‘Too Early To Drink’ by Riley Green – Lyrics & Meaning

Riley Green's new album, Don't Mind If I Do, consists of nearly every kind of country song. Across its 18 tracks, you'll find loved-up ballads, nostalgia-fueled story songs, heartbreak hits and drinking songs.

The star combines elements of the latter two to craft 'Too Early To Drink', an achy opus that illustrates heartbreak, the bottle and how the two can so easily go hand-in-hand.

With its effortless lyrics and expressive sound, 'Too Early To Drink' is poised to join the extensive songbook of country breakup tunes.

At the beginning, 'Too Early To Drink' is all mournful acoustics, a few solemn strings strummed together to mirror the song's despondent words. With the pre-chorus, a distant drum joins beat in, accompanied by the wail of pedal steel and the cry of electric guitar. It all builds into an increasingly desperate and downtrodden arrangement, perfectly matching the lyrics.

"How early’s too early to drink
‘Cause it’s 8am and I’m starting to think
I need some of what she poured right down the sink
How early’s too early to drink"

In 'Too Early To Drink', Riley Green has a lot of questions. At the beginning, he asks, "How early’s too early to drink?" But the reasoning goes much deeper than simply needing a nip of alcohol. He's really wondering "How lonely can loneliness feel?", or "How hard can one heart break in two / And how much can one single man lose?"

The song finds the artist heartbroken and unable to see an end in sight. He's desperate for more than just a drink; he wants to understand the feeling that's been plaguing him.

"And how hard can one heart break in two
And how much can one single man lose
One fell swoop you said goodbye
And tore out of my drive as fast as my two eyes can blink
So how late is too late to say sorry I’ll change
And how early is too early to drink"

From the chorus, it becomes evident that his significant lover has left him because of something he did or didn't do. He'd like to ask for forgiveness but fears it's too late, so he'll turn to the bottle instead.

The questions keep coming as he continues to descend deeper and deeper into his despair, pondering "Where’s bottom if bottom ain’t here / Does missing you have a whole ‘nother gear / Will I drown in my foolishness and disappear / Where’s bottom if bottom ain’t here."

He's left to think about what he's done and who he's lost, finding himself going through hell and needing more than just a little liquid courage.

"That clock says it’s quarter to nine
And I can’t get you off of my mind
There’s hell to go through and I’m right on the brink
So how early is too early to drink"

During his UK album listening party for Don't Mind If I Do on Thursday, October 17th, Riley Green reflected on what inspired ‘Too Early To Drink’, “‘Too Early To Drink‘ is a song that reminds me a lot of old George Jones. He was always so honest about the problems he had with alcohol and it always tied to a female, something he was trying to get over in a heartbreak. It's a very traditional song but the title almost sounds like it could be fun and light-hearted, but in reality, it's a sad track”.

“How early’s too early to drink
‘Cause it’s 8am and I’m starting to think
I need some of what she poured right down the sink
How early’s too early to drink

How lonely can loneliness feel
‘CauseI’ve been sliding like some pedal steel
Just driving me crazy here spinning my wheels
How lonely can loneliness feel

And how hard can one heart break in two
And how much can one single man lose
One fell swoop you said goodbye
And tore out of my drive as fast as my two eyes can blink
So how late is too late to say sorry I’ll change
And how early is too early to drink

Where’s bottom if bottom ain’t here
Does missing you have a whole ‘nother gear
Will I drown in my foolishness and disappear
Where’s bottom if bottom ain’t here

And how hard can one heart break in two
And how much can one single man lose
One fell swoop you said goodbye
And you tore out of my drive as fast as my two eyes can blink
So how late is too late to say sorry I’ll change
And how early is too early to drink

That clock says it’s quarter to nine
And I can’t get you off of my mind
There’s hell to go through and I’m right on the brink
So how early is too early to drink”

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