A good narrative will transport you to a different time and place, immersing you in the story in a way that makes all the characters, backdrops, and actions tangibly realistic. Classic country excelled at crafting these compelling storylines, as evidenced by these five songs that will instantly teleport you to a different place in time.
“Big Iron” by Marty Robbins
“Big Iron”, Marty Robbins’ ballad of the Arizona ranger who goes gun-to-gun with an outlaw named Texas Red, is a gripping narrative as much as it is an objectively good song. The classic country tune features a soaring melody that leaves the listener leaning in, anxious to hear what plot twist Robbins might provide next. It’s as if you’re one of the townspeople, nervously looking out their window as the two men face one another for a gun battle at twenty past eleven.
“Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray” by Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline had a way of making her heartbreak so devastatingly convincing that it was hard not to feel like you were in the room with her as she recounted how her love did her wrong. “Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray” sets the scene at a small café and uses a seemingly innocuous piece of the background as a symbol for the other woman who entered the relationship and broke it apart. Thus, two cigarettes become three cigarettes, until Cline is left alone as the sole smoker.
“It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” by Kitty Wells
Kitty Wells does a similarly effective job of painting a descriptive picture with her classic country song, “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”. “As I sit here tonight, the jukebox playing that old tune about the wild side of life…” Wells was directly referencing Hank Thompson’s popular song of the same name before offering her own rebuttal. The topical reference plants the listener in the bar with Wells, as she undoubtedly tries to drink her grievances with an ex away.
“Green Green Grass Of Home” by Tom Jones
“Green Green Grass Of Home” is a classic storytelling country song that lands a heavy surprise blow at the end. The descriptive imagery of the narrator returning home sends the listener off on the same train, allowing them to imagine the sight of Mary coming down the path, “hair of gold and lips like cherries.” When the plot twist appears, and the narrator is revealed to be in a prison cell awaiting his execution, the listener feels the same cold jerk of reality.
“Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash
Finally, Johnny Cash’s boom-chicka playing style was the perfect accompaniment to classic country train songs like “Folsom Prison Blues”. It’s like his acoustic guitar is translating the steady chicka-chicka-chicka-chicka of the turning train wheels. Cash’s weary vocal delivery makes you feel like you’re sitting right there in the train car with the narrator inching ever closer to his lifelong imprisonment at Folsom Prison.
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