Brett Young's 'You Didn't' Takes the High Road After a Breakup

Brett Young is in his comfort zone as a balladeer. Whether it's a romantic ode to current love (like in 2017's "In Case You Didn't Know"), a heartbreak song about love that's in the past ("Like I Loved You") or something in between ("Mercy"), Young's pen is sharpest and vocals are most confident when he's working on music that's on the slower side.

Still, despite the fact that there are plenty of ballads already in his catalogue, Young manages to find new ground to cover with "You Didn't," the newest single off his Weekends Look a Little Different These Days project.

The last song on the album, "You Didn't" is something of an outlier in the collection, much of which is drawn from the singer's current personal life with his wife, Taylor, and their two young daughters. But this song imagines a different person's scenario — or perhaps a scenario from a different time in Young's life — with vivid authenticity, chronicling a breakup that doesn't end in two people hating each other; rather, they realize that they're simply not meant to be.

"You think it's your fault, but it isn't / I fell in love and you didn't," Young sings at the end of the chorus, with lyrics that go on to gently reassure an ex that everything will ultimately turn out alright, even as she's breaking his heart by ending their relationship.

It's certainly a dignified way to get your heart broken, and to CMT, Young describes "You Didn't" as "the most positive approach to a breakup ever."

"I think that the underlying message is that if you really care about someone, and they don't feel the way you do, you shouldn't make them feel bad for that or guilty or try to make them hurt just because you are," the singer notes. "If you care about that person and what you hear them say is they need to go, you need to make them feel as comfortable as you can. That's a huge responsibility when you're getting your heart broken."

Brett Young's "You Didn't" Lyrics:

I could never hate you, even if I try / Girl, I love you too much and I've loved you too long to fight / It ain't always a bad thing, saying goodbye / And the last thing that I wanna be is a waste of your time

Chorus:

There's nothing I could say / To make you wanna stay / Your heart made up its mind / I don't want you to lie one more minute / You ain't done nothing wrong / I'm not where you belong / Don't let one teardrop fall / Girl, you think it's your fault but it isn't / I fell in love and you didn't

I hope you find someone to be the person for you / That you were to me, what I wanted to be for you / I ain't never asked you to settle or compromise / Girl, you deserve everything in this world / Even if it means you can't be mine

Repeat Chorus

I fell in love and you didn't / Feel like I did / I gave you everything I had to give / You didn't need more, you just needed different...

Repeat Chorus