“Sweet songs, of love and when to fly free.”
American singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat has come a long way since her 2007 debut album Coco, which featured the infamous singles “Bubbly” and “Realize.” Caillat’s musical discography includes blends of pop and folk similar to Taylor Swift’s Fearless Era, an album that features Caillat’s own vocals and writing. Her journey after Coco was met with the breakthrough release of “Lucky,” a duet with Jason Mraz. The 2011 summer anthem, “Brighter Than The Sun,” was another celebrated moment in Caillat’s career and solidified her as a star with shining guitar strings.
Caillat reminisces over a decade of music with a new album titled Along The Way, released in October of 2023. She has committed to country music for the first time under her independent label Blue Jean Baby Records. Track four, “Sometimes You Need a Change,” describes just that. The change in her case has to do with channeling the “wild horses” and “rolling stones” within her.
The album’s first pre-released single, “Worth It,” sets the scene with colors of auburn and sounds of a banjo. Caillat’s lyrics speak on all sides of a romantic relationship; the good, “Loving you was easy / Loving you was nice,” and the bad, “Leavin was a heartbreak / Closing of a door / Can’t blame us for wanted something more.” In the hook, she resolves with knowing “It wasn’t perfect / But lovin’ you was worth it.”
“Pretend” goes against this resolution by ignoring the bad, “Let’s act as if we didn’t quit and when it got hard, we held on / Let’s pretend you gave it your all, pretend I didn’t need more.” Instead of confronting the truth, Caillat transports herself back to when “We’re still sitting’ in a countryside kitchen / Red dog slippin’ on the floor” or “That first summer night in the back of your truck / Kissin’ in the moonlight stars above / Dancin’ in a field with the radio on.” The interlocking strings of a mandolin, a violin, a Nashville-tuned acoustic, and a steel guitar blend beautifully like “The moment we found our favorite song.” The beat is carefree like having a crush, excited by “That forever kinda feeling we found back then.”
Caillat’s songwriting on Along The Way is characteristic of country lyricism by prioritizing storytelling. Country music is successful in reminding listeners of their own experiences while being personal to the artist. And like others in the genre, this album has clear themes of love and heartbreak. Caillat goes through seasons of emotion, falling in and out of love with the songs “Wide Open,” “Meant For Me,” “Still Gonna Miss You” and “Blue.”
Caillat anticipates a heartbreak in the song “Buying Time,” and decides it might be easier to “Hold on a little longer” even though she “Know[s] what’s in the cards.” Caillat lives in the moment, “Pour us a little wine, leave all the lights down low,” while the instruments behind her “Slow it down, with a slow dance.” The inclusion of wide reverberating guitar strums gives this country song some added tropical relaxation.
“For Someone” is the story of passing down an ex, “Girl I must confess, when I got him, he was a mess, but I swear he’s making progress.” Caillat writes to the next girlfriend with bittersweet pride, “We teach him how to walk and then he runs / For me he might not be the right one, but I made him the right one for someone.”
Caillat harmonizes with Sheryl Crow on the song “I’ll Be Here.” Crow contributes her pop-country-rock fusion to this optimistic ode about having someone to count on. Besides their blending vocals and popular influence, Crow and Caillat have one thing in common… their “Gonna soak up the sun.”
“Two Birds” is full of metaphors. In any relationship, there are times when two people fly together and times when they must fly apart. Caillat is the drifting bird in this story, “Lost in the stars and the night sky / You’ll find your way by moonlight, I’ll find mine by sunshine.”
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