Saving Country Music’s 2021 Song of the Year
The benchmarks a Song of the Year winner must meet, and the stress test it must endure is more strenuous than any other in music. We’re not looking for some infectious fanny shaker here, or even a song that might stir an emotional moment. That is what the Single of the Year is for. But a Song of the Year winner must have the ability to change lives, change the world, or change perspectives on the world, and through the sheer power of its words. It’s just as much a literary enterprise as it is a musical one.
From the outside looking into the world of country music, nothing is cited more as a negative stereotype of the genre than songs that exploit the bleeding heart subject matter of fallen military service members, and other such staunchly patriotic songs, which at times have veered straight into outright jingoism in the genre’s history. When some people think of country music, they don’t think of Willie and Dolly. They think of Lee Greenwood and Toby Keith.
Similar to Bro-Country and its reliance on list-like lyrics, it’s not that the patriotic formula for songs is inherently problematic in itself. Our troops deserve to be toasted for their service, and our fallen heroes canonized in song. It’s the overdone, and often overwrought nature of these songs, and the exploitative objectives of them in the commercial context that often inspires the hatred for them, and many songwriters with any shred of credibility, dignity, and self-awareness to steer clear of the subject matter entirely, often to the detriment of this important compositional subset.
And so for a songwriter known foremost for his utmost integrity, and for crafting a career behind alternative programming to mainstream country and its monetary concerns to even attempt a song along these lines is quite remarkable, and a formidable undertaking. The pitfalls are so grand, and the well-worn clichés are so prevalent, it’s like navigating a mine field. The task is Herculean. And to pull off what “French Summer Sun” does, it truly makes it a song for the ages.
Eroding the credibility of many of these songs is the fact that the authors or performers often never served themselves. In this particular song, the narrator does not enlist like his forefathers, but Jason Eady actually did serve in the Air Force for six years, learning Arabic, and then being shipped all over the world as a translator. Much of Eady’s time in the service can’t be talked about now because it’s classified.
It’s fair to mention that this song is not for everyone. Some don’t like the spoken lyrics. Some will just think it’s overly sentimental pap, partly due to this subgenre of songs being so soured over the years. Some might just find it outright boring. And that’s okay. This song is not for everyone. Song of the Year winners rarely are. They’re just too good to find global appeal.
Also important to mention is this song was co-written with Drew Kennedy, who quietly continues to put together one of the most important songwriting careers in Texas music today, collaborating with other top-caliber songwriters such as Walt Wilkins and John Bauman, and finding the sweet spot between quality and appeal with performers such as Josh Grider, Wade Bowen, and Randy Rogers, not to mention his solo career.
The field of Saving Country Music’s Song of the Year Nominees for 2021 was pretty incredible, and they all deserve a strong level of credit for enriching our lives in 2021. Jesse Daniel’s “Gray” is another life altering song. So is Kiely Connell’s “Disappear.” Joshua Ray Walker and Emily Scott Robinson have both previously won Song of the Year, and very well could have again this year. And before you complain the nominees weren’t country enough, go check out “I Don’t Trust My Memories Anymore” by Cody Jinks. John R. Miller’s song “Faustina” enjoyed a strong write-in effort this year as well that deserves to be recognized.
But “French Summer Sun” is one of those songs whose power just can’t be denied. Is it a song you’ll listen to over and over? Probably not. Because the first time you hear it, the message it conveys hits so hard, it embeds itself into the very fiber of your being, and will never leave. That is why it is a Song of the Year. And we will revisit it for many years to come as a high water mark for storytelling.
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“French Summer Sun” is from Jason Eady’s 2021 album ‘To The Passage of Time.’
January 2, 2022 @ 11:17 am
Excellent selection!
January 2, 2022 @ 11:23 am
I love you Trigger as much as I hate this song. 😉 And lord do I hate this song with every fiber of my being.
January 2, 2022 @ 11:23 am
🙂
January 2, 2022 @ 12:15 pm
This song is heart-wrenching. There’s nothing else like it. It’s so painful that it’s hard for me to listen to it because I cry every time. Well-deserved honor.
January 2, 2022 @ 12:20 pm
I generally love Drew Kennedy’s writing but this song does nothing for me. Decades of over the top hero worship of the military in this country have neutered these songs of any real power or resonance.
