All I Can Do - Dolly Parton

All I Can Do - Dolly Parton

2:27

All I Can Do, 1976
Written by Dolly Parton

I close out my lengthy tribute to Dolly Parton, one of the greatest entertainers and all-around human beings, with this rollicking title cut from 1976.  In the song, the narrator discovers that she's "caught feelings," as the kids say nowadays, for someone in her life: "I wasn't looking for love when I found you / Just someone to be with and have a good time."  Should she tell her love how she feels, and take the chance on rejection?  As William Blake put it, "Never seek to tell thy love / Love that never told can be."  With handclaps, mouth organ, and sing-along  choruses, the song builds a rousing, gospel-flavored vibe that belies the uncertainty of the narrator. 

The Bargain Store - Dolly Parton

The Bargain Store - Dolly Parton

2:44
The Bargain Store, 1975

Written by Dolly Parton

The narrator of this song compares herself to used merchandise in a discount store, her past making up the old detritus and second-hand goods found in such markets.  She invites a prospective lover to offer her a new love she can trade her broken heart for, much the same way one might bargain for older goods: "Take these old used memories from the past / And these broken dreams and plans that didn't last / I'll trade them for a future, I can't use them anymore / I've wasted love but I still have some more."  Hilariously, the song was dropped from a number of some radio stations when programmers decided the line "You can easily afford the price" referred to prostitution!  Dolly sings it in a breezy style that belies the melancholy lyric.

Joshua - Dolly Parton

Joshua - Dolly Parton

3:06

Joshua, 1971

Written by Dolly Parton

This story song It's a sort of talking country, with the same quick train-track beat as "Hot Rod Lincoln" and "A Boy Named Sue."  It begins in a town where a vicious man with a mean black dog lives, with a bad reputation.  The narrator one day decides to visit him, curious to see if the rumors are true despite having no evidence to the contrary: "But I didn't think nobody could be that mean / So I took me out walking down the railroad track."  Of course he's a big bushy man with a deep voice, but not mean, and they fall in love and live happily ever after.  

Applejack - Dolly Parton

Applejack - Dolly Parton

3:25

New Harvest...First Gathering, 1977

Written by Dolly Parton

This down-home country song, accentuated by mouth harp and some authentic hillbilly gibberish as sound effects at the bridge, is about an old banjo-picker who lived in an apple orchard.  "Now old AppleJack was loved by everyone he ever knew / AppleJack picked apples but he picked the banjo too."  Fun fact: Roy Acuff, Chet Atkins, Minnie Pearl, Ernest Tubb, the Willis Brothers, and Kitty Wells all sing back vocals on this rousing track.

Why'd You Come In Here Looking Like That - Dolly Parton

Why'd You Come In Here Looking Like That - Dolly Parton

2:32

White Limozeen, 1989

Written by Bob Carlisle and Randy Thomas

Like a reverse "Jolene," this is a Parton song about a man who looks so good ("like a cowgirl's dream") he can take any lady, but it's Dolly who used to have his heart.  As with so many of songs of this ilk, the man in question's loyalty is a bit of an issue: "He's got a wandering eye and a traveling mind / Big ideas and a little behind."  This is a fun, punchy country song with plenty of verve and energy.  I love the vivid line "Why'd you come in here looking like that? / When you could stop traffic in a gunny sack / Why, you're almost giving me a heart attack."  Fun fact: master instrumentalists Béla Fleck, Jo-El Sonnier, and Ricky Skaggs all play on this track.

Two Doors Down - Dolly Parton

Two Doors Down - Dolly Parton

3:08

Here You Come Again, 1977

Written by Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton died yesterday.  Everyone and their grandmother is missing her or making some sort of tribute, because she was one of the very few, like Mr. Rogers, who seemed to be universally beloved.  Even the red-hat fascist faction loved her, misunderstanding her just as they do the Bible, although she stood against everything they vote for and they despise the politics they refuse to consider she had.  (Come to think of it, Mr. Rogers would probably be pilloried today, just like Ms. Rachel for daring to say that kids should be fed and kept safe.)  Anyway, this rollicking country-pop number is sung from the perspective of a woman who has just broken up with her boyfriend, feeling sorry for herself because there's a party going on two doors down the hall from her apartment. She dries her tears and decides to get out there, with happy results.  It's upbeat, it's got a sing-along chorus with "9 to 5" momentum, it's bright and cheery, just like Parton herself always was.  

