
There's a point in the reviewing world where you have to begin to steer away from the uptempo, happy, almost shallow songs, and turn towards songs that are deeper - songs that actually mean something. "Whiskey Lullaby" is an extreme version of one of those.
As has been said on this blog before, the best country songs are the songs that make you feel a certain way, whether happy, sad, nostalgic, any feeling that comes along with a song (besides the one in which you want to turn it off because its so overplayed) is good.
As has been said on this blog before, the best country songs are the songs that make you feel a certain way, whether happy, sad, nostalgic, any feeling that comes along with a song (besides the one in which you want to turn it off because its so overplayed) is good.

Music is supposed to connect with people. Yes, there are the party EDM songs that don't have lyrical content that mean anything, but anything other than that should mean something. Off of country radio today, some songs like this are "Little Toy Guns" by Carrie Underwood, "Take Your Time" by Sam Hunt (basically because of the video) and "Raise Em Up" by Keith Urban and Eric Church. Of course, there are many more, but these are the kind of songs that resonate with people. This song is one that will leave the listener purely listening to the song. It's not often to find a time where one is just listening to music, and not multitasking. But this song will stop you in your tracks.
The story of this song is heartbreaking. Told in the third person, Paisley and Krauss recount the story of a man who drinks himself to death. He was always trying to drink away his ex's memory and one night, he went too far. The story then continues to recount that the woman he loved was so overcome with guilt, she drank herself to death as well. It's a modern day Romeo & Juliet, and the acoustic and Dobro accompaniment sets up the tone of the story to be one that will make everyone feel for the characters in the lyrics. The main lyric of the chorus is "he put the bottle to his head and pulled the trigger." The imagery in that line alone puts this song so far above all other country songs. It puts all of the duets on this blog to shame. There is no better duet than this one.
Overall rating: 5 crowns
The story of this song is heartbreaking. Told in the third person, Paisley and Krauss recount the story of a man who drinks himself to death. He was always trying to drink away his ex's memory and one night, he went too far. The story then continues to recount that the woman he loved was so overcome with guilt, she drank herself to death as well. It's a modern day Romeo & Juliet, and the acoustic and Dobro accompaniment sets up the tone of the story to be one that will make everyone feel for the characters in the lyrics. The main lyric of the chorus is "he put the bottle to his head and pulled the trigger." The imagery in that line alone puts this song so far above all other country songs. It puts all of the duets on this blog to shame. There is no better duet than this one.
Overall rating: 5 crowns