Sam Hunt Drops Brand-New Song, ‘Drinkin’ Too Much’ [LISTEN]

Sam Hunt began 2017 on a high note: The country star dropped a brand-new track, by surprise, just after midnight; it's called "Drinkin' Too Much."

Readers can press play below to hear both a produced version of "Drinkin' Too Much," as well as an acoustic version featuring only Hunt and his guitar. From the get-go, it's a heavy tune -- "Pour a drink and take a sip of it / Feelin' like a hypocrite / Couple more, and I don't give a s--t / I never used talk, I never used to talk like this," Hunt sings at the very beginning -- and it only gets heavier as it goes on.

"Drinkin' Too Much" is an apology to Hunt's girlfriend, Hannah Lee Fowler. Although the two are back together now (the singer has recently shared a number of photos of Fowler on his Instagram account), their original breakup inspired a number of the songs on Hunt's debut album, Montevallo.

"I'm sorry I named the album Montevallo / I'm sorry people know your name now and strangers hit you up on social media / I'm sorry you can't listen to the radio ..." Hunt says in the first verse of "Drinkin' Too Much." "I know you want your privacy / You've got nothing to say to me / But I wish you'd let me pay off your student loans with these songs you gave to me."

Hunt released Montevallo in October of 2014. Of its five singles ("Leave the Night On," "Take Your Time," "House Party," "Break Up in a Small Town" and "Make You Miss Me"), four hit No. 1 and all five have gone at least platinum, with three going double platinum and one going triple platinum.

Elsewhere in "Drinkin' Too Much," Hunt remembers going to the CMAs with Fowler ("You said, 'That'll be you up there one day; just wait and see.'"), and then, "two years later," coming back as a nominated artist, her "a million miles away" and him "onstage, drunk, barely holdin' on on ABC." Another verse recalls a moment in a hotel room in Phoenix, Ariz.: "I told you everything / You told me to have a good life / But you still couldn't believe it was really goodbye."

"I know you think my dreams came true," Hunt says. "But since you've been gone, singing these songs is just somethin' to do / The only dream I ever had was you."

At the end of "Drinkin' Too Much," Hunt addresses Fowler specifically by name: "Hannah Lee, I'm on my way to you / I don't know what I'mma say to you / But I know there ain't no way we're through ..." 

Melodically, the produced version of "Drinkin' Too Much" is more R&B than traditional country -- as has been Hunt's M.O. in the past -- but the acoustic version ("Drinkin' Too Much 8pm") lets Hunt's bare-it-all, storytelling lyrics really shine through.

Hunt is working on his sophomore album, although it's unclear of "Drinkin' Too Much" will be part of that project. In June, he will headline the 2017 Taste of Country Music Festival.

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