Ashley Cooke Unleashes A Storm Of Emotion In Fiery Breakup Anthem, ‘The Hell You Are’

Ashley Cooke is done dealing with men who can only offer empty promises. She hones in on the relatable topic while taking her sound in a whole new direction on her fiery new anthem, “the hell you are.”

Leaning into her ability to take emotional chaos and turn it into something beautiful, Cooke delivers a catchy anthem that calls out the frustrations behind inconsistencies in a relationship. This tune is sure to hit home for anyone who’s ever been strung along by someone who says all the right things but never follows through.

“This song is that moment of clarity when you finally put your foot down on what you deserve. It’s calling someone out for their actions not matching their words and deciding to be done believing that it’ll be different this time,” Cooke shared of the song’s powerful narrative.

Cooke co-wrote the track alongside Seth Ennis, Joe Fox, Chase McGill, and Emily Weisband. This powerhouse team of songwriters combined their talents to bring this story to life while award-winning producer Dan Huff worked his magic to make the song complete.

The lyrics indicate the Cooke has found herself in this situation a few times before and is finally ready to end her streak of falling for a relationship that will only leave her heartbroken.

“I wanna believe you/ I’ve done that before/ Been there got the tshirt/ Slept in the one you wore/ Your kiss is like the desert/ Always playing tricks/ Love like a mirage/ Disappears closer I get,” she sings.

Cooke continues to send a message loud and clear with her warm, textured vocals cutting straight to the heart. While reliving all the lies she was told, Cooke explores a double meaning in the chorus by flipping the phrase, “the hell you are,” into a deeper description of the person’s destructive character claiming, “You don’t even know the hell you are.”

“You say you’re comin over/ And you’re swearing that you’re sober/ The hell you are/ You’re almost convincing/ When you’re telling me you’re different/ The hell you are/ The truth about your lies/ Is your heaven on the eyes/ But when it comes to the heart/ You don’t even know/ The hell you are.”

Today’s release was accompanied by a heated visualizer that finds Cooke setting up a candlelit dinner for her and her other half. One minute she’s lighting the candles and plating the dinner and the next she’s on the phone with a knowing and frustrated look on her face.

Instead of enjoying a date night with her love interest, she calls her friends and gets her revenge by tearing photos a part, breaking his belongings and causing some therapeutic chaos. At the very end, the mystery man shows up at the door and claims, he’s sorry and “lost track of time.” Luckily, her friends are there to make sure she doesn’t give in to the empty apologies anymore.

“The hell you are” follows a string of honest and emotionally charged tracks from Ashley Cooke, including “the f word” and “All I Forgot” featuring Joe Jonas. With each new release, Cooke further cements herself as one of country music’s most relatable storytellers who’s not afraid to speak her truth.

She’s currently on the road with Parker McCollum, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Dustin Lynch, joining each act on select dates through the fall in addition to also headlining select shows and appearing at major festivals.