If you’re a fan of country music, you’ve probably noticed an abundance of “Drinking Songs”, or songs which make reference to drinking. 

Kelsea Ballerini & Lany have managed to outdo most other drinking songs here, by having a total of ten references to Alcohol. 

Scan through the lyrics and you will see; Tequila, Alcohol, Drunk, Whisky, Champagne, Drinking, Hungover, Sober, Cabernet & Mixing (drinks)! 

Although they have jam packed the alcohol references here, the lyrics work well and create imagery. Country music fans enjoy being taken on a journey with lyrics that form a meaningful and relatable story. 

Ballerini & Lany do a great job painting a picture of reflection, relationships, sacrifice, and the reasons for getting sober. The work put into creating conversational lyrics has paid off here, making the lyrics a real highlight of the song. 

The music features a simple piano chord arrangement you will hear repeated for most of the song. Melodically, Ballerini keeps it simple in the verse, the phrasing however, is quite clever in the way it places itself at intervals between the rhythm of the piano chords. This helps to keep the verse interesting and the listener engaged. 

The pre-chorus sees a shift in melody building up towards the chorus. Ballerini lifts her vocal register in the chorus which helps to distinguish the chorus melody from the verse and pre-chorus, and after a pause she ends the chorus with the hook “you’re the reason, I quit drinking”. 

The pause & hook line combination seems to be a common arrangement choice in modern country music. You will hear it in many of the current country hits, and because it works so well to drive home the hook, I’m sure we can expect this trend to continue. 

Enter Lany in verse two and the music builds in intensity and into full swing into the chorus, which is a nice duet. Lany’s part of the song is a smart choice. His pop sensibilities shine through and give this country track ability to cross genres. 

In “I Quit Drinking”, Kelsea Ballerini & Lany have created a modern love song with a twist. This has all the elements of a smash hit in the making. 

Author: Rob Costa

Rob Costa is a freelance writer & Ghost songwriter from Melbourne, Australia. Rob helps us out with music reviews.