Blue Coupe - Twin Peaks

Blue Coupe - Twin Peaks

3:43

single, 2017

Written by Cadien Lake James, Clay Frankel, Colin Croom, Connor Brodner and Jack Dolan

This song begins with soft piano and then settles into a gentle groove.  Bassist Jack Dolan lends lush, understated vocals, painting a picture in scenes of friends the band lost to drugs: "Wake up to the rhythm of the city and I try to remember / Even my brothers have some trouble with each other / Sometimes things fall apart."  Intricate guitar riffs and a steady, unobtrusive bossa nova-style percussion give the song a relaxed, thoughtful vibe.  This Chicago indie group deserves more recognition. 

Boom-Bapa-Boom - Jimmie Vaughan

Boom-Bapa-Boom - Jimmie Vaughan

3:55

Strange Pleasure, 1994

Written by Jimmie Vaughan

A throwback rocker with a '50s sensibility, boogie piano and Chuck Berry-style guitar solos.  Vaughan is no Stevie Ray, so his guitar work features fine, bluesy riffs, but no pyrotechnics.  The lyrics are also simple, drawing inspiration from the teenage rock of an earlier era: "If I made a pass at you / Would you say we were through?"  It's a fun rock 'n' roll song, if nothing original.

Bluestone - Cousin Tony's Brand New Firebird

Bluestone - Cousin Tony's Brand New Firebird

3:38

Smiles Of Earth, 2022

Written by Lachlan Rose

Singer Lachlan Rose's warm, flexible baritone strikes you first, but that great ascending horn line gives the song its power.  Rose's sparkling synths, the horns, and a chorus of voices all blend into a gospel-like swell, reminding me a little of the Polyphonic Spree.  The lyrics are impressionistic: "Just one grain of your sugar / Would sweeten the ocean / Then the rain on my window / Would sweeten my day," but the chorus sets a scene.  Someone important to the narrator is leaving, but the narrator is stoic about it, even proud of the difficult step.  The group's cumbersome name is taken from that amazing opening monologue in American Beauty.  

Big Long Slidin' Thing - Dinah Washington

Big Long Slidin' Thing - Dinah Washington

2:58

single, 1954

Written by Leroy Kirkland and Mamie Thomas

A sultry, jazzy R&B vocal, arranged by Quincy Jones and dripping with obvious innuendo in the style of Mildred Jones' "Mr. Thrill."  In this song, the narrator yearns for her daddy with his "big long slidin' thing."  This titular, um, instrument is ostensibly a trombone, but I think we all know what we're talkin' about.  First, a guitar man attaches his amplifier to her "plug," but that does not good.  A piano-playing fellow offers to tickle her keys, but that's not what she looking for, either.  As the man himself explains it: "I blow through here / Then I work my fingers and my thumb / I slide it right up / Then I slide it back again."  They really knew how to raise a few eyebrows back in the 1950s. 

Brutus Road - Michigan Rattlers

Brutus Road - Michigan Rattlers

2:25

Michigan Rattlers, 2016

Written by the Michigan Rattlers?

This hard-driving alt-country rocker reminds me strongly of Son Volt's song 'Drown," especially in the vocal delivery.  The chugging train-track percussion rhythm, the upright bass, and the geographical nostalgia are all part of a country aesthetic, with the attitude and tempo of rock.  According to what I read, the band never set out to be alt-country, and in fact later turned away from acoustic arrangements to a synth rock musical aesthetic.  How unfortunate!

She Made My Day - Willie Nelson

She Made My Day - Willie Nelson

2:43

Last Man Standing, 2018

written by Willie Nelson and Buddy Cannon

In the old tradition of country classics like "Once a Day," this lost-love song is built around wordplay and ironic juxtapositions: "Well, she made my day / But it ruined my life."  The lyric features the same kind of witty, tongue-in-cheek mixture of wry regret and stoicism: "We were gettin' along just fine, just me and me / We understood each other perfectly / Then I let my guard down and there she was / Well I guess that's stupid is as stupid does."  It's a simple and pleasant number that fits the template that the then-84-year-old Nelson could toss of in his sleep.

That's All She Wrote - Ricky Nelson

That's All She Wrote - Ricky Nelson

2:13

Rick Nelson Sings "For You", 1963

Written by Keith Colley and Nancie Mantz

Like "Please Mr. Postman," this teenybopper rock number is addressed to a mailman.  The narrator can't believe that his girl wrote such a cold letter to him ("And at the end / Was Just Goodbye my friend / Just a note / That's all she wrote").  He begs the carrier to take the letter away.  I can't fathom why this catchy heartbreak song hasn't become a classic; it's got an irresistibly catchy chorus and a very relatable theme of being dumped.

