Ella Langley and Riley Green‘s “You Look Like You Love Me” sounds like a country throwback, but the lyrics recall a different era of songwriting, as well.
The boozy, piano-led, love (for a night) song showcases the warmth of Langley’s vocals at the chorus and relies heavy on their supernatural chemistry. What will make this song a hit, however, is the hook.
Listen once and try not to walk around the house singing “Excuuuse me” all day long.
We dare you.
Related: Top 20 Country Songs of 2024, Including “You Look Like You Love Me”
Once in awhile a spoken-word ballad will surface on country radio, but they’re almost always led by men. Langley takes charge in more ways than one throughout “You Look Like You Love Me.” Her message is to go after what you want, consequences be damned.
Fifty years ago, it wasn’t unheard of for a second verse to replicate the first. Freddy Fender does it during “Before the Next Tear Drop Falls.” Merle Haggard‘s “That’s the Way Love Goes” (written by Lefty Frizzell) doesn’t even bother with informing us further.
Green’s second verse corroborates Langley’s telling of the story, essentially echoing her yearning impulses. It’s a twist-free country song, which in 2024 is a twist in its own kind of way.
Ella Langley, Riley Green “You Look Like You Love Me” Lyrics:
Ella Langley:
I was all but 22 / I think at the time / I’d been out on the road / Lonely at night / And it’d been a while / So it was on my mind.
Well, I saw him walk in / With his cowboy hat / And I thought to myself / I could use some of that / His boots like glass on a sawdust floor / Had moves like nothin’ I’d ever seen before.
So I walked right up / And I pulled him to the side / I handed him a beer and looked him right in the eye / And I said Baby, I think you’re gonna wanna hear this / Then I told him …
Chorus:
Excuse me / You look like you love me / You look like you want me / To want you to come on home / And baby, I don’t blame you / For lookin’ me up and down across this room / I’m drunk and I’m ready to leave / And you look like you love me.
Riley Green:
Well, I was down at the local beer joint with a few of the guys / When this cute little country girl caught my eye / And boy, let me tell you / She was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen in a pair of boots / Well, she walked right up to me, handed me a beer / Gave me a look like, let’s get outta here / And that’s when I realized that she was every cowboy’s dream come true / She told me this right here, she said …
Repeat Chorus
Alright, now.
So if you ever see a man in a cowboy hat / And you think to yourself / I could use some of that / Don’t waste your time / Just give ’em this here line / Goes a little like this.
Repeat Chorus
*Written by Aaron Raitiere, Ella Langley, Riley Green
Billy Dukes is a Senior Editor and Executive Producer of Video Content at Taste of Country. He specializes in country music interviews, trend analysis and the Secret History of Country Music. Additionally, Billy covers Yellowstone, 1923 and related television shows through the Dutton Rules podcast. To date, he’s written more than 13,000 articles for Taste of Country and produced over 3,000 videos for the Taste of Country YouTube channel.
Top 20 Songs of 2024, Ranked (So Far)
New country artists rule this Top Country Songs of 2024 list, but that doesn’t mean traditional country isn’t represented early and often.
Airplay charts, sales data and streaming numbers helped make this list of country music’s Top 20 Songs of 2024, but staff and Taste of Country reader opinion were most influential.
Songs included on previous Top Country Songs lists were not eligible. A song may have been released in 2023, but it had to have the majority of recorded airplay or impact this year to count.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
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