January 2, 2022 @ 9:57 pm
Bet you would love a anti military song Isbella
January 3, 2022 @ 11:18 am
The extensive spoken word is initially a surprise, but as for the rest of your comment, I and guessing you are not friends with too many combat veterans, or even DD214 holders.
If you ARE a veteran, and by “over the top hero worship”, I agree. We are not ALL heroes. We are in most cases, people who just stepped up to do a necessary job that MOST people WOULDN’T. I also don’t believe those who were killed or wounded are necessarily ‘heroes’.
Maybe you need to see someone risk their health to preserve yours…to the point of risking death, but hopefully when you DO see it, you will appreciate it.
January 3, 2022 @ 11:27 am
I appreciate you, Joe. I don’t worship any man. But I’m utterly grateful.
January 3, 2022 @ 3:35 pm
No such thing as over the top hero worship of the military. Is such a thing as too much disrespect though.
January 2, 2022 @ 12:40 pm
“Over the top hero worship of the military?” There’s a lot of over-the-top I am more tired of than military themes.
This is a great choice for a host of reasons.
January 2, 2022 @ 1:27 pm
My Song of 2021 (AustralAsia & Overall):
Natalie Henry – “Leavin'”
Natalie Henry is a 40something who started (pro-)songwriting only a couple of years ago. Together with her former partner she released an album in 2016 but left him with 3 kids after the release of the project.
With the help of crowdfunding & Catherine Britt (who signed NH to her label & co-produced the album White Heat) Natalie Henry was able to release an album full of strong songs & “Leavin'” is my highlight. With the DNA of Loretta Lynn, a fine video & Natalies i-don’t-give-a-f***-voice “Leavin'” also wins Best AustralAsian Video 2021 & NH is my Rookie of 2021 (overall).
– Best Song of 2021 (USA, Canada & Beyond):
William Beckmann – “In The Dark”
William Beckmann is the other big winner of 2021. Best Single & Best Song of the Year (“Bourbon Whiskey” as best single) & the sad tale of “In The Dark” as my Song of the Year (for american releases).
Both tracks win Video(s) of the Year (worldwide).
William Beckmann (Del Rio, Texas) reached the Top 10 of the Texas Top 100 (with “Boubon Whiskey”) for the first time in his career in the summer of 2021.
He studied music business (Belmont), opened for Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen, plays spanish/mariachi tracks live & moved to Nashville (& is not happy about how costly studio time is).
– Best Duet or Collaboration of 2021:
Tracy Coster feat. Pete Denahy – “An East Bound Train”
– Best Bluegrass/Heritage Country or Bush Ballad Track of 2021:
Angus Gill – “Always On The Run”
– Best Drive Track of 2021:
JP Campbell – “Triggers Dreams”
January 2, 2022 @ 8:33 pm
What even is this comment?
January 2, 2022 @ 9:28 pm
Thanks for pushing Beckmann. Found him from your previous comments. Really good stuff. I bet Trigger will be covering him in the not to distant future.
I just also have to repeat how impressed I am with both the quantity and more importantly the quality of Trigger’s output. The reviews are all a pleasure to read even when the artist doesn’t strike my fancy. No argument with the year end selections including French Summer Rain.
January 2, 2022 @ 2:17 pm
When I think of how the World War II “greatest generation” were strong proponents/ supporters of segregationist America, I quickly lose all hero worship and reverence.
January 2, 2022 @ 6:02 pm
You just broad brushed an entire generation of people. There were many of the “Greatest Generation” that fought against segregation in America. That’s like blaming the entire Civil War generation of America for slavery, when 2/3rds of the country fought against it.
January 3, 2022 @ 10:18 am
I get your point, but this is still painting the civil war with a very broad brush because there was 20 years of taxes and tariffs that led up to the south leaving the union. Also the vast majority of people in the south didnt own slaves, especially those who fought in the war on the rebel side.
January 3, 2022 @ 4:07 pm
Touché. My comment reads terribly and needs clarification. Of course not everyone in that generation was a segregationist. The thought behind the comment was that when that generation took the reins of American power following World War II, they (at large, not everyone) maintained a very segregated country. It wasn’t until the counterculture movement of the 60s when college-age men and women became political activists and the driving force behind the civil rights movement that America’s segregationist society was truly put under attack.
January 2, 2022 @ 8:32 pm
What an absolutely low effort comment. This is an anonymous comment section man, no need for your hashtag activism you clown.
