The Music

Over the semesters, CMP contributors have analyzed a number of country songs and albums. Click the titles below to learn more about something you already know and to fall in love with something new.

SongAnalysis

Song Analyses

Performer Song Title
Analysis by…
Rodney Atkins “It’s America” Lottie Glazer
Band Perry “If I Die Young” Candace Edgley
“You Lie” Alyssa Buchanan
Dierks Bentley “Every Mile a Memory” Tori Horvath
“I Hold On” Walker Dyess
Brooks & Dunn “Brand New Man” Jordanne Mickle
Garth Brooks “Belleau Wood” Sierra Smith
“Friends in Low Places” Keaton Schlueter
Zac Brown Band “Bittersweet” Tyler Dial
“Chicken Fried” Tyler King
“No Hurry” Michael Casarez
“Oh My Sweet Carolina” Erin McWilliams
Luke Bryan “Drink a Beer” Erin McAtee
Cam “Burning House” Darah Welch
Glen Campbell “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” Lee Allen
Johnny Cash “Cry! Cry! Cry!” Carilu Martinez
“Folsom Prison Blues” Elizabeth Stack
“I’d Still Be There” Mark Anderson
Kenny Chesney “American Kids” Courtney González
“The Good Stuff” Justin Cole
“I Go Back” Hannah Evans
“Never Wanted Nothin’ More” Adam Keyrouze
Dixie Chicks “Easy Silence” Holly Kern
“Landslide” Stephanie Sebo
“Not Ready to Make Nice” Claudia Boyd
“Travelin’ Soldier” Ramie Payne
“Wide Open Spaces” Katerina Biancardi
Eric Church “Like Jesus Does” Will Glass
“The Outsiders” Gerrit Cook
“These Boots” Matthew Wills
Patsy Cline “Crazy” Olivia English
Roger Creager “The Everclear Song” Talia Milan
Merle Haggard “Okie from Muskogee” Mae Nixon
Lucy Hale “Lie a Little Better” Jessica Jakobeit
Sam Hunt “Take Your Time” Laura Morales
Alan Jackson “Little Man” John Monroe
“Where Were You (When the…)” Brittany Fietsam
George Jones “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair” Brittney Haynes
Toby Keith “Courtesy of the Ride, White, and Blue” Julie Kleberg
“Should’ve Been a Cowboy” Gaby Hernández
“The Taliban Song” Kevin Lefkowitz
Miranda Lambert “The House that Built Me” Amanda Fees
“Kerosene” Taylor Campbell
“Over You” Caitie Labay
Chris LeDoux “Hooked on an 8 Second Ride” Timothy Harakal
Little Big Town “Girl Crush” Annie Gondran
Loretta Lynn “Coal Miner’s Daughter” Lynden Orr
“To Make a Man (Feel Like a Man)” Dena Lipper
Martina McBride “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” Shannon Smith
Tim McGraw “Dust” Abby Shamis
“Just to See You Smile” Joshua Fleming
Kacey Musgraves “Follow Your Arrow” Shelby Conine
“Merry Go ‘Round” Kaki Miller
Willie Nelson “Me and Paul” Drew Scherger
“The Wall” Madison Comstock
Jake Owen “Life of the Party” Katie O’Neil
“The One that Got Away” Samantha Godfrey
Brad Paisley “This Is Country Music” Mackenzi McAffee
Brad Paisley feat. Dolly Parton “When I Get Where I’m Going” Adrian Ortiz
Rascal Flatts “Holes” Marissa Gallardo
“Life Is a Highway” Joseph Schooling
“What Hurts the Most” Zane Gurwitz
Marty Robbins “The Master’s Call” Brent Borman
Darius Rucker “Wagon Wheel” Paige Hinkle
Blake Shelton “Boys ‘Round Here” Minsu Kim
“Over” Alyssa Hazen
Bruce Springsteen “The Rising” MaKayla Markey
George Strait “Amarillo by Morning” Amy Burt
“Check Yes or No” Kelby Floerke
“I Get Along with You” James Pruitt
“I Saw God Today” Elissa Killebrew
“Ocean Front Property” Max Holter
George Strait & Alan Jackson “Murder on Music Row” Shira Yoram
Taylor Swift “All Too Well” Ginny Montalbano
“Dear John” Abby Bourland
“Love Story” Tamar Oren
“Ours” Hannah Parmer
“Tim McGraw” Julianne Stain
“We Are Never Getting Back Together” Kayla Miracle
Cole Swindell “You Should Be Here” Cassidy Wilson
Josh Turner “Would You Go with Me” Morgan Lohmeier
“Your Man” Daniella
Turnpike Troubadours “Good Lord Lorrie” Reid Thompson
“Long Hot Summer Day” Lauren Harris
Shania Twain “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” Randle Cecil
Carrie Underwood “I Ain’t in Checotah Anymore” Lejla Pracic
“Temporary Home” Emma Morgan
“Two Black Cadillacs” Alina Monzón
Aaron Watson “Bluebonnets (Julia’s Song)” Abby Wills

Album Analyses

1950s

JohnnyCashWithHisHotAndBlueGuitar Gunfighter-Ballads-Robbins-CD

Johnny Cash and His Hot and Blue Guitar (1957)

 Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs (1959) by Marty Robbins

1960s

johnny cash ring of fire pic At Folsom Prison Loretta_Lynn-Woman_of_the_World
Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash (1963) At Folsom Prison (1968) by Johnny Cash Woman of the World / To Make a Man (1969) by Loretta Lynn

1970s

Loretta_Lynn-Coal_Miner's_Daughter_2
Coal Miner’s Daughter (1970) by Loretta Lynn

1980s

strait country George-Strait-Greatest-Hits-523743
Strait Country (1981) by George Strait  Greatest Hits (1985) by George Strait

1990s

No Fences Brooks & Dunn Greatest Hits Come On Over
No Fences (1990) by Garth Brooks The Greatest Hits Collection (1997) by Brooks & Dunn Come on Over (1997) by Shania Twain
Toby Keith Greatest Hits 1
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (1999) by Toby Keith

2000-2004

Tim Mcgraw Drive Home
Greatest Hits (2000) by Tim McGraw Drive (2002) by Alan Jackson Home (2002) by the Dixie Chicks
No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems The Rising rascal flatts1
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem (2002) by Kenny Chesney The Rising (2002) by Bruce Springsteen Feels Like Today (2004) by Rascal Flatts

2005-2009

kerosene carrie-underwood-some-hearts Dierks Bentley
Kerosene (2005) by Miranda Lambert Some Hearts (2005) by Carrie Underwood Long Trip Alone (2006) by Dierks Bentley
3856531_flatts_200 Taylor_Swift 220px-TakingtheLongWay
Me and My Gang (2006) by Rascal Flatts Taylor Swift (2006) by Taylor Swift  Taking the Long Way (2006) by the Dixie Chicks
your man Taylor_Swift_-_Fearless Play-on-carrie-underwood1
Your Man (2006) by Josh Turner Fearless (2008) by Taylor Swift Play On (2009) by Carrie Underwood

2010-2014

Taylor_Swift_-_Speak_Now_cover Zac Brown Album Cover Barefoot Blue Jean Night
Speak Now (2010) by Taylor Swift  You Get What You Give (2010) by Zac Brown Band Barefoot Blue Jean Night (2011) by Jake Owen
chief eleven Red River Blue
  Chief (2011) by Eric Church Eleven (2011) by Martina McBride Red River Blue (2011) by Blake Shelton
imgres-1 Turnpike blake shelton
Blown Away (2012) by Carrie Underwood  Goodbye Normal Street
(2012) by Turnpike Troubadours
Based on a True Story… (2013) by Blake Shelton
Crash My Party Unknown Kacey-Musgraves-Same-Trailer-Different-Park-
 Crash My Party
(2013) by Luke Bryan
Days of Gold (2013) by Jake Owen Same Trailer, Different Park (2013) by Kacey Musgraves
BigRevival TheOutsidersAlbumCover
Big Revival (2014) by Kenny Chesney Band of Brothers (2014) by Willie Nelson The Outsiders by Eric Church (2014)
lucy hale Tim-McGraw-Album-Cover
 Road Between (2014) by Lucy Hale Sundown Heaven Town (2014) by Tim McGraw

2015-present

aaron watson
The Underdog (2015) by Aaron Watson