Best country song

Subject: Best country song
From: kendall
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 08:08 AM

Enough of the tear jerkers, How about the best country song?
This calls for your OPINION. We are not dealing in facts here.

My vote goes to: Sunday Morning Coming Down. Kris Kristoferson

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: GUEST,Brian Peters
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 08:30 AM

"Country Life" as sung by the Watersons. Or wasn't that what you meant?

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: fat B****rd
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 08:33 AM

"Seeds and Stems" Commander Cody.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: kendall
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 08:34 AM

I'm asking for opinions. No boundries.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Scrump
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 08:36 AM

"Country Life" as sung by the Watersons.

I prefer the Show of Hands version. :-)

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 08:38 AM

'Didn't he Ramble'

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Scrump
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 08:52 AM

Champion Dung Spreader. Can't get much more country than that :-)

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Tweed
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 09:10 AM

John Prine's "Paradise"

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: GUEST,Brian Peters
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 09:10 AM

>> "Country Life" as sung by the Watersons.
I prefer the Show of Hands version. :-) <<

Oh ye of little taste.....

How about "Willin'"? Or "Too Late" by Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin?But hell, this category's just too big to choose.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Jim Lad
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 09:42 AM

"Leaving on a Jetplane"
"Back Home Again"
"Goodbye Again"

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: pdq
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 09:45 AM

fat B****rd mentioned "Down To Stems And Seeds Again Blues" by Commander Cody (see "Live From The Heart Of Texas"). The lead singer on that number is Bill Kirchen, probably the most under-appreciated performer in this type of music today. In the last 15 years he made some of the best records around, the songs going from Rockabilly to Western Swing to straight Country to Blues and back to Honky Tonk. Fine singer and one of the greatest Fender-slingers ever.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Scoville
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 09:54 AM

I think of "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time" by Lefty Frizzell as pretty much the quintessential country song.

(Pardon me for doing this, but I never have a single favorite anything. Completely incapable of thinking in black and white.)

Other favorites include:

"Lost Highway", "Ramblin' Man", and "Cold, Cold, Heart" by Hank Williams

"King of the Road" by Roger Miller

"Billy Gray" & "When the Fields Are White with Daisies" by Norman Blake

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 09:55 AM

The Coming of the Roads - Judy Collins recording
Waltz Across Texas
WAY OUT THERE - Sons of the Pioneers

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Scoville
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 09:58 AM

And I've got a recording of a song called "Hound Dog, Bay at the Moon", which is a fine song but not one I see recorded much (the recording I have is not a big label recording).

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: pdq
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 10:22 AM

The greatest Country song ever is George Jones singing "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Next question, please.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: GUEST,Jeff
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 10:35 AM

Generally, among country songwriters here in Nashville the ONE song everybody agrees on is George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today". "He kept a letter by his bed. Dated Nineteen-sixty-two. Where he underlined in red. Every single 'I love you'"...awesome.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Midchuck
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 10:35 AM

pdq may very well be right about "He Stopped Loving Her Today," and is definitely right about Bill Kirchen.

Peter

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Scrump
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 10:45 AM

May The Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose - a country classic.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Scoville
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 10:52 AM

Slaid Cleaves is more modern folk/pop/country but "Horseshoe Lounge" is also a great song.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Wesley S
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 11:04 AM

You're all wrong. The best country song is "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You".

Although "He Stopped Loving Her today" comes in a close second.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Scrump
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 11:15 AM

How about "I Couldn't Spell %#$$£*&" by Wayne Carson Thompson.

(Not sure if I spelt "%#$$£*&" correctly - anyone know the correct spelling?)

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 11:28 AM

"big City" by Merle Haggard

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Midchuck
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 11:39 AM


"big City" by Merle Haggard

Turn me loose...somewhere in the middle of Montana...

At this time of year?

Give me all I've got coming to me...

Getting all I've got coming to me is my greatest fear in life.

