Jennifer Nettles is looking back at the unlikely inspiration behind one of Sugarland‘s biggest songs.
As the country duo celebrates the 20th anniversary of their 2006 album Enjoy the Ride with a North American tour, Nettles is revealing how “Stay” came together.
Released as the album’s fourth single in 2007, the Grammy-winning ballad tells the story of an affair from the perspective of the other woman. Nettles says the idea came from another country hit.
Jennifer Nettles Was Inspired by Reba
“Stay” was the first Sugarland song to feature lyrics written solely by Nettles, and she says a Reba McEntire song sparked the idea.
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“The song is purely fictional,” Nettles, 52, told People. “I was inspired by that Reba McEntire song ‘Whoever’s in New England.’”
McEntire’s 1986 hit is told from the perspective of a woman who suspects her husband is having an affair while he’s away on business.
Nettles heard the song and started thinking about the story from another perspective.
There’s so many songs that are like this — you cheated, and there’s another person, and I’ve been wronged, and I’ve been wronged, and I’ve been wronged. And I thought there’s at least three people in this equation, and none of them are probably having the best time, considering that they’ve all found themselves there.
“So, I thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to just try to put on the cloak of this other woman? What must she be going through?”
Sugarland’s ‘Stay’ Became a Hit
Nettles and Kristian Bush turned the idea into a simple acoustic ballad, and the duo loved how different it sounded from the rest of Enjoy the Ride.
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“Stay” went on to reach No. 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart and No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also earned Sugarland its first two Grammy Awards.
It had such an impact. It just goes to show you, and Kristian and I still say this, a good song, you can strip away all of the other instruments and play it as it was composed.
Nettles added, “If it can stand up like that, it can certainly stand up with everything else that you might want to add to it. [‘Stay’] is such a testament to that in and of itself.”
26 Country Songs Inspired By An Artist’s Child
Country music is all about the most important parts of life — love, heartbreak, faith and hard work — so it’s no surprise that parenthood is a source of inspiration for a whole lot of country songs. Full of parental advice and heartfelt messages of unconditional love, these songs are priceless gifts to the children who inspire them. But it’s not just the kids that benefit: The country fans who love these songs can relate with their own experiences of parenthood, and even share them with their own beloved children.
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak
