Okay, one more Top 10 list won’t break the bank, will it? Top 10 C & W tunes, AKA “Music to drink beer after divorce proceedings to”:
My Picks:
Bonus: Kentucky Rain-----Elvis Presley (Maybe not pure country, but I think it fits this thread)
Me And My Uncle
Music & Lyrics: John Phillips
Performed by the Grateful Dead
Me and my uncle went riding down
South Colorado, West Texas bound
We stopped over in Santa Fe
That being the point just about half way
And you know it was the hottest part of the day
I took the horses up to the stall
Went to the bar-room, ordered drinks for all
Three days in the saddle, you know my body hurt
It being summer, I took off my shirt
And I tried to wash off some of that dusty dirt
West Texas cowboys, they’s all around
With liquor and money, they’re loaded down
So soon after pay day, you know it seemed a shame
You know my uncle, he starts a friendly game
Hi-lo jacks and the winner take the hand
My uncle starts winning, cowboys got sore
One of them called him, and then two more
Accused him of cheating, well no it couldn’t be
I know my uncle, he’s as honest as me
And I’m as honest as a Denver man can be
One of them cowboys, he starts to draw
Well I shot him down, Lord, he never saw
Shot me another, hot damn he won’t grow old
In the confusion my uncle grabbed the gold
And we high-tailed it down to Mexico
Now I love those cowboys, I love their gold
I love my uncle, God rest his soul
Taught me good, Lord, taught me all I know
Taught me so well, I grabbed that gold
And I left his dead ass there by the side of the road
El Paso
Music & Lyrics: Marty Robbins
Out in the West Texas town of El Paso
I fell in love with a Mexican girl
Night time would find me in Rosie’s cantina
Music would play and Felina would whirl
Black as the night were the eyes of Felina
Wicked and evil while casting a spell
My love is strong for this Mexican maiden
I was in love, but in vain I could tell
One night a wild young cowboy came in
Wild as the West Texas wind
Dashing and daring, and drink he was sharing
Wicked Felina the girl that I love
So in anger
I challenged his right for the love of this maiden
He dived with his hand for the gun that he wore
My challenge was answered in less than a heartbeat
The handsome young stranger lay dead on the floor
Just for a moment I stood there in silence
Shocked by the foul evil deed I had done
Many thoughts raced through my mind as I stood there
I had but one chance, and that was to run
Out through the back door of Rosie’s I ran
Out where the horses were tied
I picked a good one, he looked like he could run
Jumped on his back and away I did ride
Just as fast as I could
From the West Texas town of El Paso
Up through the badlands of New Mexico
Back in El Paso my life would be worthless
Everything’s gone, in life nothing is left
It’s been so long since I’ve seen the young maiden
My love is stronger than my fear of death
I saddled up and away I did go
Riding alone in the dark
Maybe tomorrow a bullet may find me
Tonight nothing’s worse than this pain in my heart
And at last here I am on the hill overlooking El Paso
I can see Rosie’s cantina below
My love is strong and it pushes me onwards
Down off the hill to Felina I go
Off to my right I see five mounted cowboys
Off to my left ride a dozen or more
Shoutin’ and shootin’, I can’t let them catch me
I’ve got to make it to Rosie’s back door
Something is dreadfully wrong for I feel
A deep burning pain in my side
It’s getting harder to stay in the saddle
I’m getting weary, unable to ride
But my love for Felina is strong and I rise where I’ve fallen
And though I am weary I can’t stop to rest
I see the white puff of smoke from their rifles
I feel the bullet go deep in my chest
From out of nowhere, Felina has found me
Kissing my cheek as she kneels by my side
Cradled by two lovin’ arms that I’ll die for
One little kiss and Felina goodbye
Sweet Dreams–Patsy Cline
I Walk the Line --Johnny Cash
Gambler–Kenny Rogers
Crazy–Patsy Cline
I Fall to Pieces–Patsy Cline
You Ain’t Woman Enough–Loretta Lynn
Boy Named Sue – Johnny Cash
Sunday Morning Coming Down --Johnny Cash
Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys - Waylon Jennings
Folsom Prison Blues --Johnny Cash
Hard to narrow these down too, but for me, it’s mostly about Patsy and Johnny.
