The Reason Why

With the release of The Reason Why, highlighted by the group's fastest-rising single, "Little White Church," Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook have sold over 1.5 million albums to date and produced a collection of hits that include "Boondocks," "Bring It On Home," "Good as Gone," "A Little More You," and "Fine Line." "There's a special connection between the four of us, for whatever reason," Westbrook says. "Who knows why that happens? You like to think that maybe it was meant to be, and I really do believe that. This group of people came together for a purpose."

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1. The Reason Why

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Karen -- "It's a love song. We're all in a good place in our lives right now, so I think it's a sentiment that the four of us really share -- 'You're the reason why I want to stay here all night. You're the reason why I get up in the morning.' Leading the record with such a happy moment, such a song of contentment seemed right. Musically speaking, it was a little different. Jimi and I are singing a duet within the band harmonies, and that was pretty interesting. 'The Reason Why' we do everything these days is for the music we're making and for our families, and I think we just liked all that that meant for leading off the record."

Written by Karen Fairchild, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Kimberly Schlapman,
Phillip Sweet, Jimi Westbrook

I could love you
Baby, if you want me to
I could go and fall for you
And never even try, hey, hey

I could let you in
Baby, where nobody’s been
Yeah, I’m ready and willing
To give this love a try, hey, hey

(Chorus)
You’re the reason why
(Baby you’re the only reason why)
Don’t wanna say goodnight
(Keep kissing me don’t wanna say goodnight)
Yeah it feels so right
(Everything is gonna be alright)
You’re the reason why, hey, hey
You’re the reason why, hey, hey

You’re in my head
Like a song I can’t forget
Wanna hear it over again
And again hey, hey

Come on and take my hand
I’m ready and willing
Over and over again

2. Runaway Train

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Jimi -- "I feel like this one wrote itself. It started with that acoustic groove that kicks the song off. It felt like a runaway train. There are elements that make me think about home too. I had this picture in my head of this guy who, of course, sells his guitar to run off with the preacher's daughter, which is a very small town kind of thing to do. It's just this youthful story of spontaneity and living in the moment and being on the run. From beginning to end, it's on the edge of out of control, which is fun."

LYRICS

Written by Jimi Westbrook

Well, I sold my guitar for a diamond ring
Yeah the preacher’s daughter’s got a thing for me
With all of our stuff in a pick up truck
Yeah we’re headed out west in a cloud of dust

(Chorus)
Runaway baby like a runaway train
Like a train comin’ off the tracks
Runaway baby like a runaway train
Runaway and never look back
Runaway and never look back

Well, it’s a Vegas weddin’ at the break of day
By a magistrate dressed in blue suede
Lost all of our cash on a roll of the bones
Had to pawn that ring just to get back home

(Chorus)

In a cheap motel on the county line
Sneakin’ back into town in the black of night
I heard the preacher screamin’ through the motel door
Yeah he’s cursin’ my soul in the name of the Lord

Runaway baby like a runaway train
Like a train comin’ off the tracks
Runaway baby like a runaway train
Runaway and never look back

Runaway baby like a runaway train
Like a train comin’ off the tracks
Runaway baby like a runaway train
Runaway and never look back
Runaway and never look back
Runaway and never look back

Chris McHugh: Drums
Jimmie Lee Sloas: Bass
JT Corenflos: Electric Guitar
Jay Joyce: Electric Guitar
Adam Shoenfeld: Slide Electric Guitar
Wayne Kirkpatrick: Acoustic Guitar

3. Kiss Goodbye

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Phillip -- "I feel like this one takes us to a new place, and I love that place. It's that whole art of giving of yourself without looking for something in return. You have to just let it go. Since I have a little one, I felt myself connecting to it as a father who loves his daughter and will one day have to let her go. It was a message for me too of how to be in that situation. "

Jimi -- "'Kiss Goodbye' can take you many places. It can be lost love or anything else in your life that for whatever reason you have to kind of let go and part with, which can be a hard thing to do. There's just a raw emotion in having to do that in life. I think we've all kind of been in that place at one point or another, and it's not an easy thing to do. I think people will really identify with it.'

