Thursday, September 22, 2016

Four Weeks of Country

Everyone loves to sing about Friday and Saturday--they're the best days of the week.  But, how often do you ever hear somebody singing the merits of Tuesday or praising Thursday?  If you do some digging, those songs are out there.  Here are four weeks of country songs about days.

The Napster playlist can be found here.
The Spotify playlist can be found here.
The Youtube playlist can be found here.

1. "Raining on Sunday" by Keith Urban
2. "Except for Monday" by Lorrie Morgan
3. "Just Another Tuesday" by Ronnie Fauss
4. "Wednesday's Child" by Claire Lynch
5. "Thursday Night" by Zach DuBois
6. "Friday Night Feelin'" by Vern Gosdin
7. "Louisiana Saturday Night" by Mel McDaniel
8. "Sunday in the South" by Shenandoah
9. "I Don't Have to Be Me (Til Monday)" by Steve Azar
10. "Every Tuesday Night" by Miss Leslie
11. "Ash Wednesday" by The Point Blank Band
12. "Thursday Jayne" by Terry Holder
13. "Friday Night Blues" by John Conlee
14. "Saturday Night" by Jo Dee Messina
15. "That's What I Love About Sunday" by Craig Morgan
16. "If We're Not Back In Love By Monday" by Merle Haggard
17. "Tuesday Night" by Sweet Root
18. "A Wednesday Car" By Johnny Cash
19. "Like a Summer Thursday" by Townes Van Zandt
20. "It's Friday" by Dean Brody
21. "Small Town Saturday Night" by Hal Ketchum
22. "Seven Sundays in a Row" by Blue Highway
23. "Monday Morning Church" by Alan Jackson
24. "On An Ordinary Tuesday" by Buddy Jewell (Not on the Youtube playlist)
25. "Born on a Wednesday" by Billy Goerdt
26. "Thursday" by Blind Corn Liquor Pickers
27. "Another Friday Night" by Kenny Chesney
28. "American Saturday Night" by Brad Paisley

If nothing else, go check out It's Friday by Dean Brody.  He performs it with Great Big Sea!

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Hipster Country A-Z

Are you tired of hearing the same top 40 country songs on the radio all day long? So many modern country stations seem to play last month's top 10 country songs on repeat and ignore everything else. If you are looking for some great new songs, you're in luck with this playlist!  Here is a collection of songs from country artists so obscure that as of 9/14/16 (the date I have published this blog post) they don't even have their own Wikipedia page. In addition, this is an A-Z playlist with first names then last names.

Enjoy!

The Napster playlist is here: Hipster Country on Napster
The Youtube playlist is here: Hipster Country on YouTube
The Spotify playlist is here: Hipster Country on Spotify

1. Adam Sanders "Thunder"
2. Blaire Hanks "She Picks Me Up"
3. Clayton Anderson "Shotgun Rider"
4. David Adam Byrnes "More Afraid of Livin'"
5. Earl Wear "Walking to Wyoming"
6. Fiona Culley "Anywhere With You"
7. George Molton "Bluegrass On My Mind"
8. Hank Barbee "These Were the Days"
9. Ira Wolf "Can't Say"
10. Jeremiah Wheeler "I Call Home"
11. Keith Sewell "Sawdust Hill"
12. Lisa Dames "Just Another Day"
13. Michelle Poe "Just One of the Boys
14. Natalie Metcalf "Detour"
15. Olivia Rose "Cowboy Song"
16. Phillip Clarkson "Silvery Gray Barn"
17. Rainey Qualley "Me and Johnny Cash"
18. Ralph Stanley II "Georgia"
19. Steve Spurgin "Fire on the Kettle"
20. Travis Marvin "That's the Way We Roll" (The Youtube playlist has "Typically Taken")
21. Clay Underwood "We Got It All in the Country"
22. Vanessa Branson "Moon Shine"
23. Wyatt Turner "John Wayne"
24. Alex Runions "Little Bit of Sunshine"
25. Yvette Landry "Where Memories Are Gold"
26. Zach Dubois "Work Harder"

