Country singer Morgan Wallen has canceled his concerts for the next six weeks due to injuring his vocal cords. Let’s review the sensation’s best and worst hits from One Thing At A Time.
Morgan Wallen’s best
When Morgan Wallen makes music, the main idea often revolves around two topics: alcohol and women. I tend to gravitate toward songs about love, as these leave listeners with a bittersweet feeling. That’s why one of my top picks for this album is Everything I Love. While this became popular on TikTok, the song talks about regretting becoming close to someone in which the relationship ended badly. However, this upsetting topic is masked by an upbeat tempo and guitar beat that makes it the perfect song for blasting with the windows down on hot summer nights.
If you’re looking for a more nostalgic love song, I’d say give ’98 Braves listen. It compares an upsetting breakup that seemed destined to be successful to the tragic fate of the 1998 Atlanta Braves who were thought to be unstoppable. This song is slower and more like a classic breakup song. This is one of my favorite songs on the album because of the wistful lyrics that are double entendres for love and baseball.
For a different change of pace, I’d listen to Cowgirls. This song is the definition of modern country, which isn’t always a favorite to me. This song is perfect for the impending summer months because of its catchy chorus line “Long live cowgirls, never gonna settle on down girls.” However, if you dislike the blending of country with an almost rap-like beat, this song is definitely not for you.
While Sunrise talks about wasting away in a bottle of whiskey, this song has some of the most meaningful lyrics on the whole album. It talks about always thinking about a girl after breaking up; a common theme on the album. “You’re my sunrise, you keep comin’ up….It don’t matter how much I run, You’re the one that I can’t run from.” Wallen is really vulnerable on this album, especially with this song.
…and his worst
My least favorite songs on the album are the ones that focus on alcohol, which is why I don’t like Born With A Beer In My Hand. “I can turn any day to Saturday night if I want to…And most the time I want to.” This is not a good thing Morgan. Especially when most of your songs are about whiskey, the concept is just overdone. At this point, you’re basically glamorizing functioning alcoholism.
This is another reason why I don’t like Man Made a Bar. It follows the same storyline of a tragic breakup, with the guy relying on alcohol to cope with his feelings. Creating songs with the same idea plays out the concept. I feel Wallen has played out this theme as he has so many songs that revolve around this topic.
Another song I would not recommend for that reason is Whiskey Friends. This is a classic breakup song where the guy drinks himself to oblivion after losing someone he loves. I hate songs about relying on alcohol after breakups and the glorification of drinking, so this is why I don’t personally like this song. However, to be fair, this song has a catchy beat and I would enjoy it if it wasn’t for the subpar lyrics.
In the Bible is perhaps my least favorite on the album. It compares drinking and being “country” to religion. Wallen goes on to say that if cold beer was holy and “John Deere Green was 3:16,” he’d be the most religious. I just really don’t relate to these lyrics. As I said, I prefer songs centered around love and this just isn’t that.
Final thoughts
There are songs on the album that are subpar, but overall the album is very good. I’m a diehard Morgan Wallen fan and love his music as a whole. Every artist has songs that just are not good. However, Wallen is really open and vulnerable with his fans on One Thing At A Time, which is commendable. The 30-year-old country singer definitely isn’t slowing down in his career anytime soon.
