American Honey
| "American Honey" | |||||||
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| Single by Lady Antebellum | |||||||
| from the album Need You Now | |||||||
| Released | January 11, 2010 | ||||||
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| Genre | Country | ||||||
| Length | 3:44 | ||||||
| Label | Capitol Nashville | ||||||
| Writer(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Lady Antebellum singles chronology | |||||||
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"American Honey" is a song written by Cary Barlowe, Hillary Lindsey and Shane Stevens, and recorded by American country music group Lady Antebellum. It was released on January 11, 2010, as the second single from their sophomore album Need You Now. The group's fifth single overall, it debuted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts dated for January 2, 2010. The song is part of the track listing to Now That's What I Call Music! 34.
Content
The song's female narrator, lead singer Hillary Scott, states a desire to escape her adult lifestyle and return to her childhood, which is described in the lyrics as "American honey."[1] It is in D-flat major, with an approximate tempo of 84 beats per minute. The guitars use DADGAD or Celtic tuning decreased by a semitone, and the chords are in a pattern of D ♭ - B ♭m7 - G ♭ - E ♭m - D ♭ on the verses, and G ♭ - D ♭ - B ♭m7 - A ♭ three times on the chorus.[2]
Critical reception
The song received mainly negative reviews. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock stated that "after one listen [he doesn't] see how this single can fail," but criticized the production by saying that he thought the drum machine was too loud.[1] Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a D rating, saying that the "song isn't sung well" and "certainly not interesting enough to warrant suffering through the painful mediocrity of the lead vocal."[3] Engine 145 reviewer Blake Boldt gave it a thumbs-down, referring to the lyric as "a lazy depiction of a chaste young lass chasing after a fuzzy memory" and calling Scott's vocal "sad and pensive and the slightest bit off-pitch against a distracting drumbeat."[4]
Music video
The video was directed by Trey Fanjoy and was filmed at Disney's Golden Oak Ranch.
Synopsis
The video shows Hillary, Charles and Dave looking back at their younger selves. When Hillary lies in the grass and walks through clothes lines she looks back her younger self running and dancing through a field and playing through clothes lines. Charles who is sitting by a pond looks back to his young self spending time with a girl he likes. As Dave walks along a dirt path he sees him riding a bike he was younger on that same path. Starting with the first chorus there are cut to shots of all three of them sitting on a porch singing the song at night.
Chart performance
"American Honey" debuted at #47 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of January 2, 2010, before its initial release date of January 11, 2010.[5][6] It has also become their third #1 hit, as well as their third consecutive. It has been certified platinum for sales exceeding 1,000,000 units.[7]
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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| Preceded by "Highway 20 Ride" by Zac Brown Band |
Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one single April 24-May 1, 2010 |
Succeeded by "Gimmie That Girl" by Joe Nichols |
References
- 1 2 "Lady Antebellum American Honey". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
- ↑ ""American Honey" sheet music". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ↑ "Review of American Honey". Country Universe. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
- ↑ Boldt, Blake (2010-01-18). "Lady Antebellum — "American Honey"". Engine 145. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ↑ "Chart Highlights: Country, Dance/Club Play Songs & More". Billboard (magazine). Archived from the original on 18 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
- ↑ "Single Releases : MusicRow". MusicRow. Archived from the original on 10 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
- ↑ "RIAA Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
- ↑ "Lady Antebellum – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Lady Antebellum.
- ↑ "Lady Antebellum – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Lady Antebellum.
- ↑ "Lady Antebellum – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Lady Antebellum.
- ↑ "2010 Year-End Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
- ↑ "Best of 2010: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2010. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.