27. Allen, Jason "He's Still Dancin' With Her"
28. Burton, Julie "Never Got to Say"
29. Collins, Travis "Don't Win Enough"
30. Doell, Jordan "Scars"
31. Edwards, Keri "Trouble Waters"
32. Foster, Jordan "Running on Empty"
33. Golden, Cari "Hearts on Fire"
34. Hand, Craig "Dancin' With the Devil"
35. Irving, Mark "Hold On"
36. Joyner, Bryan Adam "Could Not Stay"
37. Kinder, Ryan "Tonight"
38. Lane, Jaryd "Country Boy Blues"
39. Matthews, Jason "Life Happened"
40. Norman, Jennifer "Lover's Moon"
41. Owens, Natalie "Love Me Like Louisiana"
42. Pettersen, Jennifer "The Fool Who Rushed Away"
43. Quinn, Emory "Idabel"
44. Ryan, Mike "Dancing All Around It"
45. Stogner, Jason "Country In Me"
46. Turner, Rachael "Aftershock"
47. Upchurch, Ryan "Stuck on 17"
48. Van Rys, Chad "And They All Came Home But Me (Once a Marine)" (The Spotify Playlist has the song "Blue Collar Fighting Man")
49. Winter, Carter "Whiskey and Wine"
50. Fox, Bryan "Be That Kind of Man"
51. Yoder, Keith "Rise and Shine"
52. Ziegler, Eric "23rd Psalm"

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

"Country Again" Lyrics

"County Again" by Ronnie Milsap

Country Again on Napster
Country Again on Youtube
Country Again on Spotify


Tommy bought him a hot-rod pickup
I guess it was about 10 years ago,
And every night in his garage
He worked on that Dodge
And never told a soul.

One night he decided to unveil that thing
For the whole town to see.
I think we thought he was a little crazy
When he said it was some kind of time machine.
Then a voice from the crowd said "prove it"
And that's just what Tommy did.
He went and pulled the clutch on that old pickup
Which sounded something like this...

(Move out of the way)

Just before he disappeared into thin air,
He said I'm going to the future ya'll,
And just like that he was riding back,
And here is what he saw.

He said "There were cars that flew down 5th Avenue,
And where that co-op sits right now
There's a sky-scraper a mile high
That'd make you dizzy when you look down.

He went on and on about robots and what not,
And Lord knows the stories that he told,
But nothing amazed him quite as much
As what he heard on the radio.

It was country again, so the future looks bright.
Those folks of tomorrow play their music right.
They're still holding on
To that down-home tradition.
It just about went.
We thought we lost our old friend
It was country again.

Tommy reached into his shirt pocket
and pulled out a song he had smuggled back.
He popped it in, and when he did,
It sounded a whole lot like the past.
The boy sang just like he had lived
Every single word.
And you could feel the joy,
And you could feel the pain,
And we all knew that we'd heard...

Country again, so the future looks bright.
Those folks of tomorrow play their music right.
They're still holding on
To that down-home tradition.
It just about went.
We thought we lost our old friend
It was country again

Yeah,  it just about went.
We thought we lost our old friend,
It was country again.




Thursday, September 1, 2016

A-Z Modern Country Artists

Here you will find some of the biggest names in modern country music, along with a few unknown artists as well, presented in A-Z format. The list goes through the alphabet twice, one with last names, one with first names, and never repeats a singer.  I did have to cheat for letters X (the names end with x instead of start with them) and Q (both lists have a person whose last name starts with Q).  If anybody knows of a country artist that has a first name starting with Q or either name starting with X, please let me know.  I would love to add them to my list.

For this list, I highly recommend the Youtube version if you have the time to watch.  Most of the songs are the official music videos.

The Napster playlist is here.
The Spotify playlist is here.
The Youtube playlist is here.

