'Ain't Workin Anymore' by Gavin Adcock – Lyrics & Meaning

Gavin Adcock’s new studio album, Own Worst Enemy, is stitched together with vulnerable and exposing ballads and a fair few rowdy late night anthems. Across the 24-track release, there are moments when those two styles collide, some songs slicing to the heart while also igniting in the veins.

‘Ain't Workin Anymore’ is one of them, the tune mixing heartbreak with hellfire and making for one more reason why Own Worst Enemy is a singular collection.

Of the album, which arrived on Aug. 15, the artist has shared, "Over the last 4 years I’ve spent my life writing, traveling, and trying to find time to breathe. It doesn’t always add up on paper like it would seem, but through the happiness, hard times and self destruction I’ve found the best part of my job is letting out music for my fans. I can’t thank y’all enough for sticking with me for this long. I’m the furthest thing from perfect and I don’t ever plan to be."

Here, we are diving into the rising star's newest barn burner where broken hearts and reckless abandon intersect.

‘Ain't Workin Anymore’ erupts from the belly of Gavin Adcock, the song born when the artist's clear vocals cut through the silence. Acoustic strums and wholehearted plucks soon join him until, by the chorus, the tune is a raucous medley of adamant drums, searing riffs and the wail of an impassioned singer.

"I woke up feeling pretty good
Like any single man should
Then that sun made its way down
And your ghost starts creepin' out
Like I always knew it would"

As with many of the offerings across Own Worst Enemy, ‘Ain't Workin Anymore’ finds Adcock in a place of bitter heartache, trapped with the ghost of a former lover and left to handle a relationship's fallout in the uncomfortable stillness of the night.

He would normally turn to booze and pills to numb the pain, but in this number, he confesses that those things "ain't workin anymore."

Whenever their memory reappears, he puts on some Hank Williams Jr. and reaches for the bottle, but tonight, he sings how "I can't pour them drinks that strong" to drown out the thoughts of what he once had.

"I blew right by that liquor store
They might as well board up the door
Yes, you can call me livin' proof
Ain't no bourbon quite like you
That shit ain't workin' anymore"

He confesses that no trip to the liquor store or barstool would help him come away with anything more potent than the memory of his ex.

That reality wounds him, so much so that he gives up on drowning his sorrows altogether, singing simply – but boldly – "That shit ain't workin' anymore."

I woke up feeling pretty good
Like any single man should
Then that sun made its way down
And your ghost starts creepin' out
Like I always knew it would

When your memory's comin' on
I play that ol’ Bocephus song
Yeah, I was half a bottle in
And I know I just can't win
I can't pour them drinks that strong

I blew right by that liquor store
They might as well board up the door
Yes, you can call me livin' proof
Ain't no bourbon quite like you
That shit ain't workin' anymore

I wish I never knew your name
It cuts my ears like razor blades
And there ain't nothin' in that bar
Gonna mend this broken heart
Guess I'll stick to smokin' green

Yeah

I bet Charlie he knew about a devil like you
Be the death of a Georgia man

When your memory's comin' on
I play that ol’ Bocephus song
Yeah, I was half a bottle in
And I know I just can't win
I can't pour them drinks that strong

I blew right by that liquor store
They might as well board up the door
Yes, you can call me livin' proof
Ain't no bourbon quite like you
That shit ain't workin' anymore
Yes, you can call me livin' proof
Ain't no bourbon quite like you
That shit ain't workin' anymore

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