"Eighteen Inches" is a song written by

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

Ashley Gorley Ashley Glenn Gorley (born April 29, 1977) is an American songwriter, publisher, and producer from Danville, Kentucky, who is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Gorley has written 60 number 1 songs and has over 300 songs recorded by artists including ...

and

Kelley Lovelace John Kelley Lovelace is an American songwriter known mainly for his work with country music artist Brad Paisley. He has written several of Paisley's singles, including the number 1 hits "He Didn't Have to Be" (Paisley's first number 1), "The World ...

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

Lauren Alaina Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth (born November 8, 1994) is an American singer and songwriter from Rossville, Georgia. She was the runner-up on the tenth season of ''American Idol.'' Her debut studio album, ''Wildflower,'' was released on Octobe ...

. It was released on July 16, 2012, as the third and final single from Alaina's debut album ''

Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...

''.

Content

"Eighteen Inches" is a story of two young lovers early in their relationship, with references to the space between a person’s head and heart. One of the songwriter

described the song as “A girl madly in love running away with her boyfriend, doing anything they could to scrape up the money and get a ring, and eventually deciding they were ‘ready’ for a baby. If they had stopped and thought about any of the scenarios, they never would have happened, but when you follow what you feel it can take you a long way” and he also said that the song was written a few years back for

saying, “Carrie, Kelley Lovelace and I wrote this song a couple of years ago when we were writing for Carrie’s album,”

Critical reception

It received three stars out of five rating from Billy Dukes of Taste of Country, who said "The plot is a little predictable, but mostly because it’s a story all of us know so well from personal experience. That’s where Alaina has room for growth. While it’s certainly not her fault that she’s never begged a landlord for one more week, her lack of expertise shows. She’s not a master storyteller yet — this tale sounds more like a really good one she heard from a friend, in this case songwriters Ashley Gorley, Kelley Lovelace and Carrie Underwood. The song’s sweet ending may overcome any issues of credibility, however."

Track listing

;Digital download # "Eighteen Inches" — 3:44

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2011 songs 2012 singles Lauren Alaina songs Mercury Nashville singles Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Songs written by Ashley Gorley Songs written by Kelley Lovelace Songs written by Carrie Underwood