LYRICS
When you lose somethin
It’s all that you want back
You’re waitin patiently
But it don’t work like that

When you lose someone
The first thing that goes through your head
Is if you run fast enough
You just might catch up
But it don’t work like that

(Chorus)
You just gotta watch it fly
Stand there on the side lines
Go on and swallow your pride
You know its gonna be alright
Wish it well and close your eyes
With a kiss goodbye

Well the hardest part
Ya it hurts so bad
Is when she spreads her wings
But it’d be a selfish thing
To try and hold her back
But it don’t work like that

(Chorus)
You just gotta watch it fly
Stand there on the side lines
Go on and swallow your pride
You know its gonna be alright
Wish it well and close your eyes
With a kiss goodbye

When you lose something
It’s all that you want back

(Chorus)
You just gotta watch it fly
Stand there on the side lines
Go on and swallow your pride
You know its gonna be alright
Wish it well and close your eyes
With a kiss goodbye

Like a kiss goodbye

4. Shut Up Train

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Karen -- "We heard this song early on in the making of this record and kind of instantly knew we wanted to cut it. When I grew up in Indiana, there was a large train crossing just a few miles away from us. We were constantly going over those tracks, and you could always hear trains near our house. So, I understand this imagery a lot. I just really thought it was a beautiful way to connect it to pain or a reminder of a painful moment or a lost love or just anything that you're battling with in your head. With the vocal, it's me talking to another person or having a conversation in my head reflecting, and hopefully you get that."

Jimi -- "That's one of my favorite tracks on the record, and it's all in the simplicity of it. It's very sparse, but there's a lot of emotion -- maybe it's the loneliness in the sparseness of the track that really connects with that lyric. Karen's vocal is amazing on that. She really delivered that song."

LYRICS

Shut up train I’m trying to sleep
Can’t you show me a little sympathy
This is the only time I can get any peace
So shut up train I’m tryin to sleep

(Chorus)
Every time the front door shakes
Every time I hear the breaks
And that long whistle cryin through the night
I’m reminded of the way I feel
Just like that cold black steel
Gettin crushed by your wheels tonight
I don’t need no more pain so shut up train

I hope you’re happy now I am wide awake
Now I gotta deal with every ounce of this heartache
Why your moving on I’m stuck in this place
It’s all your fault so shut up train

(Chorus)
Every time the front door shakes
Every time I hear the breaks
And that long whistle cryin through the night
I’m reminded of the way I feel
Just like that cold black steal
Gettin crushed by your wheels tonight
I can’t take no more pain so shut up train

Shut up train stop rubbin it in
You’ve made your point
I gave up you win
You win

You’re all the noise all the pain every night same ole thing
(You’re all)
Why don’t you shut up train go on shut up train
(You’re all)
I give up I give in raise a flag let you in
(You’re all)
Why don’t you shut up train go on and shut up train
(You’re all)
Oh shut up train
(You’re all)

Shut up train

5. Why, Oh Why

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Kimberly -- "I love singing that song. When we wrote it with Jonathan Singleton, it was something different. Then it came to life on that recording, and it's even more fun singing that song live. We start the show out with it now, and it seems to grab everybody because it starts off acapella. Everybody's right there with us at the top of the show."

