“You Ain’t Here To Kiss Me (2022)” by Brett Young
This is a cover of the original “You Ain’t Here to Kiss Me”, which Brett Young dropped in 2017. This updated version was released on 2 December 2022, at the behest of Dann Huff, its producer. And it was eventually featured on Young’s 2023 studio album “Across the Sheets”, as made public through BMLG Records (with the original being released through Big Machine proper). And besides the singer, the other writers of this song are Matt Alderman and Tiffany Goss.
The Lyrics of “You Ain’t Here To Kiss Me (2022)”
Reportedly, this piece was inspired by an earlier stage of Brett’s relationship with Taylor Mills. The two would later on get married in 2018, but they went through some issues beforehand, such as enduring a serious breakup. And it was reportedly that particular episode which went on to inspire the lyrics behind this song.
As the story goes, upon breaking up Young moved to Nashville, while Mills remained in Los Angeles, where the pair had been based. Then, upon returning to L.A. for a brief, one-week visit, he was unable to get in contact with Taylor.
Apparently she was snubbing him, as the first verse of the song goes on to imply that Brett did make an effort to get in touch. But in failing to do so, the vocalist decides that ‘there’s no need for him to hang around’, and therefore he might as well “get out of town”.
The chorus then illustrates what he went through on the plane ride back. This includes the singer being perturbed by a couple of “lovebirds” therein, i.e. their romantic happiness reminding him of what he’s lacking.
It also happens that Brett embarked on this journey “on New Year’s Eve”, which is one of the biggest holidays of the year. So while the pilot and apparently everyone else is in a jovial mood, the vocalist is not. Indeed, the turn of the New Year is often celebrated by kissing someone and more specifically a romantic interest. So with that in mind, the absence of his sweetheart is making the singer even more depressed.
“Five-dollar drink and a lonely window seat
Half-empty plane on New Year’s Eve
Lovebirds in the row in front of me
Are drivin’ me crazy
The pilot comes on, says the year is almost gone
Five, four, three, two, one
Looks like it’s just me and the whiskey
‘Cause you ain’t here to kiss me, no
You ain’t here to kiss me”
As revealed in the second verse, the flight attendant is able to pick up on the fact that he’s in his feelings and lonely for the holidays. Therefore, she imbibes Brett more heavily than the average passenger. And he also comes off as being more than willing to get boozed, claiming that ’90 proof gives him clarity’. Or interpreted otherwise, it’s as if he’s trying to drink the pain away.
Remember that this piece was inspired by a time when Brett was convinced that his relationship with Taylor, the woman he loves, was over. The bridge is based on such an idea, i.e. the vocalist resultantly adopting a better-to-have-loved-and-have-lost type of mentality, as well as concluding that he needs to “start getting over” his sweetheart.
So even though we know that eventually the actual relationship this track is based on resulted in marriage, the lyrics themselves read as a song of heartbreak. That is to say that the vocalist ultimately closes the matter out by lamenting that the addressee “ain’t here to kiss” him.