Queen Of My Double Wide Trailer
Sammy Kershaw
Well I met her out at Murphy’s restaurant
She said she was fresh from the farm
And I remember thinkin’ for a country girl
That she went pretty well armed
We sat there talkin’ by the lobster tank
I ordered her a slow gin fizz
And when them chicken fried steaks arrived
She said I like livin’ like this
So I made her the Queen of my double wide trailer
With the polyester curtains and the redwood deck
Sometimes she runs and I’ve got to trail her
Dang her black heart and her pretty red neck
Well a few nights later I run into her
With some stranger on a park bench
She said he rebuilds engines and his name is Earl
He’s the Charlie Daniels of the torque wrench
I whispered honey let’s just go on home
And have some onion rings and watch TV
And as I walked her to the truck
Earl was cryin’ don’t you leave me
I told him
This here’s the Queen of my double wide trailer
With the polyester curtains and the redwood deck
Sometimes she runs and I’ve got to trail her
Dang her black heart and her pretty red neck
I said this is the Queen of my double wide trailer
With the polyester curtains and the redwood deck
Sometimes she runs and I’ve got to trail her
Dang her black heart and her pretty red neck
Original Singles Collection [Box set] - In my opinion, Hank Williams, Sr., is country & western American music. The “problem” with Hank Williams, Sr., is that some of his best stuff wasn’t recorded to album (Mother’s Best Flour Hour on WSM radio in Nashville, from the late 40’s until ‘53 or so, I believe, and pictured above). Hank also recorded gospel music as Luke the Drifter. I give this CD set top spot because it has quite a few of the original singles records. Like: Honky Tonkin’; I Saw the Light; I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry; Hey, Good Lookin’; (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle; Your Cheatin’ Heart. Left off: Cold, Cold Heart; Move it On Over
My Life - Iris DeMent. Judged by some critics as the top CD of the 1990s, of any genre - and I agree, mostly. This is Ozark country music, via Kansas City. Iris wrote the songs on this CD while her marriage cracked up, and this CD records it all, really a stunning piece of work. It’s clear that Iris stayed sane, but I think her ex may have not. Title track, played last, will bring out the tears in the beers of even cold, cold hearted Texans - but I think it likely Iris’s Missouri husband never even heard it.
Jesus, this is powerful stuff. I prefer Iris DeMent to Patsy Cline, actually - she’s that good on this CD.
Can the Circle Be Unbroken? - The Carter Family. Some of these tunes are cut, or seem to be cut, acetate to CD. Most are from the late 1920s through the 30s. Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, all of Nashville, and most of Austin comes straight through the Carters.
Patsy Cline - Twelve Greatest Hits - Another compilation of best-ofs, which works for me. Unless you come across an original vinyl. Crazy is country meets jazz, imo. Like Hank, Patsy was a real American original.
The Complete Columbia Stanley Brothers - Carter and Ralph Stanley. Er, Dr. Ralph Stanley, that is, in the best of Appalachian hill thin-skin protectionism. IMO, you either love or hate bluegrass, particularly the Stanley Brothers. IMO, it don’t get any better than this. Spooky stuff, straight out of the hills. Dr. Stanley will die soon, I’m sure, and when he does an American original will pass with him. IMO, he ranks with Louis Armstrong and Robert Johnson that way. White Dove; Man of Constant Sorrows (used in the Coen’s O! Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, remixed - the original was written by Carter, who died in 1966); Angels Are Singing In Heaven Tonight. Get out in the country, away from city lights, at night, let the crickets chirp and the wind shuffle the leaves about, let the the stars be your light, let the Stanley Brothers be your illumination. A little Wild Turkey is ok, too.
Time (the Revelator) - Gillian Welch. I’ve written about this before, so 'nuff said. 
I think Gillian likes Dr. Ralph, too.
Take Me Back to Tulsa - Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys. Two step is born. Just think, neither Urban Cowboy nor Mickey Gilley’s place in Houston would have blessed American pop culture without Bob Wills. Seriously, though, if you’ve never two-stepped in a honky tonk, ever, then you shouldn’t knock it. If the tango is high sexual drama, then the 2-step is soap opera. Still, pretty fun stuff, imo.
