Megan Moroney’s ‘Tennessee Orange’ Deserves More Than Viral Success [Listen]

TikTok star Megan Moroney's new song "Tennessee Orange" asks for something found in short supply on social media: Patience.

The country waltz is a love song at its core, but she has painted it orange to make it a specific tribute to the University of Georgia vs. University of Tennessee football rivalry. Her new man is a UT, fan and that's not going to sit will with her "Go Dawgs" kin. "Tennessee Orange" is a song for anyone who has ever had one of those split household mailboxes.

It takes awhile (over a minute) to get to that part, however. Veteran music makers David Fanning and Kristian Bush teamed with Ben Williams, Moroney and Paul Jenkins to create "Tennessee Orange," and Moroney shared it first on social media with her 380K followers. If it were released on a major record label, the second half of the first verse would likely get lopped off, but so far, the streaming/social media audience is proving to be resilient. More than 10 million people have consumed this song on Spotify and YouTube.

A focus on what this song is about may cause one to miss how Moroney presents herself as a country artist. The newcomer hat-tips traditional country with her acoustic love song in a way Morgan Wallen and the artists he works closely with do. In fact, it's difficult to not think of Ernest's "Flower Shops" as she strums, but the comparison is made more obvious as she rises and holds "okay" midway through the first verse. Could Wallen be a secret co-writer on "Tennessee Orange"? That's a pretty wild theory, but then again, her fans (and his) have some pretty good ones about them.

Did You Know?: Some people think Megan Moroney's "Tennessee Orange" was inspired by Morgan Wallen, and that they're dating. Our friends at PopCrush explored this theory

Listen to Megan Moroney, "Tennessee Orange":

Megan Moroney's "Tennessee Orange" Lyrics:

Mama, I'm calling, I've got some news / Don't you tell Daddy, he'll blow a fuse / Don't worry I'm doing okay / I know you raised me to know right from wrong / It ain't what you think / And I'm still writing songs / Just never thought I'd see the day / I've never felt this way.

Chorus:
I met somebody, and he's got blue eyes / He opens the door, and he don't make me cry / He ain't from where we're from, but he feels like home / He's got me doing things I've never done / In Georgia they'd call it a sin / I'm wearing Tennessee orange for him.

He took me to Knoxville last Saturday / And I wore the hat on his dash to the game / Sure wasn't Athens, but I / Fell for him under those Neyland lights.

Repeat Chorus

Mama, forgive me / I like him a lot / Hell, I'm learning the words to Ol' Rocky Top / And he's got a smile that makes me forget / I've always looked better in red.

Repeat Chorus

I met somebody, and he's got blue eyes / He opens the door, and he don't make me cry / He ain't from where we're from, but he feels like home / He's got me doing things I've never done / In Georgia they'd call it a sin / And I still want the Dawgs to win / But I'm wearing Tennessee orange for him / I'm wearing Tennessee orange for him.