‘Everything I Love’ by Morgan Wallen - Lyrics & Meaning

The sense of anticipation ahead of Morgan Wallen's 2023 album, One Thing At A Time, was already sky-rocketing when the country music titan unveiled the full tracklist and release date in January. To celebrate the news, Wallen treated fans to another sampler EP, featuring the introspective, faith-filled ‘I Wrote The Book’, the sleek, beat-driven ‘Last Night’ and the fun, traditional-leaning ‘Everything I Love’.

Of the three, ‘Last Night’ has unquestionably taken the bulk of both the streams and the headlines, with the single continuing to break a plethora of records and firmly establishing itself as one of the biggest songs of 2023 - of any genre.

As a result of this success, many initially overlooked the infectiously joyful and unashamedly retro ‘Everything I Love’, which explores a previously untouched sound for Morgan Wallen. In a way, ‘Everything I Love’ is the antithesis of ‘Last Night’, with the moody, sultry lyrics and trap-inspired instrumental of the latter purposefully juxtaposing the former's sunny, tongue-in-cheek nod to classic country.

The fact that ‘Everything I Love’ follows ‘Last Night’ on the One Thing At A Time tracklist highlights this dichotomy. Morgan Wallen has become synonymous with the genre-blurring sound of modern country, and often receives flak for his boundary-pushing incorporation of hip hop, rap and R&B into his sonic arsenal.

‘Everything I Love’ feels like Wallen poking fun at any critics that try and say he isn't ‘country’ enough. A jaunty sample of The Allman Brothers Band's iconic 70's hit, ‘Midnight Rider’, serves as the main artery of the song, with Wallen's unmistakable drawl and clipped delivery coalescing to produce one of the stand-out songs on the album.

Now, it looks like ‘Everything I Love’ is stepping out of the imposing shadow of ‘Last Night’ to receive the attention it deserves. ‘Everything I Love’ was sent to Country Radio on June 26 2023, and is rapidly ascending the Mediabase and Billbord Country Airplay charts, with the song seemingly on-track to become Morgan Wallen's tenth No. 1 single.

The keystone of ‘Everything I Love’ is unquestionably the central homage to The Allman Brothers Band, with Morgan Wallen and his songwriting team cleverly referencing the song's iconic lyric in the lead-up to the chorus (“We were listenin' to ‘One More Silver Dollar’ / Hanging out my Silverado / Down a road I love to ride”).

What makes this all the more satisfying as a listener is the fact that Morgan not only introduces the ‘Midnight Rider’ line, he also interpolates the melody of the much-loved country classic into the bridge.

The overall sonic tapestry of ‘Everything I Love’ feels woven from a place of deep-seated appreciation for Morgan's country music forefathers, and in a way, this enables the Sneedville megastar to release himself from any shackles of expectation or precedence.

Throughout ‘Everything I Love’, Morgan Wallen's gritty, fiery drawl is cushioned by the warm, gently distorted twang of the guitar backing. This takes the edge off the venom that Morgan often imparts through the ferocity of his vocal delivery, and ensures the track retains its levity.

To this end, Morgan mercurially steps back into the shoes of his ‘Whiskey Glasses’ and ‘Happy Hour’ persona, poking fun at his heartbreak in a way that thinly enshrouds the pain he's feeling deep down.

Instead of drawing out his delivery - as he does to great effect on ballads such as ’Cover Me Up’ and ‘Devil Don't Know’ - for the majority of ‘Everything I Love’ Morgan comes to a hard stop at the end of each line, leaving space for the instrumental to breathe.

The result is a feel-good anthem that cuts straight to the heart of neo-traditional country, embracing a classic 70's sound while still incorporating a modern, conversational lyricism.

“I wish I woulda met you anywhere but where I did
Some ol' high rise town that I won't ever go again
Wish we woulda rolled around in some old cab and chased them city lights
And hit bars I don't like
We were listenin' to ‘One More Silver Dollar’
Hanging out my Silverado
Down a road I love to ride”

‘Everything I Love’ takes the listener on a tour through Morgan Wallen's hometown, as he lists all the ways in which his ex-flame has extinguished his enjoyment of things he used to love.

He begins by wistfully imagining a scenario where he'd met his ex in some built-up city he wouldn't ever need to visit again, which would make it easier to watch her memory disappear in his rear-view mirror.

However, in reality, she broke his heart on his door-step, meaning he is haunted by the ghost of her memory wherever he looks.