And you can keep your... Social Security

The hell with that! I paid a fortune in and I'm determined to live to be 100, whether I enjoy it or not, just to get it back!

Peter.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: greg stephens
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 11:44 AM

Seth Lakeman's "White Hare" stands a good chance of winning in this category, I would think.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: bubblyrat
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 11:44 AM

No doubt about it !----- "Thank God I"m a Country Boy", sung by John Denver & written by his banjo player, John Sommers.There"s even a dobro solo in it !!

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 12:12 PM

Stand By Your Man

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: GUEST,Jim
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 12:13 PM

Of course it's all subjective, but my current fav is:

I FEEL LIKE HANK WILLIAMS TONIGHT
(Chris Wall)

Well, I could live my whole life, without a phone call
The likes of which I got today.
It was only my wife, said "hello" then "goodbye".
And told me she's going away.

Well I didn't cry, It was all cut and dried.
I hung up before I realized.
Turned up my stereo, I walked to the window,
Stared at the storm clouds outside.

Chorus:
And I play classical music when it rains,
I play country when I am in pain.
But I won't play Beethoven, the mood's just not right –
Oh, I feel like Hank Williams tonight.

There was no explanation, not even a reason,
No talk of the good times we'd had.
Was it me, was it her, I don't know for sure,
And that's why I'm feeling so bad.

Chorus:
Hey, I play jazz when I am confused,
I play country whenever I lose.
But Bird's saxaphone, it just don't seem right
No, I feel like Hank Williams tonight.

Lately I'd been thinkin', I just might quit drinkin'.
But now I don't know all-in-all.
I just might stay home, get drunk all alone,
And punch a few holes in the wall.

Chorus:
But when I'm real high I play rock'n'roll,
I play country when I'm losing control.
I don't play Chuck Berry quite as much as I'd like,
But I feel like Hank Williams tonight.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: TIA
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 12:14 PM

On the Road Again

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Beer
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 12:36 PM

Kendall, I've been thinking about this since you opened the thread this morning and I have to also go with "Sunday Morning Coming Down". One hell of a powerful song. I also lean toward another of Kris's "Bobby McGee" As he says in one of his recordings, "If it sounds country man, that's what it is. It's a country song".

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 12:48 PM

Hank Williams is the Once and Future King of Country Music, in my opinion, and "I'm so Lonesome I could Cry" is his best song. Following close behind would be Buck Owens' "Together Again", Merle Haggard's "Lonesome Fugitive" and the Louvin Brothers'"My Baby's Gone". Parsons and Hillman's "Sin City" gets an honorable mention.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 12:56 PM

Honky Tonk Angels by Kitty Wells...hands down best ever.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Blindlemonsteve
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 12:58 PM

He stopped loving her today, one of the finest country songs ever, it always makes my spine tingle. i love the verse.
I went to see him just today
though i didnt see no tears
all dressed up to go away
first time i´d seen him smile in years....

Absolutely beautiful.

Also, a newer song, but how about Garth Brooks, If tommorrow never comes. its actually written about his daughter and when you listen to it with that in mind. If your a Dad, you just Know where he´s coming from... a lovely song.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: tenn_jim
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 01:03 PM

I agree that the moguls on 16th avenue in Nashville consider George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today" as the premier country song. And, no doubt, it is absolutely a great song with all of the right stuff.

However, I am from the old school in Nashville. Fred Rose is to me and probably will be till I die, the greatest songwriter ever to live. His "Blues Eyes Crying in the Rain" has to rank up there with the best. After all, this song has been covered by everyone from Slim Whitman to Elvis...and of course everyone knows that Willie has made a fortune off of it.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: M.Ted
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 01:03 PM

Some informed choices here--definitely. My thought is that the best country song is probably is whatever George Jones happens to be singing--and "He Stopped Loving Her Today" is as good as he gets, but.....as to the best country song, the all around greatest--the ones that most perfectly evokes the totality, that would likely be: "Faded Love"--

The opening bars of this song evoke every lost love, and every forgotten shared moment, and everything lost that was found too late--and as the narrative unfolds, and maybe a few tears fall, a catharsis takes place, because the song is about your own life, and not some one else's--the lyrics are simple, there is no lurid melodrama, no pathetic detail, just the a few memories, and the regret we all feel.

