Good
songs never get old…old or new, they become my latest favorite as and when I
hear them. The latest song that seems to have caught my fancy is more than a
decade old tune by an American country singer, Blake Shelton. You may recognize Blake
Shelton as the fourth vocal coach on the singing competition, The Voice (US
version).
The
song in question is the first single Blake sang in 2001 and that became a breakaway
hit almost instantly. His debut single from his first self-titled album (Blake
Shelton) was the number one song on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chars for
five weeks. The song also made a mark in pop music by peaking at No. 18 on the
US Billboard Hot 100 songs.
Austin
is a song about true love and how it stands the test of time. A woman abandons her
lover apparently because she is unsure about where their relationship is going.
The man assumes that she has returned to Austin, probably her hometown. She takes
almost a year to gather her wits and call the man she once loved. Both times
she is greeted by a recorded message on his answering machine explaining where
he is. However, she is stunned to hear the message at the end of both these
recordings,
“…and P.S. if this is Austin, I still
love you.”
She
realizes that all this time she also did not stop loving him and leaves her
number on his answering machine. When he calls back, she starts talking as if
he has reached the answering machine. But she also confesses her love to him as
the song ends with the now familiar words,
“Can't you tell, this is Austin, and I
still love you.”
The
official video of the song is available on VEVO, but unfortunately not viewable
from my current location. But if you see this video you will instantly notice long
haired Blake, a very different version than the clean haircut one currently sitting
on the Judge’s seat on The Voice. But before you view the video, it is better to see the lyrics video first.
The
beauty of this song is its simplicity. Blake Shelton tells a story in this song
without any pauses, but his story is full of emotion. The video is also quite
aptly matched to the overall mood of the song. Blake Shelton plays his guitar,
sitting on a chair in front of a red Ford Mustang. In the back is a screen
where a black and white video of the girl plays. It shows her dialing the phone
and at the end getting in her car, apparently to drive back to the man she
loves. The video ends as the women walks up to where Blake is playing the
guitar.
