It's a Little Too Late (Mark Chesnutt song)
Encyclopedia
"It's a Little Too Late" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music
singer Mark Chesnutt
. It was released in September 1996 as the lead single from his Greatest Hits
album. The song reached number-one on the U.S. Billboard
Hot Country Singles & Tracks
chart and peaked at number 5 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.
In the second verse, the narrator states coming home late, and that his lover was not mad at him and thought she realized not worrying about him. The next morning, the narrator then finds her gone.
magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that the song "demonstrates that he can deliver the driving tempo records country radio seems to favor these days without sacrificing any of the traditional country flavor of the music."
starts out with a moving van pulling into the driveway of a house. Two men then hop out of the truck, and then we see a man watching another man fishing on TV. A woman then bangs a pair of cymbals against each other, starting the song, then walks away. Shortly after we see the two men moving a sofa into the house, Mark starts singing and playing guitar. The woman is then trying to interrupt the narrator from watching his TV show. The movers then start confiscating everything out of the house, including the sofa that the narrator was sitting on, and the TV. The woman then gives her husband a fish and a rod, and he enjoys it, then goes to thank the movers for everything. After the moving van leaves, it starts to rain on the narrator.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Mark Chesnutt
Mark Chesnutt
Mark Nelson Chesnutt is an American country music singer. Chesnutt recorded and released his first album, Doing My Country Thing, in the late-1980s on private independent record label, Axbar Records, with the vinyl album version now a collector's item...
. It was released in September 1996 as the lead single from his Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Mark Chesnutt album)
Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits compilation released by American country music artist Mark Chesnutt. It features ten of the greatest hits from his second through sixth studio albums, as well as the newly-recorded tracks "It's a Little Too Late" and "Let It Rain"...
album. The song reached number-one on the U.S. Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Singles & Tracks
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart and peaked at number 5 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.
Content
The song describes a narrator whose woman had recently walked out on him, wanting him to be a better man. The narrator keeps stating in his mind that he should have done something for the woman: "I should've done this and I should've done that / I should've been there then she'd have never left / I should've been hangin' on to every word she ever had to say / But it's a little too late, she's a little too gone / She's a little too right, I'm a little too wrong / Now would be a good time to change / But it's a little too late."In the second verse, the narrator states coming home late, and that his lover was not mad at him and thought she realized not worrying about him. The next morning, the narrator then finds her gone.
Critical reception
Deborah Evans Price, of BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that the song "demonstrates that he can deliver the driving tempo records country radio seems to favor these days without sacrificing any of the traditional country flavor of the music."
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
starts out with a moving van pulling into the driveway of a house. Two men then hop out of the truck, and then we see a man watching another man fishing on TV. A woman then bangs a pair of cymbals against each other, starting the song, then walks away. Shortly after we see the two men moving a sofa into the house, Mark starts singing and playing guitar. The woman is then trying to interrupt the narrator from watching his TV show. The movers then start confiscating everything out of the house, including the sofa that the narrator was sitting on, and the TV. The woman then gives her husband a fish and a rod, and he enjoys it, then goes to thank the movers for everything. After the moving van leaves, it starts to rain on the narrator.
Chart performance
This song was Chesnutt's seventh Billboard Country Music charts Number One single. It entered the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart at number 63 on the chart dated October 5, 1996, and climbed to Number One in its eighteenth chart week on the chart dated February 8, 1997, where it held the top spot for two weeks.| Chart (1996-1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 5 |