“Circles Around This Town” by Maren Morris

How would you feel, even after already having a couple of studio albums under your belt, if you still got rejected from competing on The Voice, American Idol and America’s Got Talent? These are the types of disappointments Maren Morris had to deal with before blowing up.

Of course she endured and became a major industry figure, which is one of the reasons we’re analyzing her song today. But Morris’s career trajectory definitely hasn’t been like that of, say Taylor Swift, who experienced notable success right off the bat. So most simply explained, “Circles Around This Town” is based on Maren’s resiliency in the game – how, even after the aforementioned discouragements, she didn’t give up, ultimately moving to Nashville (from Texas) and being signed by a major label.

Morris has described this piece as “probably the most specifically autobiographical song [she’s] ever written”. And whereas this track (as well as its music video) may speak to her individual experience, don’t let such a quote fool you into believing that the lyrics feature any type of deeply-personal information. 

To the contrary, Morris appears to be a relatively-reserved music star. And most simply explained, the lyrics serve the general purpose of presenting the vocalist as an example of perseverance and “ruthless” conviction.

As such, the titular act may be one that she literally engaged in. But more to the point is it being symbolic of Maren refusing to give up, as in having driven around in circles basically until she composed a hit. And initially, she was under the impression that once success was achieved she could take her foot off the pedal a bit. But instead, perhaps we can say such a modus operandi became her lifestyle. So even ’til now, we find the vocalist “driving circles around this town”.

Maren Morris

Maren Morris is a country singer from Texas whose first album, “Walk On”, came out in 2005. She really caught on in the late 2010s with the success of two of her LPs, “Hero” (2016) and “Girl” (2019). Both projects broke the top 5 of the Billboard 200. 

But readers of this blog may be more familiar with Maren due to collaborations she’s dropped with other famous artists. For example, she teamed up with Taylor Swift on 2021’s “You All Over Me“.

Indeed Maren appears to be well connected. For instance, besides herself, the other writers of this song are:

• Jimmy Robbins
• Julia Michaels
• Greg Kurstin

The latter two in particular are concurrently amongst the top composers in the game. And that said, Kurstin also produced this track.

When was “Circles Around This Town” released?

Sony Music Entertainment officially launched this song on 7 January 2022.

The track was well-received by listeners upon initial release (especially as far as Amazon Music is concerned). And as far as music charts go, its crowning achievement thus far has been making it into the top 10 of Billboard’s US Hot Country Songs list.

More Facts

This song also charted in New Zealand and Canada. It was a top-30 hit in the former country. And in Canada, it also achieved top-30 status on the country’s official Country Singles chart. Furthermore, it charted on Billboard’s highly prestigious Hot 100 charts.

This song is from the “Humble Quest” project. This project is Maren Morris’s sixth studio album overall. It is however, her third studio album under a major label.

The music video to “Circles Around This Town” was helmed by director Harper Smith.