen to. I read in an interview with Morris that during the writing session for this song, Julia Michaels just kept asking her questions about how she got to Nashville, what car did Morris have when she got to Nashville from her home state of Texas and where did she move into and how much money she had at the time. All of these questions turning into what became, “Circles Around This Town” (chefs kiss if you ask me). As Morris talks about how she got to where she is now in the song, she sings:
Thought when I hit it, it’d all look different
But I still got the pedal down
Drivin’ circles around this town
This line in particular talks about how even though she has written “hits” at this point in her career and thought it might get easier once she got to this point, she still has to continuously find her voice and a story to tell over and over again in music. She also sings:
I still get lost, I still get found
Drivin’ circles around this town
This lyric talks about how she still struggles with figuring out where to take her music after each release, but she always finds her way to what is next. It is an endless cycle.
What made this song even more personal for me to listen to, was how she referenced her first two hits as a solo artist in the second verse, “My Church,” and “80s Mercedes:”
A couple hundred songs and the ones that finally worked
Was the one about a car and the one about a church
I love how she referenced those two songs in, “Circles Around This Town,” because they were the very beginning to her successful career (she did win a Grammy for “My Church” as the best Country Solo Performance back in 2017 afterall). I love that this song completely embodies HER story and again, it is a total anthem for songwriters.
As a songwriter myself, I am always trying to figure out what direction I want to go in next and sometimes oiling the songwriting machine isn’t so easy. I go through phases where I can pour out 3 songs at a time, to a month where I’ve got nothing and it takes a lot of circling and reflecting to find what I want to say next. I love how easy it is to self-identify with this single and also root for Maren Morris and the career she has had so far. She is an inspiration to songwriters like me and to so many others and, “Circles Around This Town,” just makes you feel that much closer to her and understanding her story. Maren Morris and her writers took vulnerability to the next level with this one and I am ALL for it.
With all that being said, I highly recommend listening to, “Circles Around This Town,” especially if you yourself are a songwriter. You don’t have to love country music to appreciate this song. Being a country music lover of course helps, but anyone who takes songwriting seriously, I can assure will find this song resonating with them. I am looking forward to hearing the rest of what Morris has to say in her third upcoming studio album, again titled, ‘Humble Quest,” which is coming out March 25, 2022. I think this will be one for those who love songwriting just as much as I do. There isn’t any songwriting, quite like country songwriting.
Be sure to listen below if you haven’t already ♫
Myze Music 