CURTIS GRIMES

                                                              "Ain't Worth The Heartache" 

                                                               Curtis Grimes Music

Curtis Grimes is a staple of today’s Texas country music. His impressive 14 #1 songs on Texas Regional Radio combines with over 50 million Spotify streams and touring dates that see him on the road connecting with fans for nearly half of each year.

But rather than just resting on his already incredible accolades, Grimes continues to challenge himself with each new song that he releases and always delivers an impressive turn that elevates his game to new heights. 

Look no further than his newest single “Ain’t Worth The Heartache” for the newest example of him doing just that.

The song comes from his 2021 self-titled album and follows “Noah Built A Boat,” but rather than lean on the same catchy, toe-tapping vibe that we got from that single, Grimes opts to deliver a stone country song that is steeped rich in tradition and drips with heart-tugging lyrics that wrap around his emotionally fueled vocal on “Ain’t Worth The Heartache.”

“There’s always a bright side to every low in life,” a line which comes early in the first verse, automatically pulls you into the depth of the lyric as we see Grimes quietly listening to the advice from his old man, before he then brings us inside his head and flips the script with the lines that lead us into the chorus:

“But he don’t know the way I feel about her

And I bet ole Hank would tell him the same.”

He then uses the chorus to reveal his regrets as he presents a juxtaposition between how the success that he’s found with writing songs about the pain he felt with her leaving isn’t worth the heartache, fame, or money, and how he would change everything (if he could) to see her smile again.

The second verse continues to masterfully pinpoint how the music from his own pen is still affecting him today when he sings of how when the needle drops on the record it’s like a dagger on his heart, before he reiterates that if he could change things he would, when he sings:

“If I knew where I’s headed

Or what I’d leave behind

I’d turn that truck around

Spin it right there on a dime

And I’d never think twice to looking back.”

Curtis Grimes knows all the right ways to use his voice to perfectly capture the emotions of the lyric, and that’s what becomes the true spotlight shining moment for me on this song. That know how gives Grimes that edge as it is the defining factor the truly encompasses the traditional values of what makes a country song great – the way it can move the listener.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)