Country Music

Brooks and Dunn – Only In America

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It's hard to imagine that for me that September 11th attacks were half a lifetime ago for me -- back when I was 18 years old and a freshman in college. But so it was. A very different time, I remember hearing this song a lot driving back and forth to HVCC listening to WGNA Country 107.7 radio. In some ways, the song seems a bit dated, but then again so does most things from two decades. Regardless, it's a good song.

Margie Singleton – Ode to Billie Joe

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Margie Singleton's version of Bobbie Gentrie's Ode to Billie Joe. This song got a lot of play on country music stations in the late 1960s but has all been forgotten in the past 50 years. The oldies stations still play Bobbie Gentry's version but I doubt many country stations still play Margie Singleton.

The irony of the song is that the Tallahatchie Bridge is not a good one to commit suicide on. It's only about 20 feet above the river that is fairly deep and muddy, and plenty of people have jumped off it and walked away without a scratch. https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2705/4539269463_edfbbb8d6c_b.jpg

Bobbie Gentry intended for the song to be more ironic then about suicide. Bobbie Gentry's goal with the song called out the callousness of society as the Vietnam War was escalating, with the family noting the suicide in with more mundane business of life.