Live Shots - Joe Ely. In 1979, The Clash had not yet finished London Calling and were touring Texas, on their first American tour. They were in the company of Joe Ely, contemporary of Kris Kristofferson, Jimmie Dale Gilmour, Emmy Lou Harris, Butch Hancock, and Billy Joe Shaver. Joe Ely was/is, however, considered a wild man even by Austin’s ADD (attention deficit disorder) musical standards. Ely took The Clash into Houston, Austin, Lubbock, Laredo, and Juarez in what was (apparently) a very wild affair. In 1980, The Clash’s Joe Strummer invited Ely to London to return the favor (favour). According to Ely, who was accustomed to the honky tonks and assorted dives of roadside Texas, London was like “a new appliance had just been plugged into the wall.” And although ecstasy, the drug, was popularized in Texas in the late 70s-early 80s, it seems clear to me that Joe, by that comment (and by notes surviving these London shows), didn’t know about what Strummer discovered in Texas until he crossed the pond. These London concerts were apparently released in the UK weeks after Ely left, but they only made it to the US in about 1993, I believe. It’s basically Very Rowdy Texican Music Meets Punk - the bands mixed for this CD. 
Best song, imo, is a cover of Norman Petty’s “Not Fade Away,” which should always be played at top-possible volume and, preferably, in the middle of any night’s madness. (recorded in London, produced by Al Kooper, mixed in Austin - you can see what I mean)
The Essential Jimmie Rodgers Like Hank Williams, Rodgers made most of his music - in the 1920s-1930s - during a time when albums weren’t made as we know them today. Rodgers bridged blues and Appalachian Scot/Irish music, and was a profound influence on both the Carters and Hank Williams - and thus Guthrie, Dylan, Nashville, and Austin. “Blue Yodel #1”, that’s all you really need to hear, imo. I am not actually a big fan of yodelling, and especially not Jimmie Rodgers’ yodelling, so…eh. Rodgers is, however, seminal to the genre.
9 through the rest: Roger Miller, Jimmie Dale Gilmour, Lucinda Williams, Dixie Chicks, some Mary Chapin Carpenter, Asleep at the Wheel (more Bob Wills swing music, and a great band to hear live), Gillian Welch, Dwight Yoakum, EmmyLou Harris, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard (jazzy, blowsy country), Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash (especially covers of his tunes, however, e.g. Social Distortion’s “Ring of Fire”), George Jones, Shelby Lynne, some Patty Loveless; nearly all bluegrass, especially Alison Krauss & Union Station and the Del McCoury Band, but…that’s a long freakin’ list and could literally go on forever for me - hell, we need a new topic, Top 10 Bluegrass!
Last but not least, America’s great and underrated gospel music, c&w style. For me, most of it is crap, but its cream is epitomized by the Stanley Brothers - and it is definitely cream, imo. Dr…er, Dr. Ralph Stanley has made several very powerful records lately, too (what an artist, imo, truly one of a kind). It’s so rare to hear such raw human emotion in song, imo, that it’s extremely powerful, profoundly moving, when you do.
Some of the above are already favourites, some I have yet to hear. My additions:
Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright – Bob Dylan OR the Waylon Jennings version
Hello Hopeville – Michelle Shocked OR the Kasey Chambers version
Midnight Special – Leadbelly OR the Johnny Rivers version
Will The Circle Be Unbroken – Kitty Wells
Just A Closer Walk With Thee – Patsy Cline
Long Tall Texan – Doug Supernaw
When God Dips His Pen Of Love In My Heart – Alison Krauss (or nearly everything else by her)
Jambalaya – Brenda Lee OR Boxcar Willie
Instrumental
Tennessee Waltz – Floyd Cramer
Appalachian Rain – Seldom Scene
Redwing – Chet Atkins
Not all pure country, but all regular favourites.
Had to add my two bits.
:saywhat:
Don’t tell anyone…
I’ve Got Friends in Low Places
And The Thunder Rolls
Man! I Feel Like a Woman
Blue
All My Exes Live in Texas
Forever and Ever Amen
Ramblin’ Man
Take This Job and Shove It
Islands in the Stream
and the classic…
Grandma Got Run Over by a Raindeer
[quote]Grandma got run over by a reindeer
Walking home from our house Christmas Eve.
