It’s Been A Year, but there are Still A Few Cowboys Left on New Year’s Day that have their Eyes On You!

Happy New Year! Hope you all were able to truly enjoy the rush of the holiday season and take a moment for yourselves. Brand new year, people! Here’s hoping this year doesn’t fly by as fast as the previous ones did. 😉

Meanwhile, since it’s Monday you know that Monday means music! This week is a freebie week, so grab your favorite tune(s) and come dance with us, will you?

Let’s start with a new song from a rising singer-songwriter based in Nashville. This song closes out her breakthrough year with a sentimental recap of her unprecedented 2022. The wistful ballad reflects on the dedication she’s put towards her craft – leading to a whole new level of success with the consequence of time flashing right before her eyes.

The song reflects on her good and bad personal moments of 2022. With a heavy heart, she reveals one heartbreaking memory, “It’s been a year since I watched him walk on out that door, and I wish I’d fought a little more. Still feels like yesterday, but it’s been a year, and now he’s at her place five nights a week. Yeah, that feels kinda quick to me, but I guess it’s been a year.”

This is an artist to watch – she’s heading into 2023 with momentum like never before with more new music on the way… she is just getting started.

Give a listen to Ashley Cooke with “It’s Been A Year”:

Next up is another new (to me) artist who’s making waves in the country scene. For this newest song, he goes back 130 years for the early lyrics: 

Sounds like 1889 / Listening to the coyote cry / Somewhere under that moon tonight / There’s still a few cowboys left

For him, being a cowboy is much more than bulls and rope, dust and mud. He’s singing about a lifestyle. He said:

“It’s a song about respect, honesty and hard work. And a nod to women that there are still a few good guys left in the world.

I believe we all have a little cowboy in us. In the literal sense, I’m not a cowboy but figuratively speaking, I have a lot of cowboy in me.

To me, what makes a cowboy is not the way you look or the place you live, but the type of person you are. It’s the direction you are headed, grit, integrity, and character. It’s getting knocked off and getting back on again. This song also nods to women that there are still some men who make faith, family and hard work the roots of their life.”

Get ready for goosebumps, here’s Ben Gallaher with “Still A Few Cowboys Left”:

Next up is is a song that has become my all time favorite New Year’s tunes since it’s debut in November 2017 to share on New Year’s Day. The story behind the song as told by the artist:

“We threw a big New Year’s Eve party in London this year, and I was thinking about how everybody talks and thinks about who you kiss at midnight. Like it’s this big romantic idea of like, ‘Who are you gonna kiss at midnight, like ring in the New Year.’ And I think that is very romantic.

But I think there’s something even more romantic about who’s gonna deal with you on New Year’s Day. Who’s willing to give you Advil and clean up the house. I think that states more of a permanence. So I was thinking about that, and I wrote this song called ‘New Year’s Day.’”

The artist debuted the song a day before the album’s release, during a special performance shot at her Rhode Island home in a candle-lit living room, and surrounded by fans.

Get ready for more goosebumps, here’s the inimitable Taylor Swift with “New Year’s Day”:

Last, but certainly not least, I’m apparently starting off the New Year with some new artists to enjoy – this next tune caught my ear on SiriusXM – definitely one I end up hitting replay multiple times!

This upbeat bop comes with an adorable video that has the artist reluctantly agreeing to watch his neighbor’s kitten. Of course, he falls in love with it — so much so that the end of the video suggests he’s started a relationship with the neighbor just so he can continue hanging out with the kitten. He was quoted as saying:

“I wrote this song after a special person in my life moved to California. We were finally in the same state, and it felt so good to be close to them. The weekend before I wrote it, I had gone to a country concert and was inspired by how fun and energetic country songs can be, as well as how full they feel live. I wanted to try to capture those feelings with this song.

The combination of those two events was enough for me to write a fun love song you can sing in your car or scream along with all of your friends at a concert.”

Get ready to dance (and be thoroughly charmed), here’s Nicky Youre with “Eyes On You”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday – and a Happy New Year! See you on the dance floor!

Now onto the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me:

I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, and Alana of Ramblin’ with AM!

Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it and link up – don’t forget to grab Xmas Dolly…er, um, I mean her button…over at her place here. Check out Xmas Dolly’s sidebar for the random themes we sport each week – and you can always ask for a specific theme of music you like, too. Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!