The lyrics to Jake Owen‘s latest single ‘Alone With You’ were a bit of a “puzzle,” according to JT Harding, one of the song’s three writers. But the end result was a beautiful masterpiece that gave the singer yet another fast and steady ride up the country singles chart.

The writing session was the first time Harding had met co-writer Catt Gravitt, but he already had a solid writing relationship with the song’s third writer, Shane McAnally.

“Shane brings something out in me that I don’t have with other writers … a much more private and personal side,” Harding tells Taste of Country. “He started playing the guitar like he always does. That’s how it happened with [our Kenny Chesney song] ‘Somewhere With You.’ Off the top of my head, I started singing that first verse about this girl I was seeing, which wasn’t a relationship at all [laughs]. It was someone who was keeping me just interested enough to just keep me hanging on.”

I don’t see you laugh / You don’t call me back / But you kiss me when you’re drunk / I don’t know your friends / Don’t know where you’ve been / Why are you the one I want,” they wrote in the opening lyrics.

“The first verse came about, and everyone kind of dove in on the concept and kept it going from there,” notes Harding. “Who wants to say hey, I’m some hot chicks bootie call? That’s what’s great about being a songwriter … you let it all hang out. Then Catt said something about why were we tip-toeing around the sexiness … let’s just go for it. We went back and took the gloves off.”

Don’t you put your lips up to my mouth and tell me you can’t stay / Don’t slip your hand under my shirt and tell me it’s okay / Don’t say it doesn’t matter ’cause it’s gonna matter to me / I can’t be alone with you,” they wrote for the chorus.

“Those lines came out, and I just knew if someone had the guts to cut it, it would be a monster smash,” Harding says of the ‘Alone With You’ lyrics. “I think a lot of people thought it was perfect for a girl to sing, but from day one, I thought a guy needed to say that. I give all the credit to Jake Owen for him to sing it. He’s a great looking dude, so for him to sing about a girl who doesn’t want him is really cool. I just knew it would be a lot better than a girl singing because it would be unexpected.”

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