Song of the week: Austin by Blake Shelton

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.

P.S. This is the song that has been stuck in my head all this week. If you think you like this song too, let me know in the comments below.