You can say there’s no such thing as Santa,
But as for me an’ Grandpa, we believe.[/quote]
I’m a bit partial to Rodney Carrington’s Who Put the Dick on the Snowman
[quote]Who put the dick on the snowman
and embarrassed the family
could have used a ball bat
cucumber or zuchini
but instead you used a thimble
somethin’ you can barely see
who put the dick on the snowman
and made him look like me [/quote]
and
Tim Wilson’s 100 Things to Remember (And Here’s 39 of them)
[quote]1. A virgin don’t never drive a Z-28.
2. Never bet the ranch on your prostate.
3. If it’s got an adam’s apple it’s probably a man.
4. Never trust a gay gypsy with the palm of your hand.
5. She didn’t accidentally get good in bed.
6. You can’t join the church if you’re already dead.
7. A work uniform ain’t totally nude.
8. Brim & bass ain’t seafood.
9. When there’s guns in the house one better be yours.
10. Don’t be nekkid next to any fishing lures.
11. If there’s girl scout cookies she’s a little too young.
12. If you say “I do” be the ugly one.
13. Don’t ever let a bald man borrow your comb.
14. Never play strip poker in a nursing home.
15. Don’t blame your pallbearers cause they don’t show
if you’re buried in the middle of the Super Bowl.
16. Let people borrow money and they’ll leave you alone.
17. Never fry bacon without a shirt on.
18. Never spray water on a hornet’s nest.
19. A woman rarely aces the drivers’ test.
20. The sign probably don’t really mean massage.
21. Never threaten anybody in camoflage.
22. Say you love her til she lays down the butcher knife.
23. Never put the move on the boss’s wife.
24. She’s messin’ round on you if your briefs don’t fit.
25. Never trust a hitchhiker to baby sit.
26. Cosmo’s never in a happy home.
27. You can’t cut a deal with a kidney stone.
28. A politician ain’t got an HMO.
29. Washing her hair means she don’t wanna go.
30. Don’t ridicule a biker about his tatoo.
31. You been married nine times? Hell, maybe it’s you.
32. “Doom” ain’t the same as “Donkey Kong.”
33. If he’s wearing high heels you might have raised him wrong.
34. The clinic ain’t the best place to pick up dates.
35. Don’t rent a room from a man named Bates.
36. A tank top’s never on a billionaire.
37. Stevie Ray Vaughn missed a note here and there.
38. How many get to heaven? No one knows.
39. But hell will be asses and elbows.[/quote]
[quote=“Richardm”]2. London Homesick Blues
I’m kinda partial to the Texas Jewboys –
Asshole from El Paso
They Aint’ Making Jews Like Jesus No More
And many more from the great Kinkster.
No offense to any of you, but I LOATHE country music. It is, IMO, some of the worst trash I’ve ever heard. Some good songs here and there, but those for me are few and far between. FLAME AWAY! 
I think you are confused as to who is the flamer and who is the flamee.
Some people like it, some don’t. No big deal.
Most of us who don’t like it would have just stay away. Those who come, just to say they don’t like it…well, have a fire hydrant handy.
As for me, I’m not what anyone would call a fan of country music, but growing up in a town of 10,000 (a metropolis by Ohio standards, 9,986 more people than several towns in that state) where there were more trucks per capita than teeth and an active FFA (Future Farmers of America, for those who don’t know) at the high school where flannel shirts, ten-gallon hats, and boots were the style, I had the rare opportunity of being one of the few African-American schoolchildren who knew all the words to “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places” (and am still looking for it on a KTV songlist if you happen to see it 
).
And Hee Haw was damn funny.
A Boy Named Sue was written by the world’s greatest author: Shel Silverstein who also wrote On the Cover of the Rolling Stone by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show (isn’t he the one who does the speaking lines as well for that song? I swear that’s his voice).
I think you are confused as to who is the flamer and who is the flamee.
Some people like it, some don’t. No big deal.[/quote]
It was a mere ruse, my friend. A light poke in the ribs, if you will. My sorry ass attempt at some humor. 
Sorry bout that.
Wow! Some great stuff listed here. Thanks to flike for that list. I love Hank Sr., too… but can’t stand Jr.
And I’m surprised nobody has listed anything by Buck Owens and the Buckeroos… 
How about Stompin’ Tom Connors. Well if you aren’t from Canada you can’t relate.
Your post reminded me that I forgot the great Charley Pride.
I opened the China Post Weekend section today and saw a one-third page picture of Merle Haggard. I just about emitted semen into my boxers. Good on you China Post! Good on you mates!