"What Might Have Been" is the title of a song recorded by country music

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...

 group Little Texas

Little Texas

Little Texas is an American country music band founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1988 by Tim Rushlow , Brady Seals , Del Gray , Porter Howell , Dwayne O'Brien , and Duane Propes . Signed to Warner Bros...

. It was released in May 1993 as the lead-off single from their second album, Big Time

Big Time (Little Texas album)

Big Time is the second studio album released by country music band Little Texas. Released in 1993 on Warner Bros. Records, it produced the singles "What Might Have Been", "God Blessed Texas", "My Love", and "Stop on a Dime". Respectively, these peaked at #2, #4, #1, and #14 on the Hot Country Songs...

. It was co-written by the band's lead guitarist Porter Howell, rhythm guitarist Dwayne O'Brien, and keyboardist and vocalist Brady Seals

Brady Seals

Brady Seals is an American country music artist. He is the cousin of Jim Seals and Dan Seals and Johnny Duncan, the nephew of Troy Seals, and the husband of former BNA Records recording artist Lisa Stewart...

. The song reached #2 on the 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...

s Hot Country Songs

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 #11 on the Canadian RPM

RPM (magazine)

RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

country Tracks chart in 1993. It is one of their best known songs, peaking at #16 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks

The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...

 chart.

Content

In this song, the narrator tells himself or his former lover that he can't change the past and that there's no way to know what their relationship could have become. The exact circumstances are left open-ended.

Music video

Two music videos, both directed by Jack Cole, were filmed for the song. The first version, which was never released, is filmed completely in sepia tone. The video focuses around World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and shows a couple dancing just before the man has to go off to war. Old stock footage from the war is shown also.

The second version features the same footage as the first version, but is mixed in with some added scenes (filmed in color) where a man named Michael brings his son, Tommy, to visit Michael's grandfather, Nathan, who lives in a nursing home. After arriving, Tommy shows his great-grandfather a photograph he had found of Nathan with a woman he met during World War II, named Clarice. Throughout the visit, Nathan shares various stories with Michael about Clarice, along with the fact that they had lost touch after the war ended. After Michael and Tommy leave, Nathan walks about the nursing home hallways when he passes an elderly woman. He suddenly stops and turns around to see if the woman looks familiar - it turns out to be his long, lost love, Clarice. As they reunite, the video flashes back to the younger Clarice and Nathan sharing a kiss. This version is best known and has been seen on CMT

Country Music Television

Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...

, TNN

The Nashville Network

The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...

 and GAC

Great American Country

Great American Country , is a Nashville, Tennessee-based country music cable television network.-History:The station launched December 31, 1995 and Garth Brooks' video "The Thunder Rolls" was the first video to air on GAC....

, as well as CMT's sister channel, Pure Country

CMT Pure Country

CMT Pure Country is a digital cable and satellite television channel, it is the sister network to CMT. It showcases country music videos all day from the 1980s to the current day, using the same 8-hour programming wheel schedule repeated three times daily as sister networks MTV Hits and MTV Jams...

.

Chart performance

"What Might Have Been" debuted at number 72 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of May 29, 1993.

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	76
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	2
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	16