Bucky Covington, "A Different World"

Bucky Covington, “A Different World”

Okay, that’s enough. I’m sick of this crap. The song is terrible. He’s too damn

young to legitimately have nostalgia for the days before video games, unleaded paint and remote controls, and as for his admission that his mother smoke and drank while pregnant, I have trouble agreeing with him that he “still turned out alright.”

Enough. Country radio, put a stop to this and don’t give this record your spins, no matter how many Idol fans buy it opening week. Did you see pop radio playing William Hung when he moved a few records? For the remaining shreds of dignity this genre has left – and after six years of Rascal Flatts, they’re almost gone – toss this piece of trash. Please.

Grade: F.

Listen: A Different World

52 Comments

  1. I don’t agree with you on this one. Yes I could do without that first line of the song but as for remembering things like that, I am about his age I believe and remember no seat belts in cars etc. This has a nice classic country sound and as for remembering all of the things mentioned well, part can be from things you have heard parents talk about etc. Kenny Chesney’s Good Stuff talks about him being a grandpa.. come on. A song is about things it make you feel and think of and not everything needs to be so literal. I love the song for the things it makes me think of…. youth where kids played outside and such. I think it’s a good song and will request it frequently.

  2. That line in “The Good Stuff” actually refers to the older bartender, not the narrator of the song. That specific example aside, Chesney has been criticized for recording some songs that are inconsistent with his age and life experiences; consider “There Goes My Life,” “I Go Back,” “Young,” etc.

    I agree with Kevin, I hate the single. I saw Bucky Covington perform on GAC for some Christmas special and he was quite obnoxious. Definitely the weakest of the Idol country experiments.

  3. this is one of a very few good songs thats came out within the last year or so..if this world was still the way this song mentions it would be a better place..like gettin a belt, theres to many parents that let their kids get by with things because they think they will get in trouble by doing it..the government has ruined what a good life used to be by being so hard on things like that..i mean yea theres a difference in beating your child and given them a good ole spankin..then theres the playin outside..as you all know kids cant do that anymore..you have these freaks running around tryin to kidnap them. just listening to this song takes me back to my childhood..as Kathy said ”i will request it frequently” and buy the cd when it comes out..

  4. The government has ruined what used to be a good life of beating kids with belts? Last time I checked, the government only arrests for serious cases of child abuse, where the child is being bruised and/or scarred. If you think that’s ruining a good life, you should stay away from children.

  5. Give him a break, I saw Bucky live on tour and he was actually very good. He may be obnoxious time to time but I still like his sh– eating grin. In person, he was very attentive to his fan base, went right out among us even when the security folks didn’t want him to, the others stood behind a fence like we were zoo animals. Hey, he has potential and I’ll buy his CD! So far I have Taylors, Kellie, and Daughtry and they all are darn good!

  6. I enjoyed this song. I miss the good ol days. We had video games but only at my Dads house and at my moms we were ouside playing cars and riding bikes. People are wondering why they and their kids are overweight, it’s because they are all inside playing video games and watching TV. Kenny Rogers has a good song out too called “The Last Ten Years”. People are to spoiled now.

  7. I thought the song was great! I speaks to another time, a time when I came around. It doesn’t matter if Bucky was the one that dealt with this nostalgia or not, millions of other folks that can relate did. They and I will think its a great song! By the way, as the other person above pointed out, he didn’t write the song.

  8. I agree with the people who liked this song. I am 30 years old and it brought me back to my childhood when I can remember clearing sitting in the car with my mother and neither one of us had a seatbelt on. It also has a classic country feel to it, unlike a lot of the “pop country” of late.

  9. I just want to say that I am 37 years old, and I remember every single word of this song. Its like I’m a kid again. Come on…….who really cares if he’s old enough to remember all of this stuff, Isnt music suppose to “stir a feeling inside”. That’s what sells. Heck, this song even sounds like “country music”. Unlike a lot of the new stuff that’s been coming out from other singers the last several years. I wish more country singers would go back to singing real country, just like Bucky.

  10. I agree with the comment on the fact that yes, he’s a younger guy singing this song (I am 24 and I remember drinking from a waterhose and lots of other things from the song, and frankly the song makes me feel good, makes me remember 20 years ago when things were so much different than they are now) BUT HE DID NOT WRITE IT! He didn’t write the dang song, as most artists anymore don’t so you can’t really blame him for singing a song he didn’t live, he’s not singing something he wrote, he’s singing something someone else either wouldn’t or couldn’t…. I’m more into country that was written by the artists them self… but I do happen to like this song… and some of you people are just down right… well pessimistic and annoying… if you don’t like it fine, don’t listen to it, but don’t try and control what alot of other people happen to like, boycot the CD all you want but let em play it on the radio and just change the station…

  11. Hey, I think that Bucky deserves a fair chance, so what does it matter the age ,thesong is a great one I see it taking a real climb and if I can help it along GREAT I love the song the music and Bucky .Keep up the Good work. Don’t squash someone eles’ dream just to get yourself noticed. Believe that everyone should have their moment in the sun. Annie!

