Country music's about real-life situations and people, and that's exactly the story foundation for Matt Stell's latest single, "Breakin' in Boots."
In a recent interview with ABC Audio, Matt recounted how a chance run-in, well, sort of, with an attractive girl inspired the heartbreak number.
"I wrote it because I was sitting in a bar here in Nashville, and I was watching the game, and I went to tab out, and I looked across the bar and I saw this girl that was really, really hot," Matt recalls. "I was like, 'OK, I got to say something. I got to at least hear a 'no, thank you.' I looked and she had some boots on."
"It took a little while and I tabbed out, walked to where she was over by the TouchTunes and couldn't find her," he shares. "I never saw her again."
That missed opportunity catalyzed the writing of "Breakin' in Boots."
"The next day I went to write some songs with my buddies and my buddy Ben [Stennis] goes, 'Hey, I got this song. It's like, she'll leave your heart breaking in boots, like breaking in your boots.' He was like, 'I'm not sure what that title means.' I was like, 'Bro, I know exactly what it means,'" Matt recalls.
"It's everything I love about a country song. It's true. It's about aggressive heartbreak, which is my favorite kind of country music," he says of "Breakin' in Boots." "We've been playing it live and, man, it's been going over great, so I'm excited about it."
"Breakin' in Boots" is currently in the top 40 of the country charts. You can find it on Matt's debut album, Born Lonely, arriving June 7.
Here's the track list for Born Lonely:
"Built by Broken Hearts"
"Breakin’ in Boots"
"Born Lonely"
"Girl Gets Gone"
"Into the Sunrise"
"Smooth"
"The Hard Stuff"
"What We Do Best"
"Take the Girl"
"One Cold Beer at a Time"