Eric Paslay’s ‘She Don’t Love You (She’s Just Lonely)’ Could Have Been for George Strait

Eric Paslay's 'She Don't Love You (She's Just Lonely)' is the third single from his self-titled debut album and was written by Paslay and Jennifer Wayne -- but it was originally intended for someone else.

"We initially were trying to write a song for George Strait, because he had just announced that he was doing the Cowboy Rides Away Tour," Paslay tells Country Music Chat. "And Jen Wayne's grandfather is John Wayne, so she knows a lot about cowboys. So we were trying to just write that song, and we didn't quite have it.

"And in the midst, like songwriters do, of writing a song, just cutting up and small talk and this and that, and I think I said, you know, 'She don't love you,' or she said, 'She don't love you,' and I said, 'Yeah, she's just lonely.' Just kind of joking around or something. Forty-five minutes later, we had written 'She Don't Love You.'"

After releasing two uptempo singles already, 'Friday Night' and 'Song About a Girl,' the singer-songwriter says he was ready to show people his softer side.

"I'm proud to have a great ballad," he says. "I believe it's probably the best ballad I've ever been a part of, writing-wise. I think when you think of country music, those songs that the whole room quiets down over, even all the guys at the bar turn around and listen, and that's definitely that song on this album."

Download 'She Don't Love You (She's Just Lonely)' here.