Karen-- "'Why Oh Why' has a sassy lyric about not being able to let go of someone you know is not good for you. The lies always come around again, but those old habits are really hard to break sometimes when you're in a relationship. "

LYRICS

Why oh why can’t I lay this trouble down
Lies your lies keep comin back around
And round and round and round

You’re a shot of whisky
Straight and smooth and killing me
You’re like a prayer I should pray
You’re like a sad song I can’t help but sing along
You’re all the pleasure and the pain

(Chorus)
Why oh why can’t I lay this trouble down
Lies your lies keep comin back around
And round and round and round

You’re a lesson I can’t learn
I must love gettin burned
Stop drop and roll right in the flame
You’re poison in a kiss that’s just the way it is
You’re like the sunshine in the rain

(Chorus)
Why oh why can’t I lay this trouble down
Lies your lies keep comin back around
And round and round and round

You say you love me say you’re sorry
I believe you every word
I guess I let you like a fool
I guess I get what I deserve
Next time you say goodbye

(Chorus)
Why oh why can’t I lay this trouble down
Lies your lies keep comin back around
And round and round and round

6. Little White Church

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Karen -- "'Little White Church' was birthed out of a discussion about some bluegrass records
we love with call and response kind of moments. I had that title written down for awhile.
The chorus hit me in the shower, and I jumped out and sang it into my phone. We all got
together at Kimberly's house that afternoon to finish writing it and had a ball laughing
about this girl not taking her man's 'you know what' anymore until he puts a ring on it."

LYRICS

You’ve been singin that same ole song
Far to long far to long
Say you’ll buy me a shiny ring
But your words don’t mean a thing

No more callin me baby
No more lovin like crazy

(Chorus)
Till you take me down
(Take me down)
You better take me down
(Take me down)
Take me down to the little white church
Take me down
(Take me down)
Take me down
(Take me down)
Take me down to the little white church
(Take me down)
Take me down

You can’t ride this gravy train
Any more anyway
There’s a price for keeping me
I might be cheap but I ain’t free

No more callin me baby
No more lovin like crazy

Charmin devil silver tongue
Had your fun now you’re done
Momma warmed me about your game
She don’t like you any way

No more callin me baby
No more lovin like crazy
No more chicken and gravy
Ain’t gonna have your baby

7. You Can't Have Everything

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Karen -- "We love traditional country music. It's not always our natural inclination as a band, but we love to explore that because we have such a respect for it. 'You Can't Have Everything' is kind of our take on doing something traditional because we're such fans of that part of country music. That story is painful, and Kimberly takes you inside that situation where everything on the outside looks perfect, but there's really no love on the inside."

Kimberly -- "So many people's lives revolve around secrets, and they have to keep up the facade around the secret so that no one or very few people know about it. It's a very sad way to live, but it's so real for so many people."

LYRICS

Written by Karen Fairchild, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Kimberly Schlapman,
Phillip Sweet, Jimi Westbrook

The driveway winds up the hill
Through the wildflower fields
Where the kids like to play
There’s a little creek by the willow tree
Oh yes, it’s a beautiful place

We have the family photograph
The house, the life, the dream
You’re love‘s the only thing missing here
Well, I guess you can’t have everything

We don’t talk anymore
You leave your ring in the drawer
Like it don’t mean a thing
The silence crawls down the lonely halls
That weep for what used to be

We have the family photograph
The house, the life, the dream
You’re love‘s the only thing missing here
Well, I guess you can’t have everything

8. All The Way Down

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Phillip -- "This one came fast while we were all writing one afternoon. It felt fun."

Karen -- "Its purpose on the record is levity, and it's all about having a good time and falling in love. It's this girl saying, 'Uh oh, I'm going all the way. I didn't mean to, but I am.'"

LYRICS

Karen Fairchild, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Kimberly Schlapman,
Phillip Sweet, Jimi Westbrook

Rock me like a lullaby, Roll me like a wheel
I’m going down, down, all the way down
Love me like a superstar, Play me like a steel
I’m going down, down, all the way down
Down, down, falling all the way down

Stand, where the good love lies
Be my man, I’ll be your alibi
Wonderland, wanna give it a try
Let it ride

Here, where it all feels right
Crystal clear, as a southern sky
Oh my dear, you set my love on fire
Everytime

Show me now
Show me now
You gotta show me now

9. All Over Again

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Phillip -- "We wrote this one really early in the process of making the album, and I love this chorus and melody. It felt really good, and the message is about this couple in love. They want to have that same passion that they've always had and make it even stronger. I think that's something we all strive for in our own relationships -- to make them the best they can be and to live our loves and our lives passionately."

