Country Universe – A Country Music Blog

The 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 22

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Today’s category is…

A Story Song.

Here are the staff picks:

Tara Seetharam: “The Dance” – Garth Brooks

I’m not sure if this song really constitutes as a “story”song, but its metaphor is so beautifully written that it feels as rich as the best country songs in this category. Regret is a funny thing; sometimes it’s easier to succumb to it than it is to own and embrace your memories – fleeting though they may be. Brooks takes this somewhat tried and true theme and spins it into a poignant, lovely tribute.

Kevin Coyne: “Lucille” – Kenny Rogers

Only Kenny could turn a song this dark into a sing-along.

Leeann Ward: “Here Comes That Rainbow Again” – Kris Kristofferson

Based on a scene from John Steinbeck’s book, Grapes of Wrath, this is a beautiful story of a simple act of kindness that affects me every time.

Dan Milliken: “Her Diamonds” – Rob Thomas

This may be more “progressive scenario” than “story,” but either way I can’t get enough of the theme. It’s about seeing someone you love suffer and realizing that, despite your best intentions, there’s nothing you can do to fix or even understand their particular pain. No man is an island, the saying goes, but on a certain level we’re fundamentally disconnected from each other’s experiences, limited as we are to our own. You can tell this couple communicate as authentically as they can, but he can’t fully inhabit her hurt, and she can’t fully know the depth of his caring. The best they can do – tonight, at least – is spend their respective alonenesses together.

Jeremy McComb, “Cold”

Thursday, October 30th, 2008

Ah, developing niches. Newbie McComb had an solid debut playing the passively frustrated lonely guy in “This Town Needs a Bar,” and now he reprises the role in this buzzed-about follow-up. Fair enough.

The song is what I imagine we’d get if Rob Thomas decided to “go country” and took the now well-worn approach of simply adding a few twangy flourishes to his established pop style. We open with a dramatic vocal busting out of a slow-building piano part, then we get a quick little pre-chorus, and then – BAM! – big, instant hook in the chorus that gets repeated a lot, just for good measure. And just as with much of Thomas’ writing, the lyrics framing that catchy hook – and honestly, that’s probably all they’re here to do – are vague as all get-out, speaking exclusively in cryptic, oft-used expressions of romantic interplay (“Something ’bout the way you move me / Is telling me that you’re still crazy for me”).

So make no mistake: it’s a pop song. In the purest sense of the term. But let’s look at the strengths here: though McComb is still finding his voice, he sings this thing with a Troy Gentryish rock gusto that keeps the record lively, and that hook is unstoppable, though I imagine it might get annoying if this song gains traction at radio. So all-in-all, it’s not an unpleasant listen – but if this kind of song is your thing, you’d be better off digging up your old Matchbox Twenty CDs and revisiting “Bright Lights.”

Written by A. Whisnant

Grade: B-

Listen: Cold

Buy: Cold