Lately Jennifer Nettles has been all over television with appearances on late night, the Thanksgiving Day Parade, hosting CMA’s Country Christmas and co-starring in “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors,” and she’s about to overtake country radio (again) with her new heart- wrenching single, “Unlove You.”
Co-written by Nettles with her pal and tour-mate Brandy Clark, “Unlove You” is a passionately charged song about the inability to accept the end of a relationship. The lyrics describe the roller-coaster ride of understanding that the relationship (and perhaps an extramarital one) is over because it won’t work, but at the same time not caring about any of that and just wanting to be with the person as they can instantly make things alright again. The songwriting is so eloquent in expressing the agony of this heart-vs-head tug-of-war that she is suffering from:
I can’t unlove you
My heart can’t unbreak
I can’t unfeel how it felt
But feel so much myself
My whole body ached
And I can’t unknow this
Lord, I wish I knew how
But I can’t unlove you
So come love me for now
The simple instrumental accompaniment allows Nettles’ powerful vocals to be showcased in a way that a talent like hers should be, and much like in Sugarland’s melancholy “Stay,” she sings with such conviction that you can’t help but feel the pain, frustration, and desperation that the lyrics present.
“Unlove You” is currently available on all outlets and will be released to Country Radio on January 11.