LYRICS

Written by Karen Fairchild, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Kimberly Schlapman,
Phillip Sweet, Jimi Westbrook

I can see the moonlight shining off the tracks
Down beside the river, and Lord, it takes me back
To that starry night when I made you mine
With a little midnight kiss

I can see us dreaming, wondering where we’d live
Just two wishful thinkers, just a couple kids
We were young and scared, but we didn’t care
There in our innocence

Chorus
Baby, why don’t we play that old song from way back when
And Baby, why don’t we go to that place we met and then
We can fall in love
We can fall in love
All over again

We can throw the top back, head on out of town
Drive along the coast til the sun is going down
Dancing in the sand, can’t you hear the band
Let’s get lost in time

Chorus

We can fall in love
We can fall in love

10. Rain On A Tin Roof

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Karen -- "The relationship between the man and woman in this song is interesting. I think only a man could really say he'd let the woman come and go like that. There's a line in the bridge - - 'I can't complain a single bit, 'cause I'm thankful for every single drop I get.' Even though it's painful, he'd take her back again. If a woman sang that, it would just come off different. She'd seem like a victim, but with a man, it's kind of sexy to think, 'Wow, the passion was so powerful between them that he'd let her come and go."

Jimi -- "I think we were really attracted to the melody of that song. The imagery in the lyrics goes back to my childhood and the rain on a tin roof we used to experience as a child when I'd stay with my grandmother. It took me back home again."

LYRICS

Her eyes are blue just like the ocean
Her heart is a river free
Well now and then she gets the notion
And she finds her way to me

(Chorus)
Her love’s like rain on a tin roof
Sweet song on a summer time storm
And the way that it moves you
It’s a melody of passion raging on
Then it’s gone

She tells me she will be back to see me
Every time she has to go
And I keep wondering just when that will be
Cuz with her you never

(Chorus)
Her love’s like rain on a tin roof
Sweet song on a summer time storm
And the way that it moves you
It’s a melody of passion raging on
Then it’s gone

Like a thirsty field I can’t complain a bit
Cuz I’m thankful for every single drop I get

(Chorus)
Her love’s like rain on a tin roof
Sweet song on a summer time storm
And the way that it moves you
It’s a melody of passion raging on
Then it’s gone

She’s gone she’s gone
My baby’s gone

11. Life Rolls On

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Karen --"'Life Rolls On' was Jimi's idea, and it kind of sums up his life philosophy. He's really big about living in the moment and experiencing it fully. So it wasn't shocking to me when he came up with that melody and that chorus. We threw that one in our live show really quickly when we wrote it, and the fans connected with the song's attitude and spirit right off the bat."

LYRICS

Written by Karen Fairchild, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Kimberly Schlapman,
Phillip Sweet, Jimi Westbrook

I don’t know, but I’ve been told
If you ain’t busy livin’, then you’re getting old
That always seemed to make good sense to me

So I’ve been running my whole life
Diving in; never thinking twice
Chasing down what life had in store for me

Ain’t nothing gonna stop this train from moving
Gonna grab hold & keep on singing

La, La, La, La, La, La, Life Rolls On
La, La, La, La, La, La, Life Rolls On

I don’t know but it seems to me
A chair & the sand & a summer breeze
And a sunset, Man, that’s where I belong
So sit down here right next to me
We’ll toast and to living free
And watch the tide roll in all night long

As sure as the sun & the moon keep shining
We’ll be here & we’ll be singing

La, La, La, La, La, La, Life Rolls On
La, La, La, La, La, La, Life Rolls On
Yeah Life Rolls On

