Format Digital download Length 3:39 | ||
Released August 11, 2014 (2014-08-11) Writer(s) Travis MeadowsTravis Jerome Goff | ||
"What We Ain't Got" is a song recorded by American country music artist Jake Owen. It was released in August 2014 as the third and final single from his fourth studio album Days of Gold. The song was written by Travis Meadows and Travis Jerome Goff.
Contents
Content
The song is a ballad accompanied mainly by piano, with backing vocals by Sarah Buxton. In it, Owen sings about wanting back a loved one who has left him, and reflecting on those who want what they cannot obtain. It is in alternating bars of 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures, with a main chord pattern of A-D-A-D-E-D-E-F♯m-A/E-D-Esus4-A. The song's approximate tempo is 63 beats per minute, and it has a vocal range of F♯3-E5.
Owen told Taste of Country said that he knew the song would be a "risk" to release as a single, as he usually releases up-tempo songs about partying and "fought" to release a song with a stronger subject matter. He told the publication that "I’m at a point in my life where it’s important to me to release songs like this that I’ve always believed in".
Critical
Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a B+, saying that "Though the song starts a bit too slowly, it develops into a fully realized performance that’s as good as anything I’ve heard this year from a radio artist." Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars, praising the lyrics and Owen's "rich yet haunting baritone vocals." He also thought that the song contrasted with party-themed songs on the corresponding album and displayed Owen's musical versatility.
Commercial
The song entered the Hot Country Songs chart at number 40 on December 14, 2013 on the release of the album, Days of Gold. It entered the Country Airplay chart on August 9, 2014, and peaked at number 14 in early 2015, and at number 19 on the Hot Country Songs chart. The song has sold 369,000 copies in the US as of May 2015.
Music video
The music video was directed by Mason Dixon and premiered in November 2014.