Jaq has a big-style post on the top 100 country songs.

My folks listened to country music while I was growing up and, importantly, so did my bus drivers in rural Iowa. Those were the two major sources of listening for me. So I know every country song between 1975 and 1982 and many of the classic ones. My annotations below:


1. "Stand by Your Man"

2. "He Stopped Loving Her Today"

3. "Crazy" - Everything by Patsy Cline is wonderful.

4. "Ring of Fire" - Johnny Cash: good.

5. "Your Cheatin’ Heart"

6. "Friends in Low Places" - over-rated

7. "I Fall to Pieces"

8. "Galveston"

9. "Behind Closed Doors"

10. "Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" - I'd have picked a different Willie Nelson song, like #33

11. "Blue Moon of Kentucky"

12. "Amarillo by Morning" - This is a beautifully melodic and plaintive song that I think of quite often.

13. "Coal Miner’s Daughter"

14. "Dance, The"

15. "Forever and Ever, Amen" - Fun song with a catchy melody.

16. "I Will Always Love You" - Give props to Dolly Parton. Her version's about a million times better than the Diva.

17. "Hello Darlin’" - It's hard not to smile about Conway Twitty.

18. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" - I disagree with Jaq here - Denver's over-rated.

19. "Hey, Good Lookin’"

20. "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" - Woohoo! Glad it placed so high.

21. "Okie From Muskogee"

22. "Wide Open Spaces"

23. "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain"

24. "Chair, The"

25. "Folsom Prison Blues"

26. "Gambler, The" - Agree with Jaq here; this one should probably be higher on the strength of sheer popularity. It is a little (ok, a lot) maudlin, though.

27. "Fancy"

28. "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)"

29. "I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry"

30. "I Hope You Dance"

31. "I Walk the Line"

32. "Rhinestone Cowboy"

33. "Always on My Mind"

34. "Harper Valley P.T.A."

35. "D-I-V-O-R-C-E"

36. "Will the Circle Be Unbroken"

37. "King of the Road" - It'd be hard to find a song that's more of a Meade favorite than this one. My Grampa Bill used to make up his own words and we love to sing it to this day.

38. "Breathe"

39. "Make the World Go Away"

40. "Hello Walls"

41. "Sweet Dreams"

42. "El Paso" - GREAT song by Marty Robbins. Nice Mexican-Country sound.

43. "Delta Dawn"

44. "When I Call Your Name"

45. "Guitars, Cadillacs"

46. "Desperado" - Ugh. Don't these people know that 'Peaceful, Easy Feeling' is the only remotely tolerable song by Don Henley?

47. "Don’t Come Home A'Drinkin’ (With Lovin' on Your Mind)"

48. "Boot Scootin’ Boogie" - Yuck,

49. "I Can’t Stop Loving You"

50. "Independence Day"

and a few more:

58. "Kiss an Angel Good Morning" - Let's hear it for Charlie Pride.

64. "When You Say Nothing at All" - This was our song (mine and Christine's) long before the 'Notting Hill' inspired craze. Beautiful.

74. "Flowers on the Wall" - The Statler Brothers are a family favorite.

77. "You’re Still the One" - Isn't this song mostly about Shania Twain being hot?

86. "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" - It's just one short step from here to 'Feliz Navidad' (and a shorter one to the end of Freddie's career).

87. "Passionate Kisses" - A couple of smart ladies, especially Lucinda Williams who brings us the immortal 'I'm going to Slidell for to find my joy...you took my joy and I want it back.'


Did I miss a song by Jim Reaves? We love him in the Meade family.