Carly Pearce co-wrote her debut single, “Every Little Thing,” after a painful breakup she had with a guy a few years ago. The very personal and emotional song was written along with Emily Shackelton and busbee.
The song is in the top 10 on the country charts and Pearce will release her debut album, Every Little Thing, Oct. 13 on Big Machine Records.
Pearce and Shackelton recently expressed the emotions that they felt when they wrote the song.
Carly Pearce: I wrote “Every Little Thing” about a guy who really, really broke my heart a few years ago.
If you’ve experienced loss in any capacity, you know what it feels like to be in those moments of feeling like you really cannot go on without this person. And also, I wrote it to share that, in a relationship, it’s a roller coaster ride of good and bad, and you kind of deal with both of those when you’re with somebody.
What’s so funny is, this song — we knew going into it that we wanted to write a haunting ballad, Emily, busbee and I. And that’s kind of every songwriter’s nightmare, to write, with an artist, a haunting ballad. I love the dobro so much; I love the sounds of Alison Krauss’ music and really kind of wanted to capture that haunting thing.
We wrote that song in 45 minutes. I remember that was one of the fastest writes I’ve ever had, and I cried on the way home, because it was almost the final stamp of the nail in the coffin on that relationship.
Emily Shackleton: It was my fourth or fifth co-write with busbee and Carly, and when I arrived they told me, “We want to write a haunting ballad” — pretty much exactly opposite of what any publisher, A&R or pitch sheet will tell you to write — especially for an unsigned artist! But there was magic in the room for it, and it fell out quickly once Carly started talking about an ex and the memories not letting her go. The melody also fell out seamlessly, and felt strangely simple but just right.
It all fit together like puzzle pieces. The song was probably written in under two hours.
Carly Pearce will open the show for Brett Young at the House of Blues in Cleveland on Thursday, November 16. Tickets are $25-$35 and are available at LiveNation.com.
