'String By' by Mack Geiger – Lyrics & Meaning

Country music may very well have a new hitmaker Down Under.

Queensland, Australia's own Mack Geiger has recently been scaling viral charts around the globe with his '90s country-tinted, tear-in-the-beer ballad, 'String By'.

While the single arrived in late October of last year, 'String By' has steadily amassed millions of streams across platforms in the last several weeks, garnering acclaim among country fans of all kinds.

With its vintage sound and earnest words, 'String By' feels like it's fast on its way to becoming a classic.

'String By' is straight out of the '90s country playbook, the deliciously heartbroken tune easily comparable to the hits of Keith Whitley, Randy Travis and George Strait.

The steel is rich; the riffs, delicate; and the rhythms, gentle but earnest, throughout. The entire tune unfolds in satin sheets of sound, the brutal longing and rapturous sorrow accentuated by every silvery string, every pillowy beat, every afflicted word.

"Laying awake in your bed
Hiding myself from the things you did
These past months I′ve tried
To bury my head in the sand"

Listeners meet Geiger in the thick of heartache, coming down from a love that, even now, won't seem to let him go. For months, his former lover has played with his emotions, repeatedly pulled him in just to break his heart again and again.

Even when he's said he's done and their relationship is over, they can't seem to cut ties with one another. Early in the song, he sings: "Last night I told you I'm out / Though part of me wants you still around / But I'm not a toy on a string / Just to drag around."

There are conflicting feelings here. While his ex is the one who can't seem to leave him be, it's hard for Geiger to shut them out when they come calling.

"Cause when you call me up
At 2 am
Crying that you need me again
Fluttering your eyes
And pulling me in
You sure know how to make me sin
No, I won′t go
And I won't fall for it this time
So you're best to go
Find someone else to string by"

This person appear to have an unshakable hold over the artist and they know it, coming back time and again just because they can. The ex-lover knows all the correct moves and right things to say to have Geiger wound back around their finger once more.

In the song, Geiger sings how, even a world away, this person will always have influence over him.

Toward the end, he pleads: "Lord send me away from this woman or planet / I′d gladly aboard the next rocket / If I'm honest / ′Cause I can't escape the devil that′s whispering to me / And won't let me leave..." Until, he ultimately begs his ex to find someone else and simply let him go.

So you′re best to go
Find someone else to string by

Laying awake in your bed
Hiding myself from the things you did
These past months I′ve tried
To bury my head in the sand

Last night I told you I'm out
Though part of me wants you still around
But I'm not a toy on a string
Just to drag around

Cause when you call me up
At 2 am
Crying that you need me again
Fluttering your eyes
And pulling me in
You sure know how to make me sin
No, I won′t go
And I won't fall for it this time
So you're best to go
Find someone else to string by

Each night I wait for the ring
Of my telephone laying next to me
You lie and say you′ve changed
But your voice still comforts me

Lord send me away from this woman or planet
I′d gladly aboard the next rocket
If I'm honest
′Cause I can't escape the devil that′s whispering to me
And won't let me leave

Cause when you call me up
At 2 am
Crying that you need me again
Fluttering your eyes
And pulling me in
You sure know how to make me sin
No, I won′t go
And I won't fall for it this time
So you're best to go
Find someone else to string by

So you′re best to go
Find someone else to string by

Mack Geiger

Artist