She's Just Killing Me - ZZ Top

She's Just Killing Me - ZZ Top

4:56

Rhythmeen, 1996

Written by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard

Frank Beard died yesterday.  This song is one of their hardest, swampiest blues rockers.  The slick, synth-driven MTV sound is in the band's rearview mirror here, and the grit and sludge are back in the guitar solos, tuned way low.  The tempo is rapid, a straight shot down a long Texas highway.  The lyrics are influenced by the content of the movie From Dusk Till Dawn, whose soundtrack it was feature don.  And are the tres amigos still obsessed with fine foxes and crude innuendo?  Yes.  "Her castanets are enormous / Her bongo beat absolute."  It's a fitting reminder that beneath all the MTV polish and cartoonish sex jokes, ZZ Top was always a hell of a blues-rock band, and Beard's drumming was a huge part of that.  Rest in power, Frank.

She Never Spoke Spanish To Me - Joe Ely

She Never Spoke Spanish To Me - Joe Ely

3:33

Joe Ely, 1977

Written by Butch Hancock

This bittersweet country song, infused with Spanish guitar, tells of the narrator's encounter with a Mexican señorita that seems not to have ended the way he wanted.  "Saints and sinners all agree / Spanish is a lovin' tongue / But she never spoke Spanish to me."  The song's wistful disappointment is undercut by the sly punchline of the title, a subtle nod that the narrator will be all right.  Fun fact: Ely sung backing vocals on the Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go." 

Here She Comes Again - The Stands

Here She Comes Again - The Stands

2:19

All Years Leaving, 2004

Written by Howie Payne

Back in 2023, I featured "When This River Rolls Over You," from the same album, on the blog, and was struck by how much it adhered to the 1960s Dylan template.  This song from the Liverpool band is far less Dylanesque, but still wearing its influences openly, all 1960s and 1970s British jangle pop meets Teenage Fanclub.  It features a catchy familiar melody and tight harmonies.  The lyrics tell of someone's girlfriend who comes and goes, and may not be healthy for the friend.  "Constantly turning yourself in her circles / And rolling yourself into a tight little ball / You were thinking she could / Maybe reach a hand out to find you."  

Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season - Jimmy Buffett

Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season - Jimmy Buffett

4:23

A1A, 1974

Written by Jimmy Buffett

This song, like so many songs by Jimmy Buffett, is written from the perspective of Jimmy Buffett.  Strolling along Florida State Road A1A, he takes a critical look at a grey sky and choppy water.  He's hungover, overslept, and hitting the hair of the dog.  No need to worry overmuch, though; he can always go on a tour if things get hairy.  "It's time to close the shutters / It's time to go inside / In a week I'll be in gay Paris / That's a mighty long airplane ride."  The laid-back, almost resigned, vibe of the song belies the need implied in the lyric for Buffett to maintain a frenetic pace to keep himself going.

Falling And Laughing - Orange Juice

Falling And Laughing - Orange Juice
3:51
You Can't Hide Your Love Forever, 1982
Written by Edwyn Collins

The only thing I know about this Scottish post-punk band is that Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian considers them one of the greats.  With a droning, jangle-pop sound reminiscent of the Smiths and R.E.M., this song, their debut single, combines hesitant, vulnerable vocals with bright guitars and keyboard lines.  The lyrics tell of a love denied the narrator: "You say that there's a thousand like you / Well, maybe that's true / I fell for you and nobody else / So I'm standing here so lonesome."

Listening To the Rain - Doc & Merle Watson

Listening To the Rain - Doc & Merle Watson
3:14
Home Sweet Home, 1998 (recorded 1967)

Written by Don DeVaney, 1967?

This bluegrass number, like the entire album it's on, is a blend of old and new recordings.  The label took thirty-year-old tapes and digitally added the fine instrumentation of Marty Stuart, mandolinist Sam Bush, and others to fill out the duo's sound.  Merle's skill at the banjo is evident on the recording: his lightning-fast picking adds a jauntiness to the otherwise quite bleak lyric ("The beating on the window can't compare with the beating that I'm taking / The window's gonna hold, but look at me, I'm already breaking").  Note: This song was first officially released by the Osborne Brothers in 1970, but since every source I found insists these Watson tapes are from 1967, I can only assume DeVaney wrote the song earlier than the Osborne released it.