  12. OK BUCKY IS ONE OF THE BEST ARTIST ON THE SCENE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I think he’s so much better than Kellie Pickler and the song is so mcuh better than Red High Heels and less cliche!! And who cares how old he is. Your gonna critisize his respect for the older bunch!! So he understands the better world that was back then but his record is flawless and he’s got a true blue country voice if there ever was one. I think anyone who hates this song should get a real reality check because its flawless, traditional and copletely likable!! To critisize him simply because he came from a TV show and is a young age is disgusting and uncalled for, WHO GIVES A DAMN!!! he’s still a good artist.

    AND FOR THE RECORD THIS RASCAL FLATTS BASHING NEEDS TO STOP!! THEY’RE AWSOME AND SOUND NOTHING LIKE BUCKY ANYWAYS!! BOTH ARTISTS ARE FLAWLESS!! WELCOME TO REALITY THIS IS HOW COUNTRY MUSIC IS NOW!!

  13. There are a great many songs in the world that have been sung by people who have not experienced the theme of the song. It doesn’t mean younger people can’t or shouldn’t sing nastalgic songs, or songs about the past. I believe Bucky’s idea was to relate to our generation….which is pretty awesome in this day and age.

  14. So you must think Johnny Cash really shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. You obviously do not know anything about how country music works (story songs) and have no business critiquing a country record.

  15. I absolutely love this song. Really took me back to the good ole days. I’m 42 and I remember everything. And just because he said about mothers smoking and drinking, he never said anything about getting drunk. Who know, they may have had a glass of wine every once in a blue moon. As for the sound of the song – AWESOME – great country music. I will definately buy this CD and I am counting the days for it to come out!!!. One true Bucky Fan!

  16. This is one great song and I am glad to see Bucky singing it!!!! No matter who wrote it, he does a great job with it!

  17. Ok I don’t like Bucky at all, but the song is good, I just wish that Tracy Lawrence had gotten this before Bucky because I read somewhere that he wanted to record it. The song doesn’t fit Bucky but it is a ggod song and his voice does sound good on it so I have to give it some support. An D+

  18. This is a great song. I have been listening to Country Music for 24 years now and I’ve heard alot of stuff that people call Country music. This is the real deal. Great song great performance. Takes you back no matter who you are. The song is not a legend builder and in 5 years it won’t be a classic. Just a great song.

  19. Hey, I think this is a great song that I can really relate to. Not all of Bucky’s fans are young, you know. I’m 53, my mother was from Bucky’s hometown, and I’ve spent a lot of time there. And Bucky isn’t exactly a kid, either. My daughter is the same age as Bucky, and she remembers the days before video games, and no seat belts, either. My mother smoked and drank a little when she was having me…in fact, doctor’s told my mother to have a least one beer or drink a day to relax her! And we got the belt if we misbehaved, especially if my southern Granny was around! This world’s got to stop being so anal. Child abuse and abductions have not increased with the years…just the press it gets, and the mistaken notion that you have to watch your kids every second of their lives, which is very, very sad. This song is a wonderful, real country song, I’m proud of Bucky, and despite what the reviewer thinks, I think this song will be a big hit. Suspend disbelief, and get a life! You don’t have to live a song to sing it, just like you don’t have to be a doctor to play one on tv.

  20. I’m not much older than Bucky but I remember all of that. I was really little, but I remember ALL of the things he mentioned. I think it’s a GREAT country song. sounds like something Alan Jackson would do! Keep up the GREAT WORK BUCKY!

  21. I think the song is wonderful. My husband and I are from the generation that Mr. Covington is singing about. We did not grow up in large cities and most rural towns were just like that. It was a different world and we both feel that this song is going to be a hit to the audience it is intended for. And yes, we got belt spankings and switches from the trees with mothers who smoked and drank. We’re just fine- both Professors teaching in higher education. To critique the music- It has an upbeat rhythm that is easy to dance to and Mr. Covington’s voice fits the content of the lyrics.
    To those not really critiquing the music…
    If you don’t like it- don’t listen because you are only one who has nothing better to do than bitch about someone else’s blooming career that you wish you could live.
    Good luck to you, Mr. Covington and we look forward to hearing great music from you.

  22. I disagree,
    I am pretty country, i rodeo, i farm. and i have to say that this song is really good. it is one of the first real country sounding songs in years. dump chesney he wouldnt know country if it hit him in the face. it reminds me of when i was growing up hey i am 27.

