Walker Hayes Misses Lost Love in ‘Shut Up Kenny’

"It’s about those times when you don’t want to think of what a song reminds you of,” Hayes explains.

Written by Kelly Brickey
Walker Hayes Misses Lost Love in ‘Shut Up Kenny’
Walker Hayes; Photo by: David McClister

Walker Hayes finds himself cursed by the Kenny Chesney spell in his latest single, “Shut Up Kenny.”

The low-key love song makes Hayes remember the good times from a previous relationship and he fawns over what they had not too long ago. As every Chesney song plays through the speakers on the radio, Hayes goes back in time to when love conquered all and he longs for the memories over moving on.

Approaching the tune with talk-heavy verses paired up with a breathy chorus, the country newcomer seduces the listener with nostalgia of a romance gone wrong thanks to Chesney’s lengthy list of hits. The more Hayes hears the songs that defined his relationship, the deeper into the hole he finds himself falling into toward heartache.

The song, “Shut Up Kenny,” was inspired by not a heart-wrenching breakup, but rather that empty feeling Hayes experiences whenever he’s away from his wife. After getting in a massive fight with his one true love, it was Chesney that brought the moment of solitude back together for them and turned into his recent single.

“My wife and I associate so many Kenny Chesney songs with moments in our relationship. And his song ‘Anything But Mine’ in particular reminds me of moving to Nashville because it came out that same year. When I hear it, I hear us in a U-Haul; I hear us moving into our first apartment. Just great memories. One night though, Laney and I were in a fight and were past the point of yelling. We were super quiet. I turned on the radio and that song was on. Then I turned on another station and the same song was on. I was like ‘Shut up, Kenny!’ It was just that phrase, ‘Shut Up Kenny,’ that just made me feel something. It’s about those times when you don’t want to think of what a song reminds you of,” Hayes explained about the track.

“Shut Up Kenny” will be featured on Hayes’ forthcoming record, boom., which will debut on December 8.