Dancing Barefoot - U2

Dancing Barefoot - U2

4:45

single, 1989

Written by Patti Smith and Ivan Král, 1979

I didn't know until I wrote this up that this was a Patti Smith song.  The Edge's driving guitar riff on this track is a great complement to Bono's hissing, murmuring, crooning vocals.  The lyrics are impressionistic, depicting a state of confusion, falling, wholly subsumed in some mysterious woman who has the singer in thrall. The homophone at the end of the chorus — "I'm dancing barefoot / Heading for a spin / Some strange music drives me on / Makes me come up like some heroine" leaves the interpretation open that the narrator may be talking about a very real addiction to a drug.

Pissing In a Wishing Well - Dusk

Pissing In a Wishing Well - Dusk
3:51

Glass Pastures, 2023

Written by Dusk?

The previous Dusk song I covered, “Too Sweet,” featured Julia Blair on vocals; this one leans more toward country-rock, with drummer Amos Pitsch taking a turn behind the mic. It comes in with a slow drumbeat driving a breezy, laid-back melody, before the lyrics give the song a little jolt of energy. The whole thing has a relaxed, groovy feel, but the playing is tight and polished enough that the band's ease and camaraderie shows though; this is a group that gels live, you can tell. It's an easy rocker with strong Jayhawks influences, Ryley Crowe’s pedal steel whining over trilling '70s rock'n' roll licks while the rhythm section lays down a solid bed for Pitsch's pleasant vocals.

Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) - The Swingin' Medallions

Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) - The Swingin' Medallions

2:21

single, 1966

Written by Don Smith and Cyril Vetter, 1963

The Medallions are a septet of clean-cut nerds who play beach pop, yet have the stones to drop the G in "swinging" to show their hepness and add screaming party noises to this song.  But the real audacity is singing the song itself (originally recorded by Dick Holler and the Holidays), which is as risqué a tale as you'll find outside of prewar blues.  "She loved me so long and she loved me so hard / I finally passed out in her front yard."

California (All the Way) - Luna

California (All the Way) - Luna

4:15

Bewitched, 1994

Written by Dean Wareham

I don't usually care for shoegaze or this type of dreamy pop, but the laid-back Velvet Underground by way of Yo La Tengo sensibilities in this song hit me where it feels right.  It's a wistful, beautiful song of love not so much going wrong as simple fading away.  "Why can't we smile just like we used to? / Why don't you figure anymore? / Why has my sympathy now turned to malice? / It doesn't matter anymore."  It's restrained and atmospheric, riding on a gentle groove; even the guitar solo is relaxed, at least until the final moments, when jagged freeform riffs fade us out.

Pulling Mussels (From the Shell) - Squeeze

Pulling Mussels (From the Shell) - Squeeze

3:58

Argybargy, 1980

Written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook

With a one-note guitar solo followed by an intricate piano solo, this catchy, bright number isn't the typical pop song.  But then, Squeeze isn't the typical pop band.  The lyrics limn a vivid picture of typical British beach scenes: topless ladies, surfers, people reading books on the sand; meanwhile the narrator apparently is giving his girlfriend a standing manual orgasm: "But behind the chalet, my holiday's complete / And I feel like William Tell / Maid Marian on her tiptoed feet / Pulling mussels from a shell."  His aim is accurate, he's pulling her up towards him, the mussel a Georgia O'Keefe representation.  It's an extraordinarily graphic idea to hide inside such a cheerful, radio-friendly pop song, made even funnier by the song's breezy, almost innocent delivery. More evidence that most people doesn't listen to lyrics.

Hurtin' (On the Bottle) - Margo Price

Hurtin' (On the Bottle) - Margo Price

4:12

Midwest Farmer's Daughter, 2016

Written by Margo Price, Mark Fredson, Jeremy Ivey, Caitlin Rose

Despite being something of a young'un (well, when she started), this is a classic country tonk song with steel guitar and lyrical sensibility that could come straight out of the pen of Hank Williams: "I put a hurtin' on the bottle / Baby now I'm blind enough to see / I've been drinking whiskey like it's water / But that don't touch the pain you put on me."  The delivery, though, is pure vintage Dolly, with a bright twang and an easy-going pace, as if she wasn't running from demons so much as chilling with them.

