'Dead to Rights' by Charles Wesley Godwin and ERNEST – Lyrics & Meaning

There are few things finer than a Charles Wesley Godwin collaboration. The star's clear baritone, honest songcraft and artistic acumen always seem to pair beautifully with fellow country heavyweights.

With the arrival of his new EP, Lonely Mountain Town, comes a couple of new duets, one of them being 'Dead to Rights' with genre bigwig ERNEST. Together, the two artists dole out an exceptional listening experience, their voices uniting for a country ballad like no other.

'Dead to Rights', like many of the offerings that appear on Lonely Mountain Town, is a steady acoustic number, brought to life in layers of plucks of strums. It is, however, one of the more shaded and intricate compositions on the release.

The deep, persistent steel, peppered with the wail of a distant slide, cast the tune in shadows, making for an earnest, near-ominous-sounding country ballad. That is, until, the tune's la de da's arrive to brighten and uplift the song about love and the roads we travel to find it.

"So damn used to waking up in an empty bed
Ain’t that I prefer it any other way instead
Seventh avenue’s been kind to me
Was there for me in times of my most desperate need"

In the beginning, 'Dead to Rights' finds Godwin looking to the past, reflecting on life before love. An empty bed and adventures on Seventh Avenue were all he knew. He realizes now, though, that those were times of true desperation and need.

"But you crashed into me," he sings, remarking on how things suddenly changed when the person who would be his person entered the chat, "Like that damned left hook I never got to see."

Love struck him out of the blue, like a punch to the face, and he couldn't help but fall. In the end, it's something that has changed him both irrevocably and for the better.

"Lost my share of hands, cause of you I hold the prize
That line about the empty bed, turned out to be a lie
You’re written on my stone before I even die
The way you land those kisses, you’ve got me dead to rights and I don’t mind
La de da la de da de da la de da la de da"

With ERNEST joining in at the chorus, they sing of love as a gift, a prize that was won during a time it was needed most. They sing of how they didn't have a choice but to fall and they wouldn't change it for anything, their respective loves forever written in stone.

"Used to be these restless streets I’d walk alone
Damn near died on Brooklyn bridge sick for my home (sick for my home)
The bag that I left by the door disappeared it seems
Home is where the heart is, you brought it back to me"

Come ERNEST's verse, he sings of missing home just to find out that home is truly with the one he loves.

He, too, croons: "But you crashed into me / Like that damned left hook I never got to see." He also remembers being struck by love, both unable and unwilling to fight off the feelings that brought him comfort and showed him the way back home.

"Lost my share of hands, cause of you I hold the prize
That line about the empty bed, turned out to be a lie
You’re written on my stone before I even die
The way you land those kisses, you’ve got me dead to rights and I don’t mind
La de da la de da de da la de da la de da
Dead to rights
La de da la de da de da la de da la de da"

While Godwin hasn't directly spoken about his collaboration with ERNEST, he has briefly touched on the creation of his new EP.

Lonely Mountain Town came to life through much of 2024, a whirlwind year for the 'Hardwood Floors' star. Fresh off the release of his beloved Family Ties album, Godwin was met with a calendar full of festival outings, sold-out headline shows and stadium appearances alongside Luke Combs.

Throughout all of that, the inspiration didn't stall, the songs never stopped coming and Lonely Mountain Town was born.

Of that experience, he explained, "I’ve learned that I’m at my best when I’m writing and recording songs, so this time around, I was determined, no matter how much I was on the go, to keep pursuing that love of the song and creating. The songs on Lonely Mountain Town are a result of that effort, and I’m excited to share them with you!"

So damn used to waking up in an empty bed
Ain’t that I prefer it any other way instead
Seventh avenue’s been kind to me
Was there for me in times of my most desperate need

But you crashed into me
Like that damned left hook I never got to see

Lost my share of hands, cause of you I hold the prize
That line about the empty bed, turned out to be a lie
You’re written on my stone before I even die
The way you land those kisses, you’ve got me dead to rights and I don’t mind
La de da la de da de da la de da la de da

Used to be these restless streets I’d walk alone
Damn near died on Brooklyn bridge sick for my home
The bag that I left by the door disappeared it seems
Home is where the heart is, you brought it back to me

But you crashed into me
Like that damned left hook I never got to see

Lost my share of hands, cause of you I hold the prize
That line about the empty bed, turned out to be a lie
You’re written on my stone before I even die
The way you land those kisses, you’ve got me dead to rights and I don’t mind
La de da la de da de da la de da la de da
Dead to rights
La de da la de da de da la de da la de da

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