Dan + Shay’s ‘Bigger Houses’

The acoustic ballad offers listeners a path to life’s true riches.

A detail from the 2023 album "Bigger Houses" by Dan + Shay. Warner Music Nashville

Country duo Dan + Shay’s 2024 single “Bigger Houses” features a different sound than many of their big, pop-heavy hits. The contemplative song boasts a minimalist style with acoustic instrumentation like guitar and mandolin as well as the booming voices of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney. The vocalists have made a name for themselves with songs about falling in love and unrequited love. However, for this tune, they focus on the true meaning of life.

They pull from a time-honored reference to make their point, with a new twist. Drawing from the popular saying, “Keeping up with the Joneses,” the lyrics creatively reveal, “But the older I get, I just care less and less/ ‘Bout keeping up with people named Jones.”

Most references to “Keeping up with the Joneses” feature another person or family trying to outdo the wealthy bunch. But in “Bigger Houses,” the duo suggests we forgo this one-upmanship and focus on life’s true riches—riches that can’t be bought with money, but are gained through an appreciation of life’s simple pleasures that are often taken for granted.

The Origin of the Infamous ‘Joneses’

The “Keeping up with the Joneses” phrase may have been partly inspired by an actual Jones family. In 1853, the wealthy Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones purchased a large plot of land in Rhinebeck, New York, to build a mansion that resembled a castle. The sprawling home stretched more than 7,000 square feet and featured 24 rooms, tennis courts, carriage houses, and a boat.

The ruins of Wyndclyffe mansion, the weekend and summer residence of Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones, in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York. Public Domain

Elizabeth was kin to two influential New York families at the time, the Astors, who were successful industrialists, and the family of author Edith Wharton, who was born Edith Newbold Jones. Elizabeth’s mansion drew the attention of her neighbors. Soon, they decided to build their own dwellings in similar fashion. So much attention was paid to the Jones mansion that educational sites like How Stuff Works suggest it caused “a building boom” that lasted into the 1920s.

Ferncliff, the home of businessman William Vincent Astor, in Rhinebeck, New York, circa 1910 to 1915. Public Domain

The phrase as we know it today was popularized by a long-standing comic strip from 1913 written by Pop Momand. The comic strip, titled “Keeping Up with the Joneses,” follows the life of the McGinnis family as they model their lives after their neighbors, the Joneses, and try to impress them. Throughout the entire series, which ran until 1938, the Jones family is never seen.

Panel from the 1920 comic strip "Keeping up With the Joneses" by Arthur Ragland "Pop" Momand. Public Domain

In Dan + Shay’s No. 1 hit single, which was the title track to their fifth studio album released in 2023, they advise listeners to forget about the Joneses altogether. Through moving imagery and story-based lyrics, they offer us a roadmap to finding happiness in life.

What Really Matters

The song’s first lesson is found in its introductory verses, which reveal a revelation the singers had as they got older. With age, they came to realize material possessions are far less important than intangibles like love and peace.

The chorus makes references to distractions that will always be there to tempt us away from what truly matters, like “greener grass” in neighboring yards as well as newer, nicer vehicles in others’ driveways. Soon, we see that the duo is warning us about a common error in thinking. When we seek approval from outside forces, we lose sight of the things that make us inwardly rich.

As the duo sings, “You’re never gonna fill an empty cup/ If what you got’s still not enough,” the often-recited quote comes to mind that is attributed to President Theodore Roosevelt: “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

A Vermont family enjoy dinner together in East Montpelier, 1942. Library of Congress. Public Domain

In the song’s remaining verses, we’re taken through a journey of what really matters: A strong marriage, a content, happy family, a house full of love (no matter how modest), and peaceful evenings enjoying the beauty of a setting sun.

Part of the Grammy-nominated single’s charm is found in its message of purposeful simplicity. Despite the song’s lessons on simplicity, the duo went through a few complications before writing it. As it turns out, these obstacles gave them the insight they needed to pen the philosophical track.

‘Back to Basics’

Before Smyers and Mooney began work on their “Bigger Houses” album, the duo was on the verge of calling it quits for good, not because of a falling out, but because of burnout.

While talking with media outlet AP News about their album, Mooney shared the gravity of what he referred to as a “breaking point.”

“Dan said he fell out of love with music. I was kind of there as well.”

Years and years of being on the road along with the biggest tour of their careers being canceled due to COVID-19 protocols took a toll on the singers. To get in a better headspace, they decided to refocus. They paid more attention to their health, spent more time with their growing families, and reconnected with each other as friends and artistic partners.

Cover of the 2023 album "Bigger Houses" by Dan + Shay. Warner Music Nashville

Soon, their love of music came back, and they began work on their Bigger Houses record.

Smyers doesn’t downplay the impact the project had on them both.

“This album, honestly, it saved our lives.”

For the songs on the album, Smyers said the duo got “Back to basics.”

“We wrote all these songs just hanging out, the two of us, or with a friend with an acoustic guitar and piano. That was kind of how we made our first album.”

As the two musicians reconnected with what truly matters most to them, they made music again for the sheer love of it. Soon the inspiration for their “Bigger Houses” single manifested. It left them continuously inspired.

“We just have that sense of wonder back in our eyes,” Smyers shared.

Mindful Simplicity

Each chorus of the song concludes with the engaging hook, “The thing about happiness I’ve found is/ It don’t live in bigger houses.”

Dan + Shay’s introspective ballad communicates a comforting message. Life’s true riches aren’t found in ostentatious displays of wealth but in approaching life’s moments from the perspective of mindful simplicity. Appreciating the beauty of a sunset. The peace found in a loving home. Quiet evenings spent with those you care about. The lesson of the song? These are the true riches of life. And thankfully, one doesn’t need a castle, bigger house, or boatload of money to attain them.

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