“Wish I woulda known that by now, you'd be good and gone
And you'd leave us in a cloud of dust
And can't you see what you're doing, girl?
You ruined damn near everything I love”

Interestingly, ‘Midnight Rider’ tells the story of a ramblin’ man who doubles-down on his intentions to keep on running away from the law and his past, eluding whoever tries their hand at finding him.

In ’Everything I Love’, although she's not a bandit, the restless spirit of this character is encapsulated by Morgan's ex-girlfriend, who leaves him standing despairingly in a ‘cloud of dust’.

“I don't care how much they're bitin'
I won't even crank the boat
Soon as that bobber hits the water
Girl, your memory starts to float
Baby, why'd I'd ever take the bait
And take you places that I love to go?
Hell, I'll never know

I even took you to my hometown to meet my mama
Now, I'm gonna see you every time I see that welcome sign”

Morgan Wallen loves a fishing analogy, and he casts out one of his finest in the second verse of ‘Everything I Love’. He explains how, even when he's in his happy place on a lake, the painful memory of his ex ‘starts to float’ in tandem with the bobber.

He accelerates straight into another tongue-in-cheek angling metaphor, as he asks himself, “Baby, why'd I'd ever take the bait / And take you places that I love to go?”

“I can't go nowhere near the whiskey
'Cause you used to drink it with me
In the bed of my truck
And now I can't get drunk
Can't you see what you're doing, girl?
You ruined damn near everything I love
Can't you see what you're doing, girl?
You ruined damn near everything I love”

Although it's playful and whimsical at heart, ‘Everything I Love’ undoubtedly serves a more integral role - at least narratively - on One Thing At A Time than initially meets the eye.

By concluding the song by revealing he ‘can't go nowhere near the whiskey / ‘Cause you used to drink it with me’, Morgan sets the tone for the rest of the project, much of which is pervaded by the tension between the disorienting yet alluring depths of alcoholism and the blinding, illuminating light of sobriety. This ensures ‘Everything I Love’ flows seamlessly into the next song on the album, the Eric Church-assisted ‘Man Made A Bar’.

It also feels like a nice tip of his ball-cap to his previous record, Dangerous, which featured all the trademark Morgan Wallen heartbreak remedies that are mentioned in ‘Everything I Love’, such as fishing (‘Need A Boat’), driving down a backroad (‘Still Goin’ Down’) and, of course, a strong, ice-cold drink (‘Beer Don't’).

Although presumably unintentional, ‘Everything I Love’ could easily be the sequel to Morgan's chart-topping single, ‘More Than My Hometown’, and the prequel to the fan-favourite, ‘Silverado For Sale’.

Speaking about his eclectic use of samples throughout One Thing At A Time, Morgan Wallen highlighted, “I interpolated ‘Midnight Rider’ by The Allman Brothers Band on ’Everything I Love’, and then we did Young Thug ‘Lifestyle’ on ‘180’”.

He went on to underline how the expansive tracklist of the album offered Morgan the freedom to play around with different sounds and styles, as is showcased on those two tracks in particular, “Luckily, with having 36 songs, one of the good things about it is you get to experiment, you get to try new things. Those songs could not be any more different, but my musical tastes couldn't be any more different as well. As long as I'm being honest and true to myself, I feel like I can do whatever I want”.

“I wish I woulda met you anywhere but where I did
Some ol' high rise town that I won't ever go again
Wish we woulda rolled around in some old cab and chased them city lights
And hit bars I don't like
We were listenin' to ‘One More Silver Dollar’
Hanging out my Silverado
Down a road I love to ride

Wish I woulda known that by now, you'd be good and gone
And you'd leave us in a cloud of dust
And can't you see what you're doing, girl?
You ruined damn near everything I love

I don't care how much they're bitin'
I won't even crank the boat
Soon as that bobber hits the water
Girl, your memory starts to float
Baby, why'd I'd ever take the bait
And take you places that I love to go?
Hell, I'll never know

I even took you to my hometown to meet my mama
Now, I'm gonna see you every time I see that welcome sign

Wish I would've known that by now, you'd be good and gone
And you'd leave us in a cloud of dust
And can't you see what you're doing, girl?
You ruined damn near everything I loveI don't wanna hear ‘One More Silver Dollar’
I can't take my Silverado down them roads we used to ride

Wish I would've known that by now, you'd be good and gone
And you'd leave us in a cloud of dust
Can't you see what you're doing, girl?
You ruined damn near everything I love

I can't go nowhere near the whiskey
'Cause you used to drink it with me
In the bed of my truck
And now I can't get drunk
Can't you see what you're doing, girl?
You ruined damn near everything I love
Can't you see what you're doing, girl?
You ruined damn near everything I love

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