In his book Outliers, The New York Times bestselling author Malcom Gladwell says that gaining mastery in any skill takes 10,000 hours of practice. Country artists Dan + Shay, along with Justin Bieber, are here to tell you that they agree.
The “trio” released a country-pop love song in late 2019 that focuses on faithfully loving their wives. In both the song and video, each man declares that they will work hard to love and learn about their spouse, no matter how long it may take.
Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney open by asking their wives a few questions, in hopes of getting to know them more. “Do you love the rain, does it make you dance/When you’re drunk with your friends at a party?/What’s your favorite song, does it make you smile?/Do you think of me?”
Bieber comes in with a few questions of his own for his new bride: “Do you miss the road that you grew up on?/Did you get your middle name from your grandma?/When you think about your forever now, do you think of me?”
Each man then declares that he wants to know everything there is to know about the one he loves, “the good and the bad and everything in between,” even if the process takes the rest of their lives:
“I’d spend 10,000 hours and 10,000 more/Oh, if that’s what it takes to learn that sweetheart of yours/And I might never get there, but I’m gonna try/If it’s 10,000 hours or the rest of my life.”
We don’t have too many songs and videos that focus on happily married couples professing to work through the hard times, and this song not only encourages commitment, but it also shows it. The song itself was sung at Bieber’s wedding ceremony and the video features each groom serenading their bride.
There is that reference to getting drunk at the very beginning, and the video does show a few mildly revealing tops. But neither distract much from the overall message: A good marriage takes time, but it’s worth every bit of it—even (or perhaps, especially) if it’s the work of a lifetime.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
