Story Behind the Song: Brett Young, ‘Don’t Wanna Write This Song’

When Brett Young went into the co-writing session that produced "Don't Wanna Write This Song," the last track on his sophomore album, Ticket to L.A., he knew he wanted to walk out with a song that encompassed the same mood as his heartbreak ballad "Mercy," a hit single from his debut album. In order to accomplish that task, he called on Sean McConnell, the writer who had helped him pen "Mercy," as well as fellow songwriter Zach Crowell.

Breakup songs are familiar territory for McConnell, and when Young told his co-writers about the song he hoped to create that day, McConnell was so inspired that he wound up writing part of the song before the session even started. Read on to learn more, in Young's own words.

"I Don't Wanna Write This Song" was actually a title that I tried to write by myself 10 years ago in LA, and it was a terrible, terrible song. This was the first time I had ever revisited an idea and had it work.

I actually woke up to a voice note from [Sean McConnell] the day of our write. It was just piano, and not only a lot of melody but a lot of lyrics, so we had a lot to build on ... A lot of what you're hearing melodically, and the piano part, as well as a lot of the lyrics, we kept from the idea [he] had sent that morning.

I mean, I think I have all of Sean's records; I've been a fan for a really long time. [He] obviously does heartbreak very well, and the fact that I naturally gravitate towards ballads, I think it's a good pairing for a song like that.

Watch Brett Young Perform "In Case You Didn't Know" in Nashville