“Three Wooden Crosses”
Randy Travis
Written by Doug Johnson and Kim Williams
Radio & Records
#1 (2 weeks)
May 23 – May 30, 2003
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
May 24, 2003
“Three Wooden Crosses” is a perfect example of how a great artist engages with – and transcends – the trends of the day.
In the wake of 9/11, there was something of a Christian revival at country radio. Typical of the times, most of these songs had a slick Contemporary Christian sheen – music made by and for the already (certain they’re) saved.
Randy Travis had pivoted to inspirational material, but he brought his signature empathy and cold stone country bona fides with them. “Three Wooden Crosses” is very much a country song, with the tension between yearning for salvation and flirting with damnation is on full display. This song toys with our own instinct to judge others with a storyline I won’t spoil, for anyone who still hasn’t heard it.
But I will share the opening verse, which establishes four characters, their motivations, a vivid setting, and our entry point into the storyline so effectively it could make Tom T. Hall envious:
A farmer and a teacher
A hooker and a preacher
Ridin’ on a midnight bus bound for Mexico
One was headed for vacation
One for higher education
And two of them were searching for lost souls
The song delivers on that setup so effectively that it pushes this one into the upper pantheon of Randy Travis classics like “On the Other Hand” and “Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart.”
As deserved a comeback record as we’ll see this decade, “Three Wooden Crosses” gives Randy Travis a catalog of essential hits that now spans two centuries.
“Three Wooden Crosses” gets an A.
Every No. 1 Single of the 2000s
Previous: Tim McGraw, “She’s My Kind of Rain” |
Next: Diamond Rio, “I Believe”
Just as a postscript: I remember vividly how Randy Travis was celebrated by the venerated greats that came before him, and he’s been repaying the favor, especially with my favorite artist to come along since Pam Tillis:
https://youtu.be/ZcfomMyHl9M
I just love the reverence showed for Randy Travis by the artist and the audience. He deserves it and he doesn’t get enough of it.
One of the things I love about this video is that the audience at a Kane Brown concert knows every word to this song and is singing right along with Kane to pay loving tribute to Randy Travis.
It answers the thinly-veiled racist dig at Brown by the usual genre gatekeepers that his fans are only hip-hop and pop fans. That’s never been true, and it’s nice to have a video like this to provide an immediate counterexample.
No lie: this blog is the number one reason why Kane Brown grew on me.
I could not agree more with your writeup !
I think Randy is THE BEST of his era of country. This is a very good song, but it just doesn’t stick with me the way the great songs usually do and I struggle to pay attention on this one. I Understand anyone that does love this, but it falls just a little short for me. Grad “B”.
This is definitely worthy of the top tier of Randy Travis songs. Packing this much content coherently into a four-minute story song requires some deft maneuvering by the songwriters and the early verses that you share are a masterclass in how to pull it off. But as great as the writing is, the sincerity of Randy Travis’s vocal performances takes it to the next level. It felt so good to have a #1 hit I could so firmly get behind after the two turkeys that preceded it.
It was a fantastic capstone to Randy Travis’s hitmaking years. I’m usually pleased when just about any artist who seemed like they were poised for the country music history books scores a final huge hit on their way to the sunset. Randy Travis deserved his encore more than just about anyone, and he had a better song for his encore than just about anyone else I can think of.
Out of curiosity, what were the other popular country hits of this era that were part of a post-9/11 Christian revival? Nothing else is coming immediately to mind.
Grade: A
Start with the very next number one song!
There was a lot of motivational/inspirational country in this time span. I think the popularity of “Touched by an Angel” and “Chicken Soup for the Soul” tied into it at least a little.
This one always stood out to me because it’s a Christian song that’s NOT about “I’m so much better now that I’m saved”. It’s a very realistic tale of redemption for the least likely figure in the story (the hooker), and it has a powerful twist ending that drives home its theme. Any song whose message can be boiled down to “don’t be judgmental” is a good one in my book. There’s a noticeably “aged” quality to Randy’s voice that gives the song even more gravitas.
My only complaint is that far too many casual fans of Randy Travis act like this is literally the only song he released after 1988…
Kevin,
Three Wooden Crosses only went to #1 on Billboard for one week on May 24, 2003 and peaked at #2 on Radio & Records on May 16, 2003. I Believe by Diamond Rio was #1 for two weeks on Radio & Records on May 23 and 30, 2003. In addition, Please also fix Travelin’ Soldier by The Chicks and Man To Man by Gary Allan as well because Travelin’ Soldier only went to #1 for one week on Radio & Records on March 14, 2003. not two weeks on March 7 and 14, 2003 and Man To Man also went to #1 for one week on Radio & Records as well on March 7, 2003 in addition to Billboard for one week on March 15, 2003. So please fix them all ASAP, Thank You.
My favorite wreck-on-the-highway song is still Porter Wagoner’s “Carroll County Accident.” Porter reels you in with a slyly understated delivery. First time I heard it, I was listening closely to the story of Walter Browning and Mary Ellen Jones and waiting to hear Porter fill in all the pieces–until it reaches the end and he hits you with the surprise ending like a fish across the face in the last line. I was thinking “How did I not see that coming?” Genuinely awesome!
“Three Wooden Crosses” actually tries to pull almost exact same trick.
Can’t say I was all that surprised by the ending, but Travis’s pefect vocal makes it a classic in the annals. But it still leaves an open question:
“There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway
Why there’s not four of them, Heaven only knows”
I guess there’s none for the bus driver because that sumbich caused the accident.
In an interview, I remember Travis sharing how much he loved the song upon first listen, and how he immediatley knew he wanted to record it even though he wasn’t quite sure exactly what happened to whom in the story.
That is the songs wonder and appeal. It demands to be listened to repeatedly, and more importantly, it bears the weight of that additional attention and analysis.
It is a country classic through and through.
Any case anybody wavered on the point, this is another sterling example of why Randy Travis is country music royalty.
3 wooden crosses is my most favorite Randy Travis song. Gives hope to a person who had thought they had lost their soul. It also reminds us that nobody is beyond grace and love. I had the privilege of meeting randy at my airport checkpoint. And he was just as sweet as can be.