As a country music fan, it gets quite tiresome to continuously need to defend the genre by pointing out songs that are more than just beer and pick-up trucks. While country often epitomizes such themes, the genre tends to favor heartfelt stories and have the ability to induce the rawest emotions.

I may be biased but RaeLynn’s “Love Triangle” captures exactly what country music is--what country music should be. The lyrics tell a story many performers could never properly tell.

At first listen, I assumed it’d be about a typical high school love triangle--yet another cliche--but after analyzing the lyrics, I realized the true meaning. It’s about growing up with divorced parents.

Fortunately, I never had to live with the repercussions of a divorce because my parents are still married. Yet, I know many people who have experienced a pain I’d never be able to explain, and hope to never have to. Regardless, listening to “Love Triangle” helps me try to understand the difficulties a child faces in the aftermath of a divorce.

I’ve only ever heard the term ‘love triangle’ used as a term to describe two people in love with the same person, but Raelynn gives it a better fit definition. The song is sung in first person point-of-view about, presumably, a child who feels stuck between the love of her separated parents.

The chorus lyrics read:

“Some mommas and daddies

Are loving in a straight line

Take forever to hearten

And then take a long sweet ride

But some mommas and daddies

Let their heart strings tear and tangle

And some of us get stuck

In a love triangle”

(A-Z Lyrics)

And if the lyrics aren’t enough, the music video perfectly illustrates the perception of the child when her father comes to pick her up from the Mom’s house. The music, along with the video, guarantees a fresh coat of tears. Short scenes depict RaeLynn crouched down, crying as she sings the lyrics, then it switches to the point-of-view of a small girl torn between parents. At one point, the images flicker rapidly, creating a blurriness and symbolizing the frantic turbulence of emotions.

“Love Triangle” is raw. Candid. Heartfelt. It exceptionally illustrates RaeLynn’s rare talent, and deserves to be heard worldwide in attempt to paint the the third color in a love triangle, often overlooked.