That's Right (You're Not From Texas) - Lyle Lovett

That's Right (You're Not From Texas) - Lyle Lovett

4:55

The Road To Ensenada, 1996

Written by Lyle Lovett, Willis Alan Ramsey, and Alison Rogers

The Texas Tourism Board used this light-hearted song in ads for Texas.  With rollicking boogie-woogie piano and steel guitar, this is a catchy, tongue-in-cheek celebration of Texas pride and a gentle jab at outsiders playing cowboy. Lovett also tips his hat in the lyrics to Uncle Walt's Band, a South Carolina group that Lovett was a fan of and became part of Austin's musical scene: "Those boys from Carolina / They sure enough could sing / But when they came on down to Texas / We all showed them how to swing." It's funny, affectionate, and quintessentially Lovett, and despite the Texas Tourism Board, more amused than boastful about Texas exceptionalism.

Simple Song - The Shins

Simple Song - The Shins

4:15

Port Of Morrow, 2012

Written by James Mercer

This melodic slice of power-pop was inspired by Mercer's wife, and is thus a love song of sorts ("Remember walking a mile to your house, a glow in the dark / I made a fumbling play for your heart and the act struck a spark"), but I read that it was also inspired by the departure of some Shins band members, which the chorus hints at: "I know that things can really get rough when you go it alone / Don't go thinking you gotta be tough, to play like a stone / Could be there’s nothing else in our lives so critical / As this little home!"  Since the Shins is basically a one-man show at this point, maybe their place in that particular home wasn't all that critical after all.  

Foolish Fool - Dee Dee Warwick

Foolish Fool - Dee Dee Warwick

3:26

Foolish Fool, 1969

Written by Edward Townsend

This song begins with some slinky soul instrumentation, with blues-rock guitar licks.  Then Warwick's powerful vocal breaks in, accompanied by shimmering strings.  She sounds impassioned, defiant, frustrated, and even furious, as she sings about some fool who thinks she can take her man: "I told my Mother and Father too / I'd give them both up, before I lose you."  By the end of the song, Warwick is screaming the words, saying this fool has got to be crazy to even think of such a thing.  It's a powerhouse vocal performance that transforms what could have been a standard jealousy song into a thrilling display of raw emotion.  Anyone listening would be compelled to agree: you'd have to be an asinine psychopath to risk the wrath of someone who could get so worked up.

Winter Winds - Mumford & Sons

Winter Winds - Mumford & Sons

3:39

Sigh No More, 2009

Written by Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall, and Ted Dwane

Despite being essentially a breakup song ("And my head told my heart / Let love grow / But my heart told my head / This time no"), this song has become, for some reason, a Christmastime favorite.  Musically, the song begins with gentle acoustic fingerpicking before building into the band's signature rush of banjo, stomping rhythm, and soaring harmonies.  Lyrically, there's a clear emotional imbalance at the center of the song, in which the narrator wants more for both himself and his partner, but it's clear it can't be. They're both fighting against the wind.

Baby Blue - Badfinger

Baby Blue - Badfinger

3:37

Straight Up, 1972

Written by Pete Ham

The only exposure to Badfinger's music I've ever had is though occasionally hearing it on classic rock radio.  This one was featured in the finale of "Breaking Bad," a show I love a lot, but I don't recall its use in the episode, either.  So, while I technically know this song, I didn't recognize it from the title, so I'm putting it in the playlist.  Ham wrote the song about a woman named Dixie Armstrong, whom he had dated during the band's last tour.  It's a lost love song, melancholic in lyric but couched in such a catchy melody and beautiful harmonies (even a very Beatles-esque "What can I do" plaint in the bridge) that it exudes contentment more than loss.

Negative Neighborhood - Salt Orchard

Negative Neighborhood - Salt Orchard

2:50

Salt Orchard, 2018

Written by Kieran Harris, Max Souders, and Ben Zamarron

This is some far-out, Zappa-tinged jazz rock.  The vocals are powerful, insistent if not operatic, a sort of half-talking, half-droning that commands the listener.  The lyrics begin in a very American-tinged French: "Qu'est-ce qu tu fais / Qu'est-ce que tu dis / Mon longue [langue?] était bon et tu es une rie."  The English part, when it comes, may not be any more intelligible to Anglophone ears: "Any day but you seem not to know my / And then there she stood / The helm of her negative neighborhood."  Whether these are genuinely surreal lyrics, deliberately garbled ones, or simply impossible to decipher, the effect is the same. Meaning takes a back seat to sound.  It's impressionistic, free-form, a fusion of bop and rock, and it grabs your attention, nonsense notwithstanding.