If you want to hear any country band at it's best, listen to their cover of this song--the singers and the soloists always give it the best they've got, and the audience always responds--

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: CET
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 01:21 PM

Sunday Morning Coming Down would be on my top 10, but my vote has to go to "Ballad of Pancho and Lefty". Not even Kristofferson wrote better lyrics than that and the tune is sublime. "Me and My Uncle" would be up there somewhere too, but some people wouln' see that as country.

Edmund

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 01:34 PM

I like George Jones a lot, but the line from He Stopped Loving Her Today that goes "first time i´d seen him smile in years...." has always seemed grotesque to me, considering the circumstances.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: SouthernCelt
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 01:42 PM

I saw Merle Haggard mentioned but not his all-time big "country" song: "Mama Tried"
SC

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: SouthernCelt
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 01:49 PM

Oh, I forgot, there are a couple of Ian Tyson songs that never got much attention but they're classic country (not Western like most of his stuff): "Black Nights, Gray Mornings, Blue Days" and "Sorta Together".

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 01:50 PM

George Jones, "He stopped loving her today"

Great song imo, but for George's greatest song, which may or may not be the "best" country song ( in my opinion it probably is)you need to go to "She thinks I still care"

Didn't he look scary back in 1962?

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 02:02 PM

You mean...*gasp* I've been wrong all these years, and it's NOT "Johnny Broke My Heart at Walgreens, and I Cried All the Way to Sears"?

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 02:20 PM

Bob Wills singing the original "Faded Love"

good choice there from M.Ted

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: GUEST,Ken Brock
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 02:22 PM

I thought it was David Allen Coe's "You Never Even Called Me By My Name".

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: kendall
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 02:27 PM

I thought Willy Nelson wrote Blue Eyes Crying in the rain?

One not well known that is right up there in my opinion, Front Runner by Stan Rogers.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: kendall
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 02:34 PM

I'll post the lyrics if there is any interest.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Blindlemonsteve
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 02:46 PM

Hi Lonesome E.J, hopefully, i can put into words what that line means to me and you will not find it grotesque.

"first time i´d seen him smile in years...." has always seemed grotesque to me, considering the circumstances.

He´s lived a life of regrets. the man telling the story, knows of his pain, he´s watched this man his whole life, he loves this man, maybe his a son, maybe his just a friend, but at last he´s seen him at peace with himself. as if this man has found dignity in death, and the man telling that story has taken something from that. i think it´s beautiful. But then again thats the power of an amazing song like that, it means different things to different people, but you cant deny, it stops you in your tracks and makes you think everytime you hear it.

Second to "He stopped loving her Today" has to be another George Jones number " Good Year for the roses"..... again, From the bedroom the familiar sound of our new born baby's cryin' goes unheard..

Sheer poetry

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: fat B****rd
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 02:51 PM

Can I choose some more ?? Please.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: tenn_jim
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 02:53 PM

Of course, you might make an argument for Jimmie Rodgers Blue Yodel #1 which was the song that started the whole country music genre.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 03:17 PM

all the closet good ol' boys coming out of the woodshed on this thread imo.

waiting with bated breath to see 'Spaw's nomination ...

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: Scoville
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 03:20 PM

Are you kidding? This is my home territory.


Well, I'll second Blue Yodel #1, at least, since I neglected to bring it up the first time.

Subject: RE: Best country song
From: SINSULL
Date: 26 Jan 07 - 03:24 PM

I am with LonesomeEJ on this. It has to be a Hank Williams song and his best is "So Lonesome I Could Cry" with "Cold, Cold Heart" and "Your Cheatin' Heart" in close seconds. All tearjerkers - sorry.