‘Really Wanna Know’ by Ole 60 - Lyrics & Meaning

Kentucky band, Ole 60, have been out on tour since July, trekking across America and delivering high energy country-rock performances. Thankfully, though, it seems they’ve still been finding time to record and release some new music too.

The band announced their new track ‘Really Wanna Know’ with an understated socials post, sharing a simple photo of the song’s cover art - a cardboard background, cigarette and ashes, and a beer bottle cap. In the caption, they said “this song is a special one. Hope y’all enjoy it,” from that point on the band have been teasing clips of the new track, and it sounds like it’s going to be an emotional end-of-summer anthem.

The moving track acts as a follow up to ‘Nancy Avenue’, released back in May, and their recent smash hit EP, Songs About You.

The five-piece band kick off ‘Really Wanna Know’ with a low-key picked guitar line before lead singer Jacob Young launches into the story. The melancholy feel is enhanced with some steel guitar in the background and more electric slowly picking up the pace before the band reaches the chorus.

A confident drumbeat is added into the mix and reminds us of the band’s genre-mixing talents, the second chorus being where the rock side of the Kentucky group really begins to shine. As has been the case with some of their previous releases, the band crosses between indie-rock and country-sentiments with ease.

"Woke up to a text at 2 pm
You missing me again
I know you hate to hear about it
You’re asking how I’ve been
Another night, another show
Another crowd and rowdy folks
Singing a song that ain’t about ya
If you really wanna know
If you really wanna know"

Kicking off the story, our protagonist is waking up at 2pm and it seems he’s been through a recent heartbreak. He’s either been avoiding his feelings by sleeping through the day, or he’s been spending his nights living it up. As the person on the other end of the phone is asking him about life on the road as a musician and the songs he’s been writing, it appear this breakup was a result of rising stardom - sounds familiar. But when answers can hurt both people, do they “really wanna know”?

"But you really wanna know
If I’ve been going out
Sleeping with some stranger I just met
Really wanna know if I found the time
To think about you yet
You ain’t here to hold me
And you’ve been wondering
Who’s in my arms instead
Well, I really wanna know
You really wanna know"

As the story carries on, our protagonist is asking if his ex “really wants to know” if he’s been “sleeping with some stranger”, or has someone else in his arms, all the things we worry about when we can’t shake our feelings for someone. The remaining question though is ‘why?’ - it seems both sides of the relationship want to know what the other is doing, and why they want to know. Are there hopes of getting back together? Or is it just jealousy coming into play?

"If you really wanna know
Hear the traffic stop out in West Virginia
State boys took all of our weed
I’ve been staring at your picture
I ain’t missing Tennessee
Lay some skin on the pavemеnt
Drags will do, drive out on park road
It’s been everything I wantеd"

It seems that our main character can’t stop thinking about this lost love too; with a run of bad luck, the one thing he keeps coming back to is “staring at your picture”.

"If you really wanna know
If I still miss you after everything I’ve seen
The answer would be yes
Clearly wanna know if I still your old heart beat
Beating in my chest
Really truth be told I just don’t know
If I could love you more than this"

Even after all the success, the rockstar dreams, the touring and the popularity, our main man has something to confess: he still misses his ex. Despite everything he’s seen and done, there’s still one person he wishes was by his side, and they’re not there.

It seems the young Kentucky stars have been very excited about the release of ‘Really Wanna Know’ as they’ve been posting somewhat of a countdown on Instagram since its initial announcement. The group took to the green summer hills to record some live performances of the new song, showcasing just how well the band leans into the rockier side of their music.

With “two more days” to go until the release, Ole 60 posted a video of frontman Jacob Young singing the emotional song with an acoustic guitar in hand - when performed this way, the track is an even heavier listen. Whether there’s a true story behind the song, we don’t know - maybe the group will let us in on that as they take the song on the road as part of their eagerly anticipated US tour.

“Woke up to a text at 2 pm
You missing me again
I know you hate to hear about it
You’re asking how I’ve been
Another night, another show
Another crowd and rowdy folks
Singing a song that ain’t about ya
If you really wanna know
If you really wanna know

But you really wanna know
If I’ve been going out
Sleeping with some stranger I just met
Really wanna know if I found the time
To think about you yet
You ain’t here to hold me
And you’ve been wondering
Who’s in my arms instead
Well, I really wanna know
You really wanna know

If you really wanna know
Hear the traffic stop out in West Virginia
State boys took all of our weed
I’ve been staring at your picture
I ain’t missing Tennessee
Lay some skin on the pavemеnt
Drags will do, drive out on park road
It’s been everything I wantеd

But you really wanna know
If I’ve been going out
Sleeping with some stranger I just met
Really wanna know if I found the time
To think about you yet
You ain’t here to hold me
And you’ve been wondering
Who’s in my arms instead
Well, I really wanna know
You really wanna know

If you really wanna know

If you really wanna know
If I still miss you after everything I’ve seen
The answer would be yes
Clearly wanna know if I still your old heart beat
Beating in my chest
Really truth be told I just don’t know
If I could love you more than this
Well, I really wanna know

You really wanna know
If I’ve been going out
Sleeping with some stranger I just met
Really wanna know if I found the time
To think about you yet
You ain’t here to hold me
And you’ve been wondering
Who’s in my arms instead
Well, I really wanna know
You really wanna know

If you really wanna know”

--

For more on Ole 60, see below: