I Never Lie

Album

Cold Beer & Country Music

Label

Leo33

Genre

Neo-Traditionalist Country

Composer(s)

Carson Chamberlain;Tim Nichols;Zach Top

Entered Chart

Sep 28, 2024

Peak Date

May 10, 2025

Released

November 25, 2024

"I Never Lie" is a song that, on the surface, finds Zach Top casually recounting his life post-breakup - except, he's doing it with all the sincerity of a politician on election night. As Top boasts to his ex about how well he's been sleeping, how the whiskey bottle is collecting dust, and how life's just peachy, the listener is invited to share a knowing smile. Top is masking his heartbreak with a façade of bravado while secretly yearning for her return. Top co-wrote "I Never Lie" with long-established Nashville songwriter Tim Nichols (Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" Blake Shelton's "Lay Low") and his producer, Carson Chamberlain. Top freely admits he's more of a melody man than a lyricist, and Chamberlain has a huge list of song ideas dating back several decades. Given that he's a happily married man, the track was more likely born out of melody and title rather than the Washington native's past romantic history. Zach Top recorded "I Never Lie" for his debut album, Cold Beer & Country Music. Despite not being released as a single, the song went viral on TikTok. By September 28, 2024, Top had his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. The theme of concealing heartbreak is a recurring motif in country music. Other love lost songs where the singer is not being entirely truthful about their emotional state include Jason Aldean's "Any Ol' Barstool" and Dan + Shay's "Lying." The musicians who play on the song are: Jimmy Carter: bass Andy Leftwich: acoustic guitar Brent Mason: electric guitar Scotty Sanders: steel guitar Tommy Harden: drums Gary Prim: piano Top told Billboard: "We cut it pretty old-school with the band, and I sang and tracked the vocals as they were playing. They never hear the song until the day we record it. I'll have an acoustic recording of it on my phone, and they hear it once or twice, and that's it. It's two or three takes and we play it like we feel it. We might overdub a thing or two or add some fills, but it's all played live, nothing computerized about it."

Well, it's been some time
You still look like an angel
I heard you're doin' fine
Got promoted back in April
And you met someone
Your dad says he's okay
Well, I've never been better
Things are going my way

I sleep like a baby
I never show up late for work
I don't drink whiskey
I don't know how it feels to hurt

Oh, and I ain't been lonely since you said goodbye
Wish I could say I miss you, but you know I never lie

Yeah, I met somebody too
She's a model out in LA
And she's begging me to move
She's says Malibu is really great
I ain't decided if I'm going or not
But at the end of the day

I sleep like a baby
I never show up late for work
I don't drink whiskey
I don't know how it feels to hurt

Oh, and I ain't been lonely since you said goodbye
Wish I could say I miss you, but you know I never lie

Yeah, I've never been better
Things are going my way

I sleep like a baby
I never show up late for work
Oh, and I don't drink whiskey
I don't know how it feels to hurt
Oh, and I ain't been lonely since you said goodbye
Wish I could say I miss you, oh, but you know I never lie