Post Malone, a self-proclaimed “genre-less” artist, has now fully ventured into country with his newest single and collaboration with country star Morgan Wallen.
Break-up songs are often wrought with anger and profanities. This one has those things. But it also tries to take the bitter edge off with that old country stand-by: late-night beer drinking.
Whether or not Post Malone and Morgan Wallen are close in real life or not, I have no idea. But they’re buddies in their song “I Had Some Help,” as they both look back on failed relationships.
They’re willing to take some blame for their failures, but definitely not all of it.
Friendship and a willingness to admit some mistakes are two of the most positive elements found in Malone’s May release.
While it is clear both Malone’s and Wallen’s characters are embittered by their romantic partners leaving them, the goal of the song is not to blame the other but rather share the burden of blame. Both sing in the chorus, “It ain’t like I can make this kind of mess all by myself.”
Malone knows his ex is talking badly about him (“You’re tellin’ all your friends that I’m crazy”), but he expects her to own her faults, too (“Like I’m the only one”). Wallen sings, “I ain’t an angel, you ain’t heaven-sent.”
While neither of these guys are saints themselves, acknowledging a shared burden of fault rings close to the biblical principle of taking the log out of your own eye before removing the speck from your friend’s. Malone touches on this truth in the first verse as well, singing, “Why’d you throw them stones if you had a wild hair of your own or two?”
The video shows the two helping each other process their emotions, Wallen even helps Malone off the ground after he gets thrown out of the bar.
And speaking of that bar, alcohol solves problems here … at least if you believe the song. It’s a time-honored country cliché, and one that Malone’s willing to embrace in this song.
The video shows both Malone and Wallen drinking heavily. Malone smokes, too. In Malone’s case, we can assume his choices have something to do with the frustrating phone call he received at the beginning of the video.
The drinking continues. And three young women driving by seem glad to see the two artists intoxicated and without any romantic partners.
Indeed, they confess that they’ve “been deep in every weekend if you couldn’t tell.”
The chorus also suggests that these guys’ alcohol habits were fueled in part by their romantic partners’ enablement: “Don’t act like you ain’t help me pull that bottle off the shelf.”
While Malone and Wallen could’ve leaned into the song’s theme of admitting your own faults, their solution in the bridge is the exact opposite. The burden of blame is shared, but in an ever-embittered way, as Malone sings, “Baby, you blame me and baby, I blame you.”
Ultimately the two have no intention of forgiving any time soon, Wallen singing, “Can’t wash our hands of this.”
As for the profanities I mentioned, we hear one s-word and three uses of “h—” (in a repeated line in the chorus).
Malone and Wallen debuted this much-anticipated track at the Stagecoach Festival on April 28th. And it didn’t take long to reach No. 1, three weeks and counting in that top slot as of this writing.
It will be interesting to watch as Malone moves from an occasional country cover to his forthcoming full country album, rumored to be releasing later this year. “I Had Some Help” gives us a sense of what to expect.
Malone’s first single in this genre fits easily alongside the drinking anthems of modern country pop. There’s some honesty here, but the themes of dwelling in unforgiveness, profanity and the urge to solve problems with alcohol should give listeners pause.
Caleb Gottry is the Plugged In intern for Summer 2024. Caleb studies journalism with a minor in music at Texas Christian University, where he will be a junior in the fall. He loves playing with words, listening to and making music, and spending any spare time with friends or family.
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