See Cole Swindell Sing Mellow, Acoustic ‘Stay Downtown’
Cole Swindell likely hasn’t had much free time to play text roulette with exes lately, but his song “Stay Downtown” does a good job of suggesting otherwise. In a new video, he gives the song about late-night communications – from his second album You Should Be Here – a quiet acoustic makeover.
In this mellow performance, “Stay Downtown” gets a more heartfelt spin than its slightly peppier studio version. The video kicks off with Swindell crooning about a Friday night scene that’s all too familiar. “When I feel my phone buzzing, ain’t even gotta look down / I know it’s you that’s calling, a couple drinks in by now,” he sings. Helped by the gentle backing of two acoustic guitars and steady percussion, Swindell describes the weird limbo between desiring and dreading a 2 a.m. visitor: “Another late night love, another last call crush / With the neon shining down / Girl, this time around, stay downtown,” he continues, urging her to find someone else on Broadway’s fluorescent strip.
“Stay Downtown” was written by Cole Taylor and Matt Dragstrem, who also received co-writing credits with Swindell and Michael Carter on the album’s repentant ballad “Making My Way to You.” Previous singles from You Should Be Here include the title track about his late father, “Middle of a Memory,” and the Dierks Bentley collaboration “Flatliner.”
Swindell next plays in Arlington, Texas at BeautyKind Unites: A Concert for Causes on Saturday, March 25th with The Band Perry, Demi Lovato, Jake Owen, and Randy Travis. On April 21st, Dierks Bentley’s What the Hell World Tour picks back up in Lethbridge, Alberta, with Swindell and Jon Pardi performing as opening acts.