Stars in ______

Jamey Johnson has always been one of my favorite country artists. He continuously redefines and revises the genre -- alluding to past giants while carefully blazing his original trail. He's smart, plain spoken, and bold in his challenging song design (thought he never truly breaks from the "standard" format, but place himself far enough away, as if you're experiencing something "new").

This song, "Stars in Alabama", off the nearly perfect album That Lonesome Song, is a particular favorite because: 

A. The story is crystal clear and the characters well defined. 

B. The specificity of the writing is engaging -- it's clear that Johnson is not only writing from the heart, but also knows how to dive into his heart and bring out complicated emotions in an extremely simple way. That's art.

C. The tone of the story is captured perfectly in the music. 

D. Substitute Alabama and Tennessee for whatever state you're in and where you're from. It's completely universal. 

Enjoy. 

I said, “Mama don’t you worry

I’m getting by just fine on the road

Yeah, tonight we played in Knoxville

And tomorrow night it’s back to Music Row

No, I don’t know when I’m comin’ home

Montgomery seems so very far away”

She said, “Boy it wouldn’t kill you now

To look out past the bright lights on that stage

‘Cause God put stars in Alabama

You just can’t find in Tennessee

The same ones are waiting on you

That taught you how to dream

I know there’s big names up in Nashville

And you’ll be one before too long

But God put stars in Alabama

To help you find your way back home”

I hung up the phone and I could feel

The emptiness at 80 miles an hour

And I listened close and I could hear

My heart beating louder than the tires

This old bus was headed west

But my mind was drifting

Somewhere towards the South

And I closed my eyes and I could see

The bright lights shining clearly through the clouds

‘Cause God put stars in Alabama

You just can’t find in Tennessee

The same ones are waiting on you

That taught you how to dream

She said, “There’s big names up in Nashville

And you’ll be one before too long

But God put stars in Alabama

To help you find your way back home

Yeah, there’s stars in Alabama

That just can’t wait ‘til you get home

By Teddy Gentry and Jamey Johnson

Performed by Jamey Johnson


Stay tuned for a post on the difference between The Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons and what they each mean to us!