What Happens In A Small Town By Brantley Gilbert (featuring ...

Toggle navigation

• Home
• Categories
• Places
• Blog
  • Blogs Home
  • News
  • Lists
  • Features
  • Songwriter Interviews
  • Song Writing
  • Fact or Fiction
  • They're Playing My Song
  • Music Quiz
  • Songfacts Pages
  • Songwriting Legends
  • Songfacts Podcast
  • All Titles
  • Authors
    • Amanda Flinner
    • April Fox
    • Bruce Pollock
    • Carl Wiser
    • Corey O'Flanagan
    • Dan MacIntosh
    • Developer
    • Ed Pearce
    • Greg Prato
    • Jeff Suwak
    • Jess Grant
    • Laura Antonelli
    • Leslie Michele Derrough
    • Maggie Grimason
    • Nicole Roberge
    • Roger Catlin
    • Shawna Ortega
    • Stephanie Myers
    • Trevor Morelli
• Browse
  • Songs
  • Artists
  • Places
  • Years
  • Categories

Search

What Happens in a Small Townby Brantley Gilbert (featuring Lindsay Ell)

Album: Fire & Brimstone (2018)Charted: 53 License This Song  artistfacts

Songfacts®:

• This country rock power ballad finds Brantley Gilbert struggling to get past the memory of a past love as familiar landmarks of his hometown serve as reminders of their time together. "It really has that want for someone you can't have, and having to live in all the places they are," said the singer.
• Brantley Gilbert was born in the small town of Jefferson, which is where he first met his wife Amber. They had an on and off relationship for several years as he fought addiction and started his music career. The singer eventually married his longtime love in June 2015.Amber Cochran has inspired many of Gilbert's songs and here he's thinking back to his past breakup with his now-wife. "That's one of the great things about being in a relationship with a goodbye in it," the singer told Taste of Country.
• Brock Berryhill, Josh Dunne and Rhett Akins helped Gilbert write the song. As they penned the tune, the singer thought it was sounding more and more like a duet, so he reached out to Lindsay Ell. The choice of the Canadian as his duet partner was not only because of Ell's singing ability, but also because of her prowess on the guitar. "Lindsay plays with the same emotion that she sings with," said Gilbert. "Her voice is as intense on that guitar as it is when it comes out of her mouth."
• Gilbert first became a fan of Ell's after taking Amber and his brother in law to the Grand Ole Opry. The Canadian happened to be on stage that night.
• Brantley Gilbert wrote this song a few days after he played a selection of demos for his fifth album to his label president Scott Borchetta. The singer recalled to The Boot that the Big Machines Records head honcho told him it was "an amazing body of work." However, though there were singles, he didn't know if he had "the single."Gilbert felt he needed to come up with something quickly as there was already a long gap between records, so he called Rhett Akins and Brock Berryhill and asked them if they had plans for that weekend. It turned out they were free and Josh Dunne also came along for their writing session.Gilbert explained they were "shooting for an uptempo, feel-good radio song," which he acknowledged is "like catching lightning in a bottle." But some way or other, it happened and they came up with "What Happens in a Small Town."

• More songs from Brantley Gilbert
• More songs from Lindsay Ell
• More duets
• More songs about heartache
• More songs from 2018
• Brantley Gilbert Artistfacts

Your name as you would like it displayed Your Locaton Your Comment send your comment

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Don't Worry Be HappyBobby McFerrin

The song "Don't Worry Be Happy" doesn't use any instruments - it's all Bobby McFerrin using various parts of his body to make the sounds.

Helter SkelterThe Beatles

The first version of The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" was a 27-minute jam, so you can imagine what Ringo was going through pounding away on drums. To convince the guys he needed a break, he screamed, "I've got blisters on my fingers!" This was included on the fadeout.

(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The BayOtis Redding

"(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay," released a month after Otis Redding died, was the first song to hit #1 in America after the artist died.

Jessie's GirlRick Springfield

"Jessie's Girl" was the #1 song in America when MTV went on the air. They put it in hot rotation right away, making the song even more popular.

LullabyThe Cure

The Cure's "Lullaby" is based on a recurring nightmare frontman Robert Smith had as a child where he was eaten by a giant spider.

Diamonds From Sierra LeoneKanye West

"Diamonds From Sierra Leone" by Kanye West is about the "blood diamonds" mined using child labor in Africa. It also serves as a shout-out to Roc-A-Fella records, known for a diamond-shaped hand signal.

Editor's Picks

Jonathan Cain of JourneySongwriter Interviews

Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"They're Playing My Song

Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. TelevangelistsSong Writing

When televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart took on rockers like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica, the rockers retaliated. Bono could even be seen mocking the preachers.

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Songs About MoviesSong Writing

Iron Maiden, Adele, Toto, Eminem and Earth, Wind & Fire are just some of the artists with songs directly inspired by movies - and not always good ones.

Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's SongsSong Writing

"London Bridge," "Ring Around the Rosie" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are just a few examples of shockingly morbid children's songs.

Songfacts® Newsletter

A monthly update on our latest interviews, stories and added songs

What's your email? SUBSCRIBE

Information

• About Us
• Terms of Service
• Our Privacy Policy
• Google Privacy Policy
• Songfacts API
• Music History Calendar
• Song Licensing
• Affiliate Disclosure
• Contact Us
• Privacy Manager

Follow Us

• Facebook
• X (Twitter)
• YouTube

Contribution

• Message Boards
• Songfacts Writers

©2026 Songfacts, LLC