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"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve,” Gordie says in Stand By Me, looking back on a Labor Day weekend in 1959, with the hindsight of an adult. “Jesus, does anyone?"
It’s that same lens of retrospection, reflection, and nostalgia that Becca Bowen looks back through on her new single. Born and raised in the small town of West Columbia, South Carolina, ‘County Line’ is a coming-of-age classic that reminds us all of the fleetingness of youth and the way friendships change from childhood.
Time goes by so fast. One minute you’re a teenager lying on the 10-yard line with your friends after the game, wondering what the future holds in store for you all, then before you know it the years have slipped by, and you’ve settled down and got kids of your own wondering the exact same thing.
Bowen has the advice of her dad echoing in her ears, encouraging her to pursue her dream and leave her small town behind, just like Gordie does to Chris in Stand By Me.
“Keep on living, man / Give things a second chance,” she sings, as her dad’s words come back to her. “Learn to dance to the rhythm of your heart / Life’s too short to spend feeling irrelevant / Gotta chase your dreams if you wanna leave your mark and that all starts when you cross that county line.”
Written by Bowen and Sam Woods, ‘County Line’ is a simmering country ballad that will ring true for anyone who has ever had to leave something behind to go out into the big wide world in search of something else. The kind of heartfelt hit-a-nerve tearjerker that Reba and Carrie built country music on.
“It’s more vulnerable than my earlier releases,” Bowen told us. “It’s about finding the courage to leave your hometown to start a new life, or in my case to chase a dream that led me to Music City. So many people will relate to this song. Everyone faces a point in their lives when they have to make a choice to stay where they are or cross that county line. I am very proud of this song."
The video for ‘County Line’ is premiering exclusively at Holler below.