  23. I think this is a great song, I’m 30 years old and can relate to every word in this song.
    Makes me wish i was a kid again. Maybe if kids still got the belt they wouldnt be going into schools shooting other kids.To bad the world still isnt the way the song says. It would be a much better place to live. This is a great song and has alot of meaning to it.

  24. I really like this song, just bought the CD today.

    I’m not sure how old he is, but I’m 37 and I can totally relate to the song. It’s so true in every way. It relates how much this world, the times, and our lives have changed in such a short period of time.

  25. I just heard this song. I remember an email that was almost identical to this going around as a forward, last year and the year before. To me this is a knock off of an email. It makes me think I should start saving these really good forwards and set them to music to make a killing. I remember alot of this stuff mentioned in the song. I, however do not believe he’s a good singer period.

  26. stop ur bitching about the song. it is a great song. it’s people like you that ruin this world. i am 15 years old and when i was a kid we would get it with the belt when we got out of line. i’m still young but i have the up most respect fo people that are older than me. the olny reason you are saying this is because you are mad because you can’t sing as good as him. keep up the good work bucky.

  27. I really like this song, just bought the CD today.

    I’m not sure how old he is, but I’m 19 and I can totally relate to the song. It’s so true in every way. It relates how much this world, the times, and our lives have changed in such a short period of time.that is good bucky i love it……….

  28. i thank that that is a bad a** song i will allwat love that song. My husband and I love it so much buck you are so cool . voted for you 10000 time you just don’t know how cool you are. will bucky i tell you abot me and my husband i am 19 and my husband is 20 and we have been together for 3 years and we live in emory texas i will be out of school in 4day……

    sr.07

  29. I find it hysterical how 15 year olds know all. Try being 40 for a day. If he was all that he’d won AI. Nobody will even remeber who he is in 2 years, if that. Anyway. It is utmost, btw.

  30. I just heard this song today. It’s your typical “looking at the past with rose colored glasses” country song, not original at all. And frankly Bucky is too young to sing a song like this. Merle Haggard, yes. Bucky no. Bucky was born in 1977 in a town of about 10000. I was born in 1967 in a town of a about 10000.

    someone less than 30 years old shouldn’t be able to remember a time before seat belts. If I remember correctly, in Illinois it became mandatory to actually wear them while I was still in high school which was before Bucky was 10 years old!

    You could buy Perrier in practically any grocery store in small town Illinois even when I was a kid. No fooling.

    Same goes for child proof caps, I don’t remember a time without them.

    I’m barely old enough to remember some of the first video games, but only just barely, and by the year buck was born 1977 they were already a pretty good sized part of the entertainment culture. You could even buy them from the Sears catalog that country fans have nostalgia for. I distinctly remember thinking in 1977 how cool it would be to have a video game where you could fly an X-Wing fighter from Star Wars.

    And anyone romanticizing a time before lead paint became illegal is a fool. The stuff was dangerous contributing seriously to childhood mental disabiliteis. Same goes for pregnant women drinking and smoking. My mother was told not to, because babies of mothers who drink and smoke tend to have more health issues, including being miscarried.

    And bike helmets! Before they became common use, bike accidents were a major cause of childhood injury….and death.

    It may be more common for towns down south to roll up the sidewalks on Sunday, but that sort of thing didn’t happen here, even when I was very young stores opened on Sunday, maybe not till 11am or noon, but they opened.

    And in central Illinois, even outside of towns without cable systems (and towns of 10000 most certainly did have cable), you could easily get more than trhee channels on the TV. And I doubt Bucky can truly remember a time before remote controls.

    Now some have said how Bucky didnt’ write the song, that’s correct, but the writer was born in 1973 so she probably can’t truly remember this stuff either. This song is simply yet another cynical attempt to milk the nostaliga loving country market of it’s money. This song was probably not written but “designed”. A little nostaliga from people who truly were “Coal Miner’s Daughters” or the kid of Okies who moved to Bakersfield isn’t a horrible thing, but from some punk kid who became famous because of American Idol for gosh sakes and who has this on his website:

    ***************************************************************************************
    Please note that no discounts or promotions will be honored for offline signups.
    Also, we have taken the Bucky Covington Fan Club online to take advantage of th
    e day to day communication the Internet allows, and that the majority of the Buc
    ky Covington Fan Club features and promotions will be geared towards an our onli
    ne members. The online model is the perfect format to promote the high level of
    interaction and ‘community’ that the Bucky Covington Fan Club currently offers.
    Most of the special features of the club, including exclusive behind-the-scenes
    video, contests, photos, chat room, member forums, pre-sale ticketing, all are a
    vailable here on the website. Also, online access it required to take advantage
    of pre-sale ticketing for BC concerts, and to receive the Bucky Covington Fan Cl
    ub eNewsletter.
    ******************************************************************************************

    It’s the commercialization of nostalgia and it sucks. Those good ole days that country fans seem to love weren’t all that good.

