Regular readers know I don't much bother with Nashville anymore. I far prefer the Red Dirt scene, finding it to be a lot more honest. (It's not perfect. They need to quit doing shitty covers of shitty '80s country songs, for one.)
One strange little subset of Nashville's version of country is the "cornfed cred" song I guess you could say. The whole countrier than thou bit. (As exemplified by a song called something along the lines of "A Little More Country Than That", from what I've read. I have no clue who did it. When the Big Tent folks mock a song, I avoid it.)
Red Dirt has its own subset...the Nashville Sucks songs. These range from tedious to clever. One of my favorites is "Nashville Rash" from the incomparable Dale Watson. ("Help me Merle, I'm breaking out in a Nashville rash. I'm too country now for country, just like Johnny Cash.") Of course, most of the Red Dirt singers would sell their left testicle for Nashville-level success--I'm pretty sure that's what happened to Pat Green, in fact.
This week's song is by Brian Keane, who co-wrote Hayes Carll's delightfully sacrilegious "She Left Me for Jesus". He doesn't get nearly enough airplay, but this song is hotter 'n a rocket right now on the regional charts. It makes for one hell of an earworm too, I warn you.
For those disinclined to watch videos, I'll give you the chorus here:
Tractors ain't sexy, and workin' is hard for small town people like me.
Radio's full of them rich folk singing 'bout places they'll never see.
Now I ain't sayin' that their life ain't hard; I'd love to hear about it some time.
You sing about your own life. I'll sing about mine.
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