Pictures - Commentary

We're glad that you could be here for
The Lady A "Ocean" album release special
Hey there, I'm Becca, and we are talking to Lady
Antebellum about all the songs on this new album
And anytime I listen to a song, I like to try and
Imagine what inspired the song, how did it originate
And when I listened to "Pictures," I couldn't
Help but think about one of my friends
I was looking at her Facebook page, and I
Said, "Man, you and your guy look so happy"
And she said, "You know, don't let it fool
You, pictures don't tell the whole story"
And in this day and age that we live in where everybody puts
Their highlight reels on social media, I wondered, did that
Have an impact on this song, or how did this song originate?

The origins of "Pictures" was really on the bus
Out on the road, kind of scrolling through social
Media, looking at people's life highlight reel
And Corey Crowder, I remember, brought up that conversation of
"Isn't it so crazy how we all post just the most beautiful moment
That one ten-second moment in the day when the rest of the day
Could have been the hardest thing you've ever gone through?"
And pictures don't tell that entire story
I mean, there's so many times with me and my family that things
Are hard, but you grab that perfect snapshot of your family
And everyone's like, "Wow, everything looks perfect," and it's not
It's hard, it's a struggle
And so we wanted to write about that and tell that story that
You know, in a relationship too, right around a breakup, people
Can often still post all the happy stuff, and then turns around that
That really is not the way they were feeling in that relationship
So it started to morph into that story as well

You know, I was thinking too, "Pictures," I've told people a lot, you
Know, when "Need You Now" was taking off, and, and you're on such a
Whirlwind, and people are like, "
God, that must have been so much fun"
And we were having fun, but we were also exhausted, and
Overwhelmed, and stressed out just about the ship, you know?
And it was like, look, we've got a whole
Lot of this success, and it's funny
You know, I almost feel now as we're kind of removed
From it and have grown up and feel way more settled
That we enjoy the business and the process so much more
And I look back and I'm like, when I look at some of those pictures
Of us and those videos of us as kids from ten years ago, and
I'm like, "I think right after that moment, we might have gotten
In a fight, and then after this moment, we were exhausted"
And it is kind of a funny thing that pictures just
Don't always tell the true story of what's going on

That is so true, because people always talk about the fact
If they're willing to be honest, that their Instagram
Or their Facebook, it's the highlight reel of their life
And we really don't know what is happening behind all
Those smiling faces and all those beautiful pictures
And that is what this song is essentially about
It's new Lady A, "Pictures," on Big Machine Radio