Music Review: Lady Antebellum "Need You Now"

Lady Antebellum

Need You Now

Album: Need You Know

Year: 2009

         Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley drunk dial each other in the relatable “Need You Now.”

       A crestfallen piano opens the single, setting a  disheartened tone.  She avoids stepping onto the broken frames to get her cell phone Her bare feet slide on the piles of photos on the floor as she balances her glass of wine. She has to talk to her ex-boyfriend. She misses him and she can’t go on crying. She thinks of him while at her desk, typing away or while having conversations with friends. She still sees clothes in stores and thinks it would be something nice for him to wear. Is she still a important piece of his, too? (“Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor/Reaching for the phone cause I can't fight it anymore/And I wonder if I ever cross your mind/For me it happens all the time.”)

            In the chorus, she finds her cellphone and touches his name (which is still on her contact list.) The phone rings three times. Then, she gets his voicemail message: “Hey, it’s Charles. I’ll get you back to you later.” She smiles. Sticking to the basics per usual. After the beep, she rambles to him that she’s by herself and knows she said she didn’t want to talk to him ever again but she didn’t mean it.  As the tears fall down, her voice cracks as she says she doesn’t think she will ever love anyone as much as she did him. (“It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now/Said I wouldn't call, but I lost all control and I need you now/And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now.”)

          Kelley sits on the couch and takes a long gulp from bottle of whiskey. The television is on but his eyes are on the door, hoping his ex-girlfriend would open it. He would do anything to hear her exclaim, “Those phones!” Oh God, he misses her so much. Scott takes the “And I wonder if I ever cross your mind” while Kelley has the “for me happens all the time” to himself. (“Another shot of whiskey, can't stop looking at the door, yeah/Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before/And I wonder if I ever cross your mind/For me it happens all the time.”)

             The chorus is sung again.

             In the bridge, Scott says at least she fell in love. It may not have worked out but she tried. The indifference would’ve meant she had given up and been able to move on as though nothing happened. (“Yes I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all.”)

        The chorus is sung again, with Kelley adding he’s drunk his entire liquor cabinet since they broke up. (“It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now/Said I wouldn't call, but I’m a little drunk and I need you now/And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now.”)

        In the final section, they both say have to have the other in their lives. (“I just need you now/Oh, I need you now/Oh baby, I need you now/I just need you now.”)

      Scott and Kelley’aching vocals dwell on every moment they had as a couple. They only want each other. It leads them to break but they both want to be heard. They don’t care about the stupid relationship rules. Even though Scott has the majority of the vocals, Kelley is still noticeable.

      The  pining “Need You Now” breaks the no-contact rule, ugly cries and falls down drunk while maintaining its dignity.