"Beautiful Mess" is a song written by

Shane Minor Shane Allen Minor (born May 3, 1968) is an American country music artist. Signed to Mercury Nashville Records in 1999, Minor released his self-titled album that year, and it produced three hit singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & ...

Clay Mills Clayton Bernard "Clay" Mills is an American songwriter. His credits include the #1 hits " Beautiful Mess" by Diamond Rio and " Don't Think I Don't Think About It" by Darius Rucker, which won Mills an award from ASCAP. Other country music artists ...

and Exile bassist

Sonny LeMaire Alfred William "Sonny" LeMaire (born September 16, 1947) is an American country music artist. LeMaire is best known as being the bass guitarist of the band Exile, a role that he first held in 1977. After lead singer J. P. Pennington quit the band ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

group

Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band. The band was founded in 1982 as an attraction for the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, and was originally known as the Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys. It was foun ...

. It was released in April 2002 as the first single from Diamond Rio's album '' Completely''. The song reached Number One on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, a position that it held for two non-consecutive weeks. The song was also Diamond Rio's most successful crossover single, peaking at number 28 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Content

The song is a mid-tempo in which the narrator describes how his life has changed since he fell in love. He describes himself as "going out of ismind" and unable to concentrate — for example, appearing tired at work, accidentally putting

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quanti ...

in his

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

, "walkin' 'round in a haze", and "put

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

shoes A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the Foot, human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from cult ...

on the wrong feet". Ultimately, he calls his state of mind a "beautiful mess".

Critical reception

Chuck Taylor, of ''

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably saying that "reverb-drenched guitar, a smoldering melody, and the barely contained pathos in the vocal highlight this next slice of excellence." Taylor said the "well-rendered backup vocals" and the good production give depth to the song.''

'', April 6, 2002

Music video

The music video was directed by

Deaton Flanigen Deaton-Flanigen Productions is an American film company based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was named after the surnames of founders Robert Deaton III and George Flanigen IV. The two have directed multiple music videos, primarily in the field ...

and premiered on CMT on May 31, 2002. It was filmed at the

Nashville International Airport Nashville International Airport is a public/military airport in the southeastern section of Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Established in 1937, its original name was Berry Field, from which its ICAO and IATA identifiers are derived. Th ...

Charts

"Beautiful Mess" debuted at number 55 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart for the week of April 13, 2002. "Beautiful Mess" reached its peak of number one on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart on the chart week of September 28, 2002. One week later, it fell to the number-two position. "Beautiful Mess" then returned to the number one spot on the chart dated for October 12, accounting for a second and final week in that peak.

Year-end charts

References

2002 singles Country ballads 2000s ballads Diamond Rio songs Songs written by Shane Minor Songs written by Clay Mills Music videos directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions Arista Nashville singles Songs written by Sonny LeMaire 2002 songs {{2000s-country-song-stub