1. Aldean, Jason "Dirt Road Anthem"
2. Ballerini Kelsea "Love Me Like You Mean It"
3. Chesney, Kenny "The Good Stuff"
4. Darling, Sarah "Home to Me
5. Evans, Sarah "Suds in the Bucket"
6. Farr, Tyler "Whiskey in My Water"
7. Gilbert, Brantley "One Hell Of An Amen"
8. Hunt, Sam "Leave the Night On"
9. Isabella, Kira "Country's Written All Over Me"
10. Jackson, Alan "Drive (For Daddy Gene)"
11. Keith, Toby "American Ride
12. Lambert, Miranda "The House That Built Me"
13. McGraw, Tim "Humble and Kind"
14. Nettles, Jennifer "His Hands"
15. Olsen, Steven Lee "Make Hay While the Sun Shines"
16. Paisley, Brad "Mud on the Tires"
17. Qualley, Rainey "Never Mine"
18. Rucker, Darius "Wagon Wheel"
19. Swift, Taylor "White Horse" (The Spotify playlist uses "Should've Said No")
20. Turner, Josh "Long Black Train"
21. Underwood, Carrie "Something in the Water"
22. Vassar, Phil "Don't Miss Your Life"
23. Wilson, Gretchen "Redneck Woman"
24. Fox, Steve "The Road of Life"
25. Yearwood, Trisha "She's in Love With the Boy"
26. Zach, Tim "Like Him"

27. Alison Krauss "When You Say Nothing At All"
28. Brett Eldredge "Drunk On Your Love"
29. Cole Swindell "Middle of  Memory"
30. Dierks Bentley "Somewhere On A Beach"
31. Eric Church "Springsteen"
32. Faith Hill "Mississippi Girl"
33. Granger Smith "Miles and Mud Tires"
34. Hunter Hayes "I Want Crazy"
35. Ira Dean "Rollin' Thru the Moonshine
36. Jamey Johnson "In Color
37. Kacey Musgraves "Merry Go 'Round"
38. Luke Bryan "Drink a Beer"
39. Martina McBride "This One's For the Girls"
40. Nancy Apple "Cadillac Man"
41. Olivia Lane "Love Thing"
42. Paul Brandt "A Little in Love"
43. Emory Quinn "Highways of Gold"
44. Randy Houser "Like a Cowboy"
45. Scotty McCreery "See You Tonight"
46. Travis Tritt "It's a Great Day to Be Alive"
47. Uriah Shelton "Anything for You"
48. Vanessa Bransan "Who I Am"
49. William Michael Morgan "I Met a Girl"
50. Alex Runions "You're My Excuse"
51. Yvette Landry "120 Proof" (The Youtube playlist uses "Another Lesson Learned")
52. Zach Dylan "That's Just Me"

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Year of Rain

Have you ever noticed just how many songs there are about rain? In fact there is even a song called "Songs about Rain" that lists the names of other songs about rain.

Now there's all kind of songs about babies and love that goes right,
But for some unknown reason nobody wants to play them tonight,
Hey I hope it's sunny wherever you are,
But that's sure not the picture tonight in my car, 
And it sure ain't easing my pain all these songs like,

Rainy Night In Georgia,
and Kentucky Rain,
Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again, 
Blue Eyes Crying In The early morning Rain,
They go on and on,
And there's no two the same.

I'm sure there are enough rainy day songs out there to play music for an entire year, but for brevity's sake my "Year of Rain" playlist limits the list to one song per month (a very specific song per month, as you will see), with the "Songs About Rain" introduction.




1. "Songs About Rain" by Gary Allan
2. "January Rain" by Joelle Maddyson
3. "February Rain" by Peter Vuksich
4. "March Rain" by Bill Dean
5. "April Rain" by Delain
6. "May Rain" by Saving Dawn
7. "June Rain" by Sandra Mollman
8. "July Rain" by Steel Creek
9. "August Rain" by Hogg Maulies
10. "September Rain" by Erick Macek
11. "October Rain" by Roxie Randle
12. "November Rain" by Guns N' Roses
13. "December Rain" by The Lovemonkeys (not included on Youtube Playlist)
14. "Year of Rain" by SundogProject (not included on Spotify Playlist)