As sure as the sun & the moon keep shining
We’ll be here & we’ll be singing

La, La, La, La, La, La, Life Rolls On
La, La, La, La, La, La, Life Rolls On

And we’ll be singing
La, La, La, La, La, La, Life Rolls On
La, La, La, La, La, La, Life Rolls On

Yeah Life Rolls On
Life Rolls On
Yeah Life Rolls On

I don’t know, but I’ve been told
If you ain’t busy livin’, then you’re getting old
That always seemed to make good sense to me

12. Lean Into It

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Karen -- "'Lean Into It' is all about hope and perseverance. It is supposed to encourage someone to lean into the storm -- to hang on -- that something good will come of it all. It is our philosophy as a band and in our own lives with the painful things we've been through. If you persevere and hang on to the people that you love and lean into it -- it does turn. Things get better. The pain is for a season. People are hurting -- whether it's from the economy or just these catastrophes
that keep happening over and over again. It is, I guess, our own story of healing from personal experiences, and in a way, our encouragement and gift to someone else to say you can do the same thing."

Kimberly -- "The beautiful thing about this song is it applies to so many different situations, whether a family has lost their main source of income or whether they've lost their home or they have an illness. Whatever they're facing, this song can speak to that. It's just truth from the four of us, because we have been through so much. And when you have a friend who has been through a lot, it's so nice to hear from them that there is hope and you will cross over to the other side at some point. And it's easier to believe, because you've seen those people go through that, and they come out okay. There's a song on every record we've made that has my heart, and this is the one that has my heart."

LYRICS

Written by Karen Fairchild, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Kimberly Schlapman,
Phillip Sweet, Jimi Westbrook

These days are filled with trouble
And the nights feel like they’re all getting longer
These days are dark and grey
Like that storm rolling in across the water

(Chorus)

There’s a strong wind blowing
I push on it pushes back
It’s a hard time
But I know I’ll get through it
Just gotta lean into it

This ain’t where I thought I’d be
If I could I’d stop it now and I’d rewind it
But this ain’t where I’m gonna fall
If there’s a way to fight
I know I’m gonna find it

(Chorus)

There’s a strong wind blowing
I push on it pushes back
It’s a hard time
But I know I’ll get through it
Just gotta lean into it
Just gotta lean into it

I keep going even though

(Repeat Chorus)

Discography

Reviews for The Reason Why

Little Big Town's "The Reason Why" is awarded FIVE Country Stars Central Stars!!

Sensational Capitol Nashville recording quartet, Little Big Town has returned with a new album titled “The Reason Why,” scheduled to be released on August 24th, 2010. This is the bands first album on the Capitol Nashville label since parting ways with the Equity Music Group in 2008, and becomes their fourth studio album to date since their 2002 debut “Little Big Town.” Little Big Town has come a long way since the early days of their career, and...

Little Big Town: The Reason Why

The most omnipresent group in country, maybe even commercial pop, music right now might be the male-female-male vocal trio Lady Antebellum. Waiting in the wings this summer to steal the stage back is the female-male duo Sugarland, formerly a female-male-female trio (they’re battling that departure out in court), with a new album out soon. Touring this year, after getting attention for their 2009 debut album, is the youthful foursome Gloriana, two women and two men who...

Review: Little Big Town stronger on new effort

Review: Little Big Town stronger on new effort By MICHAEL McCALL, For The Associated Press Monday, August 23, 2010 With "The Reason Why," Nashville vocal group Little Big Town recaptures their mojo. Their one-of-a-kind sound moves forward with stronger lead vocals while the four-part harmonies still slide effortlessly from charming to ominous. The songs aren't as ambitious as on 2007's "A Place To Land," but they are more commercial without sounding compromised...

The Platinum selling (1.5 million records) country group is back with their newest release The Reason Why off Capitol Records Nashville. The Reason Why will undoubtedly be another success under this Grammy nominated group that is celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. This summer was a busy one for Little Big Town as they performed across the country with Sugarland prepping for The Reason Why’s release. The album is filled with the classic country and bluegrass songs and...

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