"Better Dig Two" is a song 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

The Band Perry The Band Perry are an American band composed of siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar), Reid Perry (bass guitar, background vocals), and Neil Perry (mandolin, bouzouki, background vocals). They signed to Republic Nashville in August 200 ...

. It was released in October 2012 as the first single from their second album, '' Pioneer''. The song was written by

Brandy Clark Brandy Lynn Clark (born October 9, 1975) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Her songs have been recorded by Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, the Band Perry, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Currington, Darius Rucker, and Kacey ...

Shane McAnally Shane McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Originally a solo artist for Curb Records in 1999, McAnally charted three singles on Hot Country Songs, including the No. 31 "Are Y ...

and Trevor Rosen.

Content

The song is a mid-tempo in which the female narrator tells her husband that, should he die before she does, she would rather die and be buried next to him. She also threatens that if he betrays her, she'll kill him and then kill herself: "If the ties that bind ever do come loose / If forever ever ends for you / If that ring gets a little too tight / They might as well read me my last rites / Cause I'll go to heaven or I'll go to hell / Before I'll see you with someone else." The song is in A

Dorian Dorian may refer to: Ancient Greece * Dorians, one of the main ethnic divisions of ancient Greeks * Doric Greek, or Dorian, the dialect spoken by the Dorians Art and entertainment Films * ''Dorian'' (film), the Canadian title of the 2004 film ' ...

(i.e., an A minor scale with the sixth tone raised by a half-step). Kimberly Perry's vocals range from A3 to C5. The main accompaniment is

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

, and percussion.

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. Billy Dukes of ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' gave the song three and a half stars out of five, writing that "cast in the shadow of the dark and stormy production … the gesture isn't sweet and romantic, but sort of unnerving." Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' gave the song four stars, saying that "in addition to featuring Kimberly Perry's dynamic vocals we have a lound/soft '' ic' melodic dynamic with banjos, mandolins, fiddles and electric guitars mixed in with a rock attitude and cries of steel guitars as well." Ben Foster of ''Country Universe'' gave the song a B grade, calling it "one of the most interesting and organic-sounding new tunes with a shot at radio airplay." Writing for ''Urban Country News'', Liv Carter gave the song a 'thumbs up,' praising the "very modern, yet very rootsy, country sound."

Music video

The music video was directed by Declan Whitebloom and filmed in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

. It premiered on CMT on December 4, 2012.

Live performances

"Better Dig Two" was performed at

Billboard Music Awards The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of t ...

on May 19, 2013.

Chart performance

"Better Dig Two" debuted at number 9 on the U.S. ''

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 Songs chart for the week of November 17, 2012. It also debuted at number 53 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week of November 17, 2012. It also debuted at number 57 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of November 17, 2012. It has sold 1,457,000 copies in the US as of June 2013.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2012 singles 2012 songs The Band Perry songs Republic Records singles Songs written by Shane McAnally Song recordings produced by Dann Huff Republic Nashville singles Songs written by Brandy Clark Songs written by Trevor Rosen