Friday, August 19, 2016

"It Only Takes One" Lyrics

"It Only Takes One" on Napster
"It Only Takes One" on Spotify
The song is not available on Youtube but Here is Travis Wayne's Youtube account

"It Only Takes One"
By Travis Wayne

They kicked John's best friend out of school
He can't even say his name
He's already been warned
The next time its 3 days
If it was selling drugs, fighting,
Or had a gun John could relate
But it was something stupid
Separation of church and state
John's never thrown a punch.
He keeps turning the other cheek
He swallows hard and bites his tongue
When they call him a Jesus Freak

It only takes one young rebel
One cause to cause trouble
One pebble in a pond can start a wave
You know how folks get carried away
One tree can grow a forest
One man came before us
He blazed a trail, took three nails,
And built a kingdom to come
Saving millions
It only takes one

Now John's got 3 or 4 buddies
Looks like he's gaining ground
They gather at the flag pole every morning
Eyes closed, and heads bowed
One kid's dad's in prison
Another's got a mama hooked on crack
John's doing what he's led to do
And you can't argue with that

Cause gangs are getting smaller
And dealers are getting caught
Thanks to kids just like John
And praise to God

It only takes one young rebel
One cause to cause trouble
One pebble in a pond can start a wave
You know how folks get carried away
One tree can grow a forest
One man came before us
He blazed a trail, took three nails,
And built a kingdom to come
Saving millions

It only takes one young rebel
One cause to cause trouble
One pebble in a pond can start a wave
You know how folks get carried away
One tree can grow a forest
One man came before us
He blazed a trail, took three nails,
And built a kingdom to come
Saving millions
It's only takes one


Travis Wayne is a country artist I discovered recently and liked immediately. However, it appears that he has retired from the country music scene as of 7-4-2016.  He made the following announcement on his facebook page:

"Ok so I've thought about it for a while and I wanted everyone to hear it from me first. I am officially going to retire from playing music. I've spent the last 7 years traveling, playing, and entertaining all of you and it's been a blessing. I've been able to do and see some amazing things. But there is another side of music that I don't much care for. The band part being one. Just tired of having to deal with other members who are usually unappreciative and deceitful. Those who know me know drugs and such has never been my thing. Unfortunately other band members do not see things the way I do. Nashville is a nasty, cut throat town and I'm not willing to change into someone I don't wanna be for them. Does this mean I'll never play again? Of course not. I'll always find a stage to sing and play on. I'm just done dealing with all the unnecessary drama that comes with everything. I love you all and want you all who have truly supported my music to know I love and appreciate each one of you. As I said earlier, I'll continue to play just not to the caliber I was! Thank you all again for an amazing experience!"

Frankly, I don't blame him.  It doesn't sound like an avenue I would want to travel either.  However, I'm sad that country music has lost an artist with such potential, and I'm especially sad that he retired so shortly after I learned about him.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Marching Bands in Country Songs

Have you ever wondered how often marching bands come up in country songs?  No?  Nobody else has ever wondered that?  Oh well, here's a fun playlist anyway. It includes as many country songs as I could find that mention marching band at least once, somewhere in their lyrics. The list starts with Brad Paisley's #1 hit "Online," and ends with another well-known song that is not typically considered country, but still feels right at home with the rest of the list.

The Napster version can be found here Marching Bands in Country Songs on Napster

The Spotify version can be found here Marching Bands in Country Music on Spotify

The Youtube version can be found here Marching Bands in Country Music on Youtube


1. "Online" by Brad Paisley
2. "A Really Long Year" by Rosie Thomas (Not included on the Spotify playlist)
3. "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power) by Dierks Bentley
4. "Girl Next Door" by Julie Roberts
5. "Be A Little Quieter" by Porter Wagoner
6. "Travelin' Soldier" by Dixie Chicks
7. "Hang On" by Country Joe & The Fish
8. "Quarterback" by Kira Isabella
9. "Must Be Love" by Lonestar
10. "Trouble No More" by Mindy Gledhill
11. "Country Man" by Jeff Bates
12. "A Little Left of Center" by Randy Travis
13. "American Pie" by Don McLean