The Other Guy

Album: What You See Ain't Always What You Get (2020)
Charted: 69
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Songfacts®:

  • Here, Luke Combs sings of bumping into an ex about a year after their breakup. She's heard he's doing well, and he gives the impression that "it's all good." However, by the time we get to the chorus we learn there are two sides to him: the one who's got it made and "the other guy" who's still missing her and can't move on.
  • Luke Combs penned the song with his stage-right guitar player Rob Williford, and with songwriter Brandon Kinney (Randy Houser's "Boots On," Jason Aldean's "Drowns the Whiskey"). He explained to Apple Music:

    "I'd had that idea in my phone for a while and knew that I wanted to turn that phrase ['you should see the other guy'] on its head and do something different with it."
  • Combs wrote "The Other Guy" back in 2017 but it didn't make the deluxe version of the album This One's For You. It remained in a state of limbo until he was looking for ideas for What You See Ain't Always What You Get bonus tracks. Combs had always liked the song, and when he stumbled back across it he decided to lay it down for the record.

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