January 2, 2022 @ 9:03 pm
No, Duke, it was primarily just the Democrats who were proponents of segregation; similar to 2022.
January 3, 2022 @ 8:20 am
Everyone currently OK with making people show their Vax cards to enter businesses would be OK with segregation if they were living in 1945. Get off your high horse dude.
January 3, 2022 @ 8:50 am
And when I think of the pussified ingrates running the current “culture”, I entertain doubts that WWII was a wasted effort.
January 3, 2022 @ 10:10 am
Don’t make general applications in order to play counterpoint or push your opinion. Stereotyping is dangerous and unfair. Both my grandfathers were part of the greatest generation and WW2 veterans, one Southern and one Northern. One of them served with blacks in the Red Ball Express and said they could do anything whites could do and the other committed the last half of his life serving a poor black community in Florida as a homebound missionary. They weren’t segregationists as you assert. Did they have to deal with an unfair system and rise past it? Yes, and it probably wasn’t easy. But they weren’t segregationist and they helped preserve freedoms now enjoyed by more Americans than seventy years ago.
January 2, 2022 @ 2:29 pm
An American SOTY if there ever was one.
This should be a selection that speaks to all nations and all ages (in the sense of timelessness, not “age”). It should be a study of being human and what makes us different while being the same.
This is a (not so subtle) veiled attempt of using serious content to paint a picture of war; while still valuing nationalism and dying for it. It’s eating your cake and having it too. You would forgive it if it took one or no stance at all; instead it takes two. It’s tries to be anti-war while being patriotic/nationalistic.
Oh drama – the horrors of war. And a sad hurray – honour to the fallen.
You can only give this the SOTY award in the sense that it embodies the modern day US – confused of what side of the story to take. We honour our soldiers cause we have to, our parents and grandparents told us to and fought those wars. However, we are also so far into the PC and cancel culture that we cannot fully endorse it anymore. Being pro-war would make us look outdated. Also, being anti-war makes us weak somehow. Let’s take the middle road that offends no one.
This has been done before; it usually is pretty bad – and this one is too. You want to hear a nuanced version that takes a side; listen to Lucero – The War (anti) or any Kid Rock song (pro).
Garbage.
January 2, 2022 @ 2:42 pm
“You would forgive it if it took one or no stance at all; instead it takes two.”
Man, I disagree. I think this song is way more interested in just telling a story to convey a sense of perspective as opposed to taking a stance on anything.
January 2, 2022 @ 2:50 pm
Trigger,
Boy, it seems like you can’t win. The revisionist historians come crawling out under their rocks. It is too easy to look at the past through 2022 lenses instead of trying to understand the time and context of past generations.
Pay these Neanderthals no mind. Again, a great song for a HOST of reasons.
January 2, 2022 @ 6:05 pm
Just like Artist of the Year, and really all of my end-of-year awards, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive … except in these comments sections specifically. The comments sections are here for people to dissent, and I respect that. But it’s giving a false signal that these picks are somehow controversial.
January 2, 2022 @ 2:53 pm
I would completely agree if you look at the verses. Some great imagery there. I also love the second to last verse about becoming something else; a fount of knowledge instead of his family before him – killers in a war they probably had no stakes in, horror and death. Breaking the wheel. Overcoming the cycle.
I would have voted this as SOTY in a second. Masterpiece.
However, instead of focusing on that – taking a a side. Writing a meaningful song. He chose two write the chorus in a way to not give thanks to overcoming; but to give thanks to soldiers and the war for “freedom”. Ambiguity, playing both fences; in short: ruininig the song.
And I come from a long line of soldiers
And their blood’s still flowin’ through me
And they fought in fields in foreign lands
So I could be who I wanted to be
Yuck.
January 2, 2022 @ 7:07 pm
“He chose two write the chorus in a way to not give thanks to overcoming; but to give thanks to soldiers and the war for “freedom”. Ambiguity, playing both fences; in short: ruininig the song. “
This song is called “French Summer Sun.” From the title and the opening verse, it makes it patently obvious it’s about the D-Day invasion of France to liberate mainland Europe from the grip of Nazi Totalitarianism. You now, The Nazis? Actual Nazis? Not what people call anyone they disagree with on Twitter, but the real Nazi’s who took over an entire continent, exterminated SIX MILLION people because of their religion, and were hell bent on world domination as the master race?
