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Ashley Cooke - 'your place'
Label: Big Loud Records
Release Date: July 7th 2023
Album: shot in the dark
Producer: Jimmy Robbins
Songwriters: Ashley Cooke, Jordan Minton & Mark Trussell
Chart Performance:
- No. 25 on Billboard Country Airplay
- No. 26 on Mediabase Country
The Background:
One of the lead singles from Ashley Cooke's debut full-length album, shot in the dark, ‘your place’ was a fan-favourite long before it officially hit the airwaves on December 11 2023.
The fast-emerging Floridian first teased a snippet of the sinuous, simmering track in April 2023, with the fervent response it garnered forcing Ashley Cooke's hand when it came to choosing her next Country Radio single later that year.
An empowering anthem directed at Cooke's cheating ex, ‘your place’ manages to capture the country prodigy's signature laid-back, sunny ambience while still being underpinned by a fiery intensity, as she rebukes her former flame for his attempts to rekindle their romance.
The official music video, which dropped on January 29th 2024, adds new layers to the song. The cleverly composed visuals follow the ex as he descends in an elevator, with each floor revolving around a specific lyrical reference in ‘your place’.
The video concludes with the stirring moment where the ex steps out of the elevator for the first time as Ashley Cooke packs her bag, before she walks past him and takes his place.
It's an evocative symbol for how Cooke reclaims her control of the situation through the song, as she refuses to allow him to insert himself into her life anymore.
The Sound:
Although undoubtedly containing an array of vulnerable lyricism, the texture, composition and Ashley Cooke's assured delivery ensures ‘your place’ takes on the energy of a galvanising, inspiring battle-cry rather than a forlorn heartbreak track.
The stormy guitars combine with Cooke's lustrous, charismatic vocals to add weight to the admonishing hook of ‘your place’, while the instrumental is deftly stripped back for the verses to help accentuate the ebbs and flows of the track.
As ‘your place’ progresses towards its invigorating finale, the electric guitars take on a hazy, dreamlike quality as Ashley Cooke croons alongside them, which transports the listener to the bleary-eyed, early-hours drunk-dial she describes in the chorus.
With Jimmy Robbins at the helm on production, ‘your place’ weaves together the strength and defiance of Ashley Cooke's vocals with the bittersweet tone of the instrumental. This creates a sense of detached wistfulness, as Cooke wishes her ex had been a better partner, despite underlining how she no longer harbours any feelings for him.
The Meaning:
“My spare time and my spare key
Don't go to your front door
And I don't keep that old Jeep
In your driveway anymore”
‘your place’ opens with an example of the incisive wordplay Ashley Cooke has become known for, with the ‘it's been a year’ singer-songwriter transitioning from ‘spare time’ to ‘spare key’ to portray how she doesn't have any need to turn up on her ex's doorstep.
As Cooke highlights to the listener how she's moved on, she underlines that her truck doesn't find itself parked up in his drive anymore - a moment that features in the video.
“And my toothbrush ain't on your bathroom sink
Haven't been to your side of town in weeks
You're the reason this thing broke
So you should already know”
Ashley Cooke continues in a similar vein, before stressing - just in case there was any lingering doubt - that her old flame is indeed to blame for the relationship's demise. The fact that the first verse's descriptions pivot around the ex's physical home foreshadows the duality of the song's titular phrase, ‘your place’.
“It ain't your place to walk up, say, ‘Hey’
Ask how I've been at some party
It ain't your place to ask my friends
When you see 'em out if I'm seeing somebody”
The hook offers a rebuttal to the ex after she tires of him persistently trying to wheedle his way back into her life, as Cooke reminds him that it's no longer ‘his place’ to do so - he lost that right when he cheated. She dismisses his casual, seemingly innocent questions to her and her friends as he attempts to find out more about her love-life, suggesting he's only seeking to start things up again out of jealousy.
“You don't get to call me up 'cause you're drunk
2am, say you miss us
Nah, you don't get to care where I'm waking up these days
It ain't your place”
Ashley Cooke adds further colour to the picture, recalling how he only calls in the middle of the night when he's drunk, implying again he's phoning out of loneliness and lust, rather than because he's changed his ways and is ready for this kind of commitment.
The keystone lyric arrives at the end of the chorus, as Cooke repeats the first line of the hook but with new meaning. Instead of ‘your place’ denoting ‘your right’, it now refers to the fact that where she wakes up is, quite literally, not ever going to be ‘his place’.
“Don't reach out to my family
When their birthdays come around
And don't act like you're happy
For me when a dream works out
If I met someone or if I didn't
Honestly, it's none of your business anyway
'Cause at the end of the day”
As the song evolves, Ashley Cooke adds more detail to the antics of her former partner, outlining how he tries to contact her family as well as saying he's happy about her accomplishments, despite Cooke knowing he's being disingenuous and has ulterior motives. She coolly reiterates her earlier point as he again tries to inquire about her post-relationship dating life - “it's none of your business”.
“Don't say, ‘Come over’, don't swear that you're different
You made your bed and I ain't sleeping in it”
Ashley Cooke introduces another satisfying play on words as the track moves towards its conclusion, with the ‘never til now’ songsmith remoulding the cri-de-coeur behind ‘your place’ into the witty snub, “You made your bed - and I ain't sleeping in it”.
What has Ashley Cooke said about ‘your place’?
Speaking to Holler, Ashley Cooke explained how ‘your place’ arose, “The idea for ’your place’ had been sitting with me ever since a certain real-life breakup happened, and I was excited when the pieces started coming together, especially with the wordplay we incorporated”, before going on to share her love for the track, “This song means so much to me because it is truly a reflection of what I went through and how I came out on the other side of it all. I hope it allows listeners to not only relate, but be inspired to take back their own power too.”
Heartwarmingly, as much as ‘your place’ means to listeners, it seems it also takes on a motivating, self-affirming purpose when Cooke performs it live, “Hearing the crowd yell the lyrics back to me on tour continues to help me realize my self-worth both in and out of relationships. It is so exciting seeing my story resonate with others, and it reminds me of why I decided to write this song in the first place”.
For the full lyrics to Ashley Cooke's ‘your place’, see below:
“My spare time and my spare key
Don't go to your front door
And I don't keep that old Jeep
In your driveway anymore
And my toothbrush ain't on your bathroom sink
Haven't been to your side of town in weeks
You're the reason this thing broke
So you should already know
It ain't your place to walk up, say, ‘Hey’
Ask how I've been at some party
It ain't your place to ask my friends
When you see 'em out if I'm seeing somebody
You don't get to call me up 'cause you're drunk
2am, say you miss us
Nah, you don't get to care where I'm waking up these days
It ain't your place
Don't reach out to my family
When their birthdays come around
And don't act like you're happy
For me when a dream works out
If I met someone or if I didn't
Honestly, it's none of your business anyway
'Cause at the end of the day
It ain't your place to walk up, say, ‘Hey’
Ask how I've been at some party
It ain't your place to ask my friends
When you see 'em out if I'm seeing somebody
You don't get to call me up 'cause you're drunk
2am, say you miss us
Nah, you don't get to care where I'm waking up these days
It ain't your place
No, it ain't your place
No
Don't say, ‘Come over’, don't swear that you're different
You made your bed and I ain't sleeping in it
It ain't your place to walk up, say, ‘Hey’
Ask how I've been at some party
It ain't your place to ask my friends
When you see 'em out if I'm seeing somebody
You don't get to call me up 'cause you're drunk
2am, say you miss us
Nah, you don't get to care where I'm waking up these days
It ain't your place
It ain't your place”
For more on Ashley Cooke, see below:
