I'm from the Country (song)
Encyclopedia
"I'm from the Country" is the title of a country music
song written by Marty Brown
, Stan Webb, and Richard Young, who is rhythm guitar
ist of the band The Kentucky Headhunters
. The song was recorded by Tracy Byrd on his 1998 album I'm from the Country
, from which it was released in February 1998.
and fiddle
, with some Hammond organ
flourishes. In it, the narrator describes the rural lifestyle that he and his peers live, saying "We know how to work and we know how to play / We're from the country and we like it that way". On the final chorus, Byrd is joined by Liana Manis, Melodie Crittenden, Kim Parent, Glenn Spinner, Dann Huff, Willie Nelson, Rebecca Sweet and Bekka Bramlett, many of whom begin crowd noise over the final guitar solo.
The song was co-written by Marty Brown
, along with The Kentucky Headhunters
' rhythm guitarist Richard Young, and Stan Webb. Brown and The Kentucky Headhunters recorded the song's demo
.
magazine reviewed the song with general favor by saying that the song is "buoyed by lots of fiddle and steel guitar riffs as well as a fun sing-along chorus." She also calls it a "festive, uptempo little romp, but with his deep, resonant voice, it would be nice to hear Byrd deliver songs with a little more meat to them."
Stan Webb received the SESAC
Country Song of the Year award in 1998 for co-writing the song.
Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs
) charts at #57 on the week of February 14, 1998. It charted for twenty-eight weeks, peaking at #3. The song also spent seventeen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100
(his first entry on that chart since "Walkin' to Jerusalem" in 1995), peaking at #63. It was a Number One on the RPM
country charts in Canada.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song written by Marty Brown
Marty Brown (singer)
Dennis Marty Brown is an American country music artist. Active between 1991 and 1996, he has released four studio albums and has charted one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts....
, Stan Webb, and Richard Young, who is rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
ist of the band The Kentucky Headhunters
The Kentucky Headhunters
The Kentucky Headhunters are an American country rock band. They were founded in 1968 as Itchy Brother, which comprised brothers Richard Young and Fred Young along with Greg Martin and Anthony Kenney...
. The song was recorded by Tracy Byrd on his 1998 album I'm from the Country
I'm from the Country
I'm from the Country is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Tracy Byrd. Released in mid-1998 as his final studio album for MCA Records, it produced only two singles: the title track and "I Wanna Feel That Way Again", both of which reached Top Ten on the Billboard Hot Country...
, from which it was released in February 1998.
Content
"I'm from the Country" is an up-tempo, backed by electric guitarElectric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, with some Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
flourishes. In it, the narrator describes the rural lifestyle that he and his peers live, saying "We know how to work and we know how to play / We're from the country and we like it that way". On the final chorus, Byrd is joined by Liana Manis, Melodie Crittenden, Kim Parent, Glenn Spinner, Dann Huff, Willie Nelson, Rebecca Sweet and Bekka Bramlett, many of whom begin crowd noise over the final guitar solo.
The song was co-written by Marty Brown
Marty Brown (singer)
Dennis Marty Brown is an American country music artist. Active between 1991 and 1996, he has released four studio albums and has charted one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts....
, along with The Kentucky Headhunters
The Kentucky Headhunters
The Kentucky Headhunters are an American country rock band. They were founded in 1968 as Itchy Brother, which comprised brothers Richard Young and Fred Young along with Greg Martin and Anthony Kenney...
' rhythm guitarist Richard Young, and Stan Webb. Brown and The Kentucky Headhunters recorded the song's demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
.
Critical reception
Thom Owens, who reviewed I'm from the Country for Allmusic, said of the song, "the key to the record's success is that he takes pains in proving the title true — and by the end of the record, you have no question that he is indeed from the country." Deborah Evans Price, of BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine reviewed the song with general favor by saying that the song is "buoyed by lots of fiddle and steel guitar riffs as well as a fun sing-along chorus." She also calls it a "festive, uptempo little romp, but with his deep, resonant voice, it would be nice to hear Byrd deliver songs with a little more meat to them."
Stan Webb received the SESAC
SESAC
SESAC, originally the Society of European Stage Authors & Composers, is the smallest of the three performance rights organizations in the United States. SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second-oldest performing rights organization in the U.S. SESAC is also the fastest-growing PRO in the...
Country Song of the Year award in 1998 for co-writing the song.
Chart performance
"I'm from the Country" debuted on the BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
) charts at #57 on the week of February 14, 1998. It charted for twenty-eight weeks, peaking at #3. The song also spent seventeen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
(his first entry on that chart since "Walkin' to Jerusalem" in 1995), peaking at #63. It was a Number One on the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
country charts in Canada.
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 63 |
| Canadian RPM Country Singles | 1 |