PRYOR BAIRD - The One Left Behind - Black River Entertainment

Having achieved breakout success in 2023 with his singles “You Are To Me” and “Chasin’ Shadows,” 2024 continued adding depth-filled layers to who Pryor Baird is as an artist and songwriter as he fluidly drifted emotions between the light-hearted “Mighta Met A Girl” and the deeply personal “Beauty In The Broken.”

He now kicks off 2025 with what might be one of the most anticipated singles of the first quarter.

“The One Left Behind” is available on all streaming and digital platforms via Black River Entertainment.

Dusting off a barstool padded with an old school style, Baird transports us to the golden era of country music, holding tightly to the defining characteristics of what the genre is all about while maneuvering his soulfully gifted voice through trails of heartbreak and sheer vulnerability.

Swarmed in the haunting cry of pedal steel, the traditionally branded waltz guides melodically along the frayed edges of his heartstrings as he looks for solace and comfort after receiving confirmation from his now ex that she made it all the way to Houston, simultaneously torturing him with the memories of what used to be and the gripping reality that she’s really gone.

Dragging the rawness of his voice through the pains of his fractured heart, with a similar sentiment like we previously heard on “Chasin’ Shadows,” Baird teeters the unbalanced edge of surrendering to his breakdown as he helplessly cries out:

“The one left behind

Has to look at these walls

Where we hung up the memories

Just cause their empty

Doesn’t mean that they’re gone

Now over ain’t easy

No matter which heart decides

If you think it’s hard leaving

Baby try being

The one left behind”

Expertly picking specific lines throughout the song to lift his voice out of the realms of darkness, he shines the bright spotlight on the precise moments when his internal tug-of-war reaches its breaking point while externally losing the battle to hold back his swelling anguish.

Surrounded in cleverly crafted lyrics that paint very vivid pictures and an overall sound that’s reminiscent of the heartache era of country music that hoisted names such as Willie, Merle, and Kristofferson, Pryor Baird hits us right in the feels with an unexpected, though very refreshing song that not only expands his budding resume but intriguingly entices us into wanting more!

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)