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- Song Back to Me
- LyricsIt’s not the clothes that you choose that cuts through me
It’s not the way you do your hair that does me right
It’s times you unwind my confusion
When it’s dallied tight
Not so long ago I’d throw my leg around life... - Artist(s) Colter Wall
- Album Memories and Empties
- Released November 14, 2025
- Label La Honda Records/RCA Records
- Songwriter(s) Colter Wall
- Producer(s) Patrick Lyons, Colter Wall
The Background:
As one of country music’s most timeless sounding artists, Colter Wall’s album ‘Memories and Empties’ has ended up being one of 2025’s most highly anticipated. The Saskatchewan native spends his days out on his Canadian ranch and any time he returns to music to tell his tales, it’s always a treat.
His first single from Memories and Empties titled ‘1800 Miles’ saw Wall reiterating just how happy he is to keep his distance from the world of mainstream. On ‘Back to Me’, he’s shifting his focus to the comfort and grounding that can be found in love. When it’s the right person, all the difficult parts of the day, and the tiring parts of life fade away, they bring back all the good memories and the easy feelings - a lot like a song from "way back when".
The Sound:
In classic Colter Wall style, the track kicks off with an acoustic guitar before a simple percussive beat joins along with that instantly recognisable baritone. As we move towards the chorus, a piano is added to the mix, some electric guitar picking and a faint harmonica in the background.
Although the track remains relatively slow paced throughout, its constant percussion keeps it moving forward and when the chorus hits, there is a definite energy to it.
The track has a strong Western feel, the timelessness really captured when some crying steel guitar transports the listener to a smoky bar somewhere out in the country. ‘Back to Me’ maintains that simple and raw production style Wall is known for, his sound conjuring up a landscape as classic as a Western painting.
The Meaning:
"It’s not the clothes that you choose that cuts through me
It’s not the way you do your hair that does me right
It’s times you unwind my confusion
When it’s dallied tight"
Our protagonist kicks off this tale by recalling his person. Although many love songs quickly lean into a description of the person they’re about, Wall is saying that there’s something more to this person than their style, hair and appearance.
The thing he wants to celebrate is their ability to calm him down on a difficult day, in such a confusing world having someone understand you well enough to untangle your thoughts might just be one of the biggest blessings there is.
"Not so long ago I’d throw my leg around life
And I’d stay with each day and spur ‘em down
But that age has come and gone and the memories
Won’t stay around"
We know that Wall is a rancher, a real cowboy, so as this verse leans into a metaphor about the hard work that comes with a life outdoors we might just believe that this song is an autobiographical one.
However, as he sings that his wild days, whether those be as a rancher, artist or person have “come and gone”, it sounds as if he’s struggling to understand who he is now.
"But in time I know my mind will come back to me
Like the songs that my momma used to sing
I’ll remember who I am
If you grab aholt of my hand
I’ll recall you are my all and everything"
We all have those songs that instantly transport us back to a place or time, often connected to a certain person (for better or worse) these memories can’t be separated from that sound. For Wall, the songs that his “momma used to sing” help remind him exactly who he is and where he’s come from. In the same way, holding the hand of this love song’s muse reminds him that they are his “all and everything” - the person that fills up his memories, his thoughts and his heart.
"Well I was raised to take the biggest circles
Never shirked any work there was to do
But now by the time I get the gate closed
I’m feeling through"
Once again leaning into that ranching narrative, Wall sings about how he’s never been afraid of hard work and never avoided taking control of his responsibilities. But we all know that life gets tiring, and at the end of the day when the gate is closed, he’s just hoping for the company of the person that helps him understand his place in the rest of the world.
For the full lyrics to Colter Wall's ‘Back to Me’, see below:
"It’s not the clothes that you choose that cuts through me
It’s not the way you do your hair that does me right
It’s times you unwind my confusion
When it’s dallied tight
Not so long ago I’d throw my leg around life
And I’d stay with each day and spur ‘em down
But that age has come and gone and the memories
Won’t stay around
But in time I know my mind will come back to me
Like the songs that my momma used to sing
I’ll remember who I am
If you grab aholt of my hand
I’ll recall you are my all and everything
Well I was raised to take the biggest circles
Never shirked any work there was to do
But now by the time I get the gate closed
I’m feeling through
But in time I know my mind will come back to me
Like the songs that my momma used to sing
I’ll remember who I am
If you grab aholt of my hand
I’ll recall you are my all and everything"
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For more on Colter Wall, see below:
