PKJ Gives Birth to Her New Single, It Ain't Me
Paige King Johnson has a lot to tell us.
I am full of exciting news this week, as Paige King Johnson releases her first single since we saw her live in London at Ron’s Honky Tonk. There is one other (enormous) piece of news to share too, so read on!
Paul Dettmann
Paul Dettmann
This week’s single, It Ain’t Me, is a tub-thumping, foot-stompin’ honky tonk hit. It’s fast and loud and great for a line dance with some 90s-style production on top. It’s been in my ears for weeks now and is rapidly becoming my favourite PKJ track of them all.
I’m sorry babe it ain’t working out
We got something here we need to talk about
Something’s broken that you can’t fix, cause you ain’t got the tools
Can’t call it good, gotta call it quits
If there’s a limit boy, you pushed me over it
I hate to point the finger, I hate to break the news
But it ain’t me, it’s you
It might be considered incongruous to share some family news alongside the release of a song about such a loser, but that’s the way the universe works sometimes.
I was lucky enough to meet not only Paige but her husband Griffin in London, and shortly after their fourth wedding anniversary last month, they announced that Paige is expecting her first baby this fall!
“I’ve never felt a deeper calling over my life than being a mom, and one of the most attractive things I noticed about my husband, Griffin, early on when we were dating, was how patient and loving he was towards all the children we had around us, from friends to family. I knew he would not only make a great husband, but a great family leader and father to our children someday. I’m excited to become a mother myself and fulfill that long-awaited call in my heart, but I’m even more comforted knowing that I will be doing it alongside such a great partner. We can’t wait to welcome our sweetest answered prayer this fall! Thank you, Jesus, for trusting us with this blessing. Baby C, we are so lucky to be your parents, and we can’t wait to kiss your sweet face!”
There’s only so much excitement I can share in a single article and I thought it was important to let Paige announce such enormous news in her own words.
Moving back to the single, it’s really funny in spite of the topic. Yes, he’s a loser, of course, but he is such a giant loser that it’s properly amusing. He drinks too much, leaves her to pick up the tab, and then treats her like an Uber afterwards.
I ain’t perfect boy, I’m admitting it
But you’ve been acting like I should think you’re heaven sent
When your Momma calls, you just let it ring, and you do the same thing to me
You never pay, so I pick up the tab
When you drink too much you think that I’m your cab
It ain’t looking good for us, and it’s ‘bout time you see
Paige has shared some of her inspirations and insights into the making of this song. The big surprise for me was that such an upbeat tempo song, even if it deals with some challenging topics, was written alongside the heartbreaking earlier single, I Get Old Too.
“We wrote It Ain’t Me on the same day as I Get Old Too. After finishing such a heartfelt song, we wanted something to lighten the mood a little bit. This song really fell out in no time at all – we just had fun & leaned into early days of Carrie & Miranda vibes when writing it. It’s full of all the sass that, I believe, female anthems should have as far as the writing goes, but we went full on 90’s honky-tonk with the production when we took it into the studio.”
“Finding out that your person hasn’t been as faithful as they claimed to be is not fun, I’ve been there, but being able to really call them out on their stuff & have the last word in the breakup is the redeeming part. That’s what this song is all about!”
Paige King Johnson is a Belmont-trained songwriter with a home base in Nashville and North Carolina. You can follow her on Instagram, TikTok and read more on her own website.
Paul Dettmann
Paul Dettmann
