Some of Riley Green‘s biggest hits have been written by himself, a rarity in country music. His “Don’t Mind If I Do” duet with Ella Langley, “Worst Way,” and “Jesus Saves” are all songs that Green penned solo.
Green also writes with other people, including his current “Change My Mind” single, which he wrote with Erik Dylan and Randy Montana. Still, for Green, his favorite way to write is sitting by himself.
“I’ve always been really, I guess, sort of protective of writing by myself,” the Alabama native explains. “And not because somebody else can’t write just as good a song, but just that there are things about my life that nobody else is going to understand. I think that there’s something important about where I grew up, how I grew up, and how I tell that story that people seem to relate to it.
“And I don’t think it’s because I’m one of the best songwriters in the world,” he adds. “I think it’s just because I say things pretty plainly. I’m not too complicated, and I don’t overthink it.”
@everythingnash @Riley Green is excited about his future in country music, after winning 3 #cmaawards with @Ella Langley. #cmaawards #countrymusic #rileygreen #ellalangley ♬ original sound – EverythingNash
The Story Behind Riley Green’s “Change My Mind”
“Change My Mind” is Green’s latest single, and likely the last release from his Don’t Mind If I Do album.
“It’s always kind of crazy when you have songs like this where ‘Worst Way’ just blew up and became this huge song, and then ‘Don’t Mind If I Do’ did the same thing. ‘Change My Mind’ is one that really did, too,” Green tells Country Now. “So I’m excited about a song that’s already had a life of its own getting a chance to be heard by people on country radio who maybe haven’t heard it yet, or haven’t heard of me. Radio is still the biggest way to get songs out there.”
The sexy lyrics say, “Show up in a midnight sundress / Burn me up with a whiskey kiss / Look at me with them pretty brown eyes / And tell me lies just to change my mind / You know I’m giving in, so go ahead / Do it, baby, like you’ve done a thousand times / Change my mind.” By now, Green has learned how to write songs that push the proverbial envelope, without going too far.
“The lyrics that don’t make it into the songs are where we went too far,” Green explains. “So, we usually go there, and then we backtrack to a place where we think maybe somebody won’t be offended. But to a certain extent, ‘Worst Way’ is a pretty direct song. And it’s done really well for me, so I guess we don’t shy away from it too much.”
Riley Green Reveals Plans For New Music in 2026
Green will embark on his Cowboy As It Gets Tour in April, which is when he says fans will likely have new music from him.
“We’re going to be playing a lot of the songs that I’ve played for years, that kind of got us here,” says the singer.” And then some brand-new songs off the last album. And then, also putting out some music, hopefully here pretty soon, that we’ll be playing some brand new songs.”
Photo: CMA / Josh Brasted