Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great, new songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, country star Russell Dickerson compares his love to a "band of solid gold" in 2020's "Love You Like I Used To," the lead single from his forthcoming album.
When Dickerson delivers the first verse — "Girl, I have always loved you / Oh but something’s changed / Blame it on time, the road or the ride / But it ain’t the same" — the listener is certain that this is going to be another sad break-up song.
But, as he rolls into the chorus, we realized that we've been fooled. "Love You Like I Used To" is really a romantic testament to how love gets better and stronger over time.
He sings, "What we got ain’t got no ending, like a band of solid gold / It’s sweeter with time like strawberry wine / It gets as good as it gets old."
The surprising plot twist wasn't part of Dickerson's original version of the song. He wrote it in January of 2018 and then re-worked the lyrics in September to make the song more reflective of his own relationship with his wife, Kailey.
Dickerson told Billboard magazine that his wife really didn't care for the original version of the song. He recalled her saying, "Oh, I don't think you nailed it on this one."
She loved the revised version, a collaboration with songwriters Casey Brown and Parker Welling.
Dickerson recalled, "When we came back with the song sounding like a breakup song in the first verse and then it hit that twist in the first chorus, it was like boom!"
The song was released in February of 2020 and zoomed to #5 on the Billboard US Hot Country Songs chart and #2 on the Billboard Canada Country chart. "Love You Like I Used To" will be featured on Dickerson's yet-to-be-released second studio album, Southern Symphony.
Russell Edward Dickerson was born in Union City, TN, in 1987. He earned a Bachelor's degree in music from Belmont University and signed a record deal with Creative Artists Agency in 2010. In May of 2013, he married his wife, Kailey.
“Like all of my songs, I’ve lived it," Dickerson said. "I started dating my wife 10 years ago and it is true — I don’t love her like I used to and I think a lot of people will be able to relate to this song.”
Please check out the video of Dickerson performing "Love You Like I Used To." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along…
"Love You Like I Used To"
Written by Russell Dickerson, Casey Brown and Parker Welling. Performed by Russell Dickerson.
Girl, I have always loved you
Oh but something’s changed
Blame it on time, the road or the ride
But it ain’t the same
It’s a different kind of feeling
Not the one I knew
From the sweet on your lips
To how your hand in mine fits
Girl, I have always loved you
But I don’t love you like I used to
This gets better every time you kiss me like this
It’s stronger the longer I’m with you, yeah
More than every single day before
Didn’t know I could ever love you more than I did
But baby I do, I don’t love you like I used to, no
What we got ain’t got no ending, like a band of solid gold
It’s sweeter with time like strawberry wine
It gets as good as it gets old
And oh, we thought we knew what it meant way back then
Why would I keep fallin’ all-in higher than I’ve ever been?
Oh no, I don’t love you like I used to
This gets better every time you kiss me like this
It’s stronger the longer I’m with you, yeah
More than every single day before
Didn’t know I could ever love you more than I did
But baby I do, I don’t love you like I used to, no
No, no, no, no
I don’t love you like I used to
This gets better every time you kiss me like this
It’s stronger the longer I’m with you, yeah
More than every single day before
Didn’t know I could ever love you more than I did
But baby I do, I don’t love you like I used to
I don’t love you like I used to
(I, I love you like, love you like, love you like, love you like)
No, no, no, no
(I, I love you like, love you like)
Love you like I used to, no
(I, I love you like, love you like)
Oh, I don’t
Love you like I used to
Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com/Russell Dickerson.