"Don't Think I Can't Love You" is a song co-written 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, ...

artist

Jake Owen Joshua Ryan Owen (born August 28, 1981), known professionally as Jake Owen, is an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2006, he released his debut studio album, '' Startin' with Me'', that year. This ...

. It was released in August 2008 as the fourth single release of his career, and the lead single from his album '' Easy Does It''. Owen wrote the song with

Kendell Marvel Kendell Marvel is an American country music singer and songwriter. He released his debut solo album, ''Lowdown & Lonesome'' in October 2017. Early life Kendell Marvel was born and raised in Southern Illinois. He quickly discovered his talent ...

and

Jimmy Ritchey Jimmy Ritchey is an American country music songwriter and record producer from Centralia, Washington. Ritchey got his start as a record producer after producing demos for Tommy Shane Steiner. Initially, Ritchey was not intended to produce Steiner' ...

Content

"Don't Think I Can't Love You" was co-written by Jake Owen, along with his producer Jimmy Ritchey and Kendal Marvel. The song is a mid-tempo in

triple meter Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 (compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , , ...

, accompanied by

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 gui ...

. In it, the male narrator explains that, although he does not have much money, he is still able to show love for the woman he is addressing.

Critical reception

Allen Jacobs of Roughstock, a country music review site, gave the song a favorable review. Although he said the lyrics "have been said a bunch of times before", he said that the song had a "bluesy musical vibe". He also compared Owen's "strong, baritone voice" to

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

and said, "Owen sings the words passionately and has delivered a solid contemporary country single." Kevin J. Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a B− rating, calling the song "pleasant to the ears" but added, "the record doesn't build to a satisfying conclusion." In 2017, ''

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 advertise ...

'' contributor

Chuck Dauphin Charles Frederick Dauphin III (February 17, 1974 – September 18, 2019) was an American sports and country music journalist. He was a radio broadcaster for WDKN in Dickson, Tennessee Dickson is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Located in ...

put "Don't Think I Can't Love You" at number nine on his top 10 list of Owen's best songs.

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, directed by David McClister, was released for the song on November 6, 2008. In the video, Owen is shown performing in a courtyard with his band, as couples are shown dancing in their apartments and watching Owen's performance.

Chart performance

"Don't Think I Can't Love You" peaked at number 2 on the US ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart in March 2009. Behind both "

River of Love "River of Love" is a song written by Billy Burnette, Shawn Camp (musician), Shawn Camp and Dennis Morgan (songwriter), Dennis Morgan, and recorded by American country music artist George Strait. It was released in November 2008 as the third singl ...

" by

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

and "

Here Comes Goodbye "Here Comes Goodbye" is a song written by ''American Idol'' season 6 finalist Chris Sligh and Clint Lagerberg and recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts, who released it in January 2009 as the first single from their album ''Unstopp ...

" by

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

. This song was Owen's second to reach the top 10.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2008 singles Jake Owen songs Songs written by Kendell Marvel Songs written by Jake Owen Songs written by Jimmy Ritchey RCA Records Nashville singles 2008 songs