WW2 was a war for “freedom.” You (and others) are acting like it was some arbitrary, voluntary imperialist conquest perpetrated under the guise of fighting for freedom.
January 2, 2022 @ 8:42 pm
Trigger, you cannot have a dialogue with people like Fox. His/her identity is their opposition and they hate themselves for it.
January 2, 2022 @ 4:24 pm
No artist owes your sensibilities and preferences any heed.
Ever.
Consume or don’t, but spare us the virtuous screed.
January 2, 2022 @ 3:02 pm
“And I come from a long line of soldiers
And their blood’s still flowin’ through me
And they fought in fields in foreign lands
So I could be who I wanted to be.”
Damn straight.
Trigger,
Never have i been more proud to know of you, than today.
January 2, 2022 @ 3:45 pm
I enjoyed it the first time I heard it, but have no desire to ever hear it again. I think it may be the most trite song to ever be selected as song of the year.
January 2, 2022 @ 5:48 pm
Yeah naw. That aint it. Hate your opinions, and as usual this one isnt different.
January 3, 2022 @ 2:05 pm
The song instantly made me think about my grandfather who fought in Guadalcanal as a US Marine, desperately trying to stay alive as his buddies got shot. He did make it home though, and lived a quiet unassuming civilian life. He didnt talk about the war, wasnt a braggart, wasnt decorated, he was a common man who did a very uncommon thing. But he was brave. And he loved his family. Amazingly, we have a pile of letters written by him to my grandmother from overseas during the war. He wasnt allowed to write any details about the battles or missions, so it was a lot of stuff about playing cards, gambling with his buddies, a crate of peaches someone sent them and how amazing to be eating those peaches in a bunker. The little things he wrote about, as if it was no big deal, but the reality ; he was in the middle of hell on earth, the worst place a soldier could possibly be.
He was no segregationist as Duke suggests, not even racist that i could tell. And nobody worshipped him but he was loved, that i can definitively say. Those commentors above, dont know squat about what they speak of.
Great song from Eady.
January 2, 2022 @ 6:39 pm
After really liking your album of the year choice, I find this lacking.
To be fair, my anti war stance is major. My parents came from Germany to Australia. Australia lost thousands of good men to “keep our country free” and stop Germans coming here.
So any war song that in any way justifies killing people for their nationality cannot resonate with me.
There are songs that can thank these people for their sacrifice but not glorify it in any way.
One of my favourites would be ‘3 brothers’ by luke o’shea (Australian). Or, of course “green fields of france/no mans land”
I get that from a songwriting point it plucks heartstrings if you are predisposed to like it, but I can’t see it changing opinions.
However, I respect your opinion.
January 2, 2022 @ 8:35 pm
I saw Jason sing this over a year ago at The People’s Room of Mobile, probably one of the first performances of the song. It was so powerful it almost took my breath away. I told Jason after the show how much it affected me. My father was in the 101st Airborne at The Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne in WWII and my great grandfather served four years in the Confederate Army fighting many battles and being wounded several times, so the thought has occurred to me many times that I was one bullet or one piece of shrapnel away from never having existed. Like I said, a powerful song from one of the most talented singer songwriters in country music.
January 2, 2022 @ 9:08 pm
I don’t love the song, musically. But I respect and appreciate its content.
I would’ve given this award to, “Find A New Home” by Will Banister.
January 7, 2022 @ 8:28 am
Nice. Good tune. There’s some Merle in his voice and Coe in the songwriting.
January 2, 2022 @ 10:40 pm
Trig, I wish I heard in this song what you hear in it.
Respectfully disagree with it being SOTY, but I’m not running a website, I’m just a guy in the comments thread.
January 2, 2022 @ 11:08 pm
This wasn’t a decision I came to autonomously. I put eight songs up for consideration for Song of the Year, and solicited for feedback from readers. And when considering comments both on the site and on social media, out of the songs nominated, “French Summer Sun” received more support than any other. Granted, on the website itself, “Faustina” by John R. Miller received a ton of support, and that is why I mentioned it as a runner up, even though I didn’t even nominate it to begin with. And again, the reception elsewhere has been all positive. It’s this comments section that doesn’t seem to be on board. In fact, there’s folks commenting on Facebook about how bad the comments on the website are. I think that is the first time I have every seen that in 13+ years. Usually it’s vice versa. This is a similar thing that happened with Artist of the