  31. To the post above me. I am a year younger than Bucky and I CAN remember no seatbelts (the backseat anyway) and I also can remember no remote and NOT having a video game (I was the first kid in my family with a Nintendo when they were new). It’s a song that people 25 and up can relate to. And we certainly didn’t have cable where I grew up. That didnt’ come along ’til High School.

  32. I think its a great song! It gave me chills when i first heard it because I related so much! Im only 22 and can related to almost everything in the song. A lot has to do with where you grew up also. I was raised in a one redlight town town in Georgia, so i could probably relate more than someone on the west coast.

  33. CronoCloud –

    Recheck your geography – Last I heard Illinios wasn’t in the southeast, DUH!

    And thing are ALOT different there than for ‘you all’ midwest yankees.

    ADW is GREAT, and the results prove it. HAHA

  34. I am only 24, and I love the song. Who cares who wrote it or if he lived it or not. It is just a good song. And yes Bucky can sing. He is good at it.

  35. I am 51 years old and I don’t care how old Bucky Covington is, his song is RIGHT ON THE MONEY!! He’s not speaking of “his age” per say in my opinion, just a drastic change of the world in general. And he is ABSOLUTELY right!! I agree with the entire song from begining to end!!! Our mothers DID smoke and drink AND for the most part we did turn out okay. Our parents had CONTROL of the house AND the kids, not the other way around. Shame on the government for taking that control away from us and the schools. Why do you think children are committing so much crime these days. NO, it’s not because no one is home during the day, cuz they aren’t supposed to be either. It’s because the KIDS KNOW that we, as parents, cannot lay a finger on them in punishment. Those of you who know what I mean, know I’m not talking about BEATING your kids, I’m talking about a good old fashioned spanking!! Just like Bucky said in his song, we got whipped with the belt if we misbehaved. I have no resentments about that or any other aspect of my childhood. I am who I make myself to be, no one else. GO BUCKY!!!

  36. You know everybody is a cridic, BUT……he didn’t specifiaclly say that his mother smoked and drank while she was pregnant. AND he is not the only person in the world who sings songs about , fact or fiction…….THEY ALL DO,,,,, so give the guy a break….give him credit, for at least getting off the sofa and making something of himself, young or not………OBVIOULY YOUR AN OLD FART…….IF YOU CAN REMEBER ALL THAT STUFF, SO GET OVER IT….

  37. The song really hit me because it describes my generation. I saw some complaining about the first line in the song, but it’s true, & while I’m can be a little slow at times, I’m turned out ok. His age surprised me because his voice has an older sound to it. If Hank Sr. was around these days, I have no doubt that he would’ve recorded this song because I’m pretty sure he would’ve looked for any way possible to tell people where to shove their politically correct garbage.

  38. DiIferent doesn’t necessarily mean either better or worse. I personally believe that the “good old days” are right now but that doesn’t mean everything about the present is better than it was in the past (I personally think all forms of music, on the whole, have been on a downward spiral since about 1975)

    I do like the Covington song – I’d give it a B+

  39. Way to go Bucky!

    I think the song is amazing. It brings me back to when I was a kid and the guy who said “enough of this crap” is just jealous and not handling his age too well.

    Why don’t you get over it you idiot. I think he is doing and amazing job. One of my oldest friends is in the group sawyer brown and I have listened to Country music for a long time now and I can tell you KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! You and Mark make a great team.

    The rest of you who have nothing nice to say, shouldn’t say ANYTHING at all.

    sincerely,

    Hilary

  40. I looked high and low trying to buy the cd and ended up finding it on the web and ordered it. I ran across the song on the radio and looked to find out who sang it and then immediately bought the cd. Now that I have the cd, I love several of his songs, but ADW is definitely my favorite…and I was born in 64, when all he says was true..and my mama smoked and drank, but has since quit…and most would say I turned out alright… Thanks Bucky for the song and so much more….and the rest of ya’ll need to grow up!

  41. There’s a difference between playing a role in a song (such as a prostitute, gunslinger or a bar brawler) and singing a documentary lyric, inferring you know what you’re singing about and have actually experienced it.

    Billy Joel might sing about Atlantic trawlermen, but we don’t think he used to fish the high seas, whereas Bruce Springsteen sings about Glory Days at highs school and he’s living everyone’s high school experience, no matter what the generation.

    Bucky Covington stole an idea from a maudlin email flyer that proved to be popular, and sang it as though he had lived it, but he’s actually too young to have done so. This is the type of sycophantic sucking up that is more typical of country than any other musical genre, whether they’re praising God, Mom and Dad, the Girl They Left Behind, their daughter’s Butterfly Kisses or some other Hallmark sick-making thing, the country machine needs to keep cranking this crud out and it doesn’t care where it comes from.

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