Top Ten Country Lyrics of All Time

Submitted by charliehiphop on Sat, 2011-11-26 10:29

As a bit of a poet, two types of music that really turn me on are hip-hop and country. Yeah, it sounds weird, but those two types of music are freakin' lyrically awesome. Folk is good too but it's kind of preachy and pretentious. Rock lyrics tend toward the stupid with a few shining stars. With (good) hip-hop you get the real deal, unvarnished, from urban America. With (good) country, you get the real deal from rural America. Hip-hop kicks percussive rhymes in funky-ass or sinister beats, country croons its truth in sweet melody.

An aside -- rock 'n' roll was born when a country boy from Texas (Buddy Holly) fell in love with the dark and dangerous (and black) blues, and a black kid in Louisiana (Chuck Berry) took a shine to country. Little RIchard, Elvis, Bill Haley and the Comets -- they were all just mixing the impossibly different genres of country and blues. The next great musical revolution will come when someone successfully mixes hip-hop and country in an organic, true way (not the contrived cowboy hat-wearing "rapper").

Anyway, I started this exercise as "Top Ten Best Hip-Hop Lyrics of All Time" but couldn't narrow it down to just ten. Tupac alone dropped more truth than I could ever get in a top-ten list. I suppose the same could be said of Hank Williams (the real one -- not that "Junior" buffoon), but I guess the country gems just stand out more for me.

Without further ado, here are my...

Top-Ten Favorite Country Lyrics (in no particular order):

"Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys," Waylon Jennings, likely with help from Willie Nelson

Cowboys like smokey old pool rooms and clear mountain mornings,
Little warm puppies and children and girls of the night.

This encapsulates the paradoxical cowboy soul. He's a good guy with bad habits, a guy who runs in some unsavory circles but is a sweetheart deep down. I especially like the contrast between "smokey old pool rooms" and "clear mountain mornings." Here's a guy who parties hard at night, but not so hard that he can't get up early and get to work. Or maybe he parties all night and is still in good enough shape to enjoy the morning... we don't really know. As a Gemini and a bit of a cowboy, this lyric really speaks to me.
"Okie from Muskogee," Merle Haggard

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball

This song is a hippie-hatin' song, but I love it. It's about something that any good rapper can respect: Representin', not frontin', doin' you. Nowadays, I'm sure they smoke a lot of marijuana in Muskogee, but it don't mean nothin' no-how. You gotta be proud of where you're from and what you're about. Otherwise, how will you ever go out into the world and kick ass?
"Just Fishin," Trace Adkins (somebody else wrote it, I think)

And all this laughin’, cryin, smilin’ dyin’ here inside’s
What I call, livin’

And she thinks we’re just fishin’ on the riverside

The first time I heard this song, I almost cried. It's so incredibly straightforward and true. It's about being in a moment and grasping its true importance. It's about understanding what life is really all about, what love is really all about. This is a great song, even if it is over-produced, and lyrically it's just sublime.
"I'm Gonna Sing," Hank Williams

Up there I know, there'll be no pain
When I get to glory, I'm gonna sing, sing, sing

You need to understand a little something about Hank Williams' life to fully appreciate this lyric. He died at 29 after producing more great work than most people will in a full lifetime, including dozens of top-ten hits and numerous timeless classics that will be covered until the sun burns out. He was a drunk and an addict but also a deeply spiritual man. This song is eerie in a beautiful way, and when you hear it, you just know that Hank Williams is up there somewhere, singing his soul out, pain-free without narcotics or booze.
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," Chet Atkins

Pretty bubbles, no more troubles
Pretty bubbles in the air

Maybe I'm biased toward Chet Atkins because he happens to be one of my favorite guitarists of all time in any genre, but I really like this lyric. Seemingly whimsical, it speaks to the dreamer's angst. What happens to bubbles when you blow them? They pop. Simplicity is sublime. This song is about dreaming and seeing your dreams rise... then disappear in an instant. Good stuff!
"Folsom Prison Blues," Johnny Cash

Always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns.
But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die

I can think of a lot of reasons to shoot a man in Reno: He raped your daughter, killed your son, slept with your wife, stole 20 bucks from you, looked at you the wrong way... but to shoot him just to watch him die? This is one n!99a you do not want to f^(k with. It's a good thing that he's locked away, and even he knows it. Nobody could deliver this lyric better than Cash, either, that growling, downward inflection on the word "die" is the stuff of legend. Mere mortals can't invoke that kind of meaning vocally.
"A Boy Named Sue," Johnny Cash

So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die

The song is about a guy who hates his dad for running out on the family... and hates him even more for naming the boy "Sue." It's brilliant. The kid goes through life bitter about his name, and finally meets his dad in a bar. After kicking his dad's ass, his dad uses the above lyric to explain why he named the boy "Sue." (There's that cowboy paradox again.) Anyway, they end up having a drink together and being father and son. If anybody ever tries to tell you that Johnny Cash was not a genius, have them listen to this song and reconsider.
"Alcohol," Brad Paisley

I been known to cause a few break ups
I been known to cause a few births

There's that paradox again. This song is great because it's both an ode and a lament. It's also very clever and accurate, and the personification of alcohol is so poignant and funny you wonder why nobody had done it before.
"Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw," Jimmy Buffett

So bar maid bring a pitcher, another round o' brew
Honey, why don't we get drunk and screw

This one I like for its complete honesty. It's honest on a couple levels. Any straight guy who ever got drunk with an attractive woman has wanted to come out and say it, and I'm pretty sure a damn lot of women would like to dispense with the pleasantries and get to the point. Another level of honesty: Saying it like that exposes just how cheap and tawdry such experiences are in the grand scheme -- not that there's anything particularly wrong with cheap and tawdry, mind you.
"Coal Miner's Daugher" Loretta Lynn

Yeah, I'm proud to be a coal miner's daughter,
I remember well the well where I drew water,

This song is just frickin' amazing. It makes as powerful a social statement as anything Pete Seeger or Phil Ochs (no disrespect intended, but...) ever did, but it does it in a way to which common folks can relate, without being all preachy. It simply states that it's OK to be poor if you've got love, and like "Oakie from Muskogee," it's about representin'. There are a ton of country songs that celebrate the workin' man and woman, but this one is tops in my book.