White Liar

"White Liar"
Single by Miranda Lambert
from the album Revolution
Released	August 17, 2009
Format	CD single Music download
Recorded	2009
Genre	Country
Length	3:48 (radio edit) 4:48 (album version)
Label	Columbia Nashville
Writer(s)	Natalie Hemby Miranda Lambert[1]
Producer(s)	Frank Liddell Mike Wrucke
Certification	Platinum (RIAA)
Miranda Lambert singles chronology
"Dead Flowers" (2009) "White Liar" (2009) "The House That Built Me" (2010)
Music video "White Liar" at CMT.com

"White Liar" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in August 2009 as the second single from her album Revolution. Lambert performed "White Liar" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on October 6, 2009, and on the 2009 CMA Awards on November 11, 2009. In December 2009, the song became Lambert's second Top 10 hit and reached a peak of number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of February 6, 2010. The song was written by Lambert and Natalie Hemby.

Lambert donated the original, handwritten copy of "White Liar" to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for public display behind a glass case.

Content

"White Liar" is a moderate up-tempo song in the key of F major backed primarily by steel guitar. The female narrator in the song describes confronting her man for cheating, whom she refers to as being a "white liar" for deceiving her, in reference to the term white lie.

Reception

"White Liar" has received positive reviews from critics. Jim Malec gave the song a thumbs up, describing it as "a decidedly alt-country track that showcases a significant Steve Earle influence and finds Lambert comfortably settling into a vocal groove that compliments the song’s melody instead of overpowering it." He also complimented the production, which featured the "employment of a spectacular steel track that underlines the song throughout."^[2] Dan Milliken of Country Universe gave the song a B rating, stating that although "the melody and production are reminiscent of Little Big Town’s best rustic country-rock, and there’s a much more commanding hook here than “Dead Flowers” had, the effort is compromised by throwaway lines. The shortage of lyrical meat gives the song an “undeveloped storyboard” kind of feel, but the overall energy of the execution goes a long way toward making up for it."^[3] Bobby Peacock of Roughstock gave a generally favorable review as well, noting that the song "shows a sense of growth — a sense to become even more lyrically-oriented than on even her critically acclaimed first two albums" but adding that he considered the bridge undeveloped.^[4]

"White Liar" received three nominations (for Single of the Year, Song of the Year, and Video of the Year) at the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards; of these, Lambert took home the award for Video of the Year. The song was also ranked #11 on The 9513's Best Country Songs of 2009^[5] and at #35 on Roughstock's Top 40 Best Singles of 2009.^[6]

Music video

The music video, which was directed by Chris Hicky, made its premiere during CMT's Big New Music Weekend on October 2, 2009.^[7][8] The video is set at Lambert's wedding; as she walks down the aisle, she passes numerous women all of which her groom has cheated on her with. When she reaches the altar, she announces that she had been lying too, and runs off with the best man (Greg Sestero). The video features a cameo appearance of Jamey Johnson as the preacher. Lambert's parents and band members were among the wedding guests, and Lambert's long-time friend, Lacey, was the maid of honor.

"White Liar" debuted at number 10 on CMT's Top Twenty Countdown for the week of October 16, 2009;^[9] it has since reached number 1 for the week of February 12, 2010. It debuted at number 4 on GAC's Top 20 Countdown for the week of October 30, 2009.

Chart and sales performance

"White Liar" debuted at number 50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the chart week of September 5, 2009; the song entered the Top 10 in its sixteenth week on the chart, reaching a peak of number 2 for the week of February 6, 2010. It later debuted at number 98 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week of October 31, 2009. Following her performance on the CMAs, it jumped from number 66 to number 38 to become Lambert's first Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song also reached number 1 on the Mediabase Country Chart. It has sold 1,202,000 copies in the US as of May 2013.^[10]

Charts

Year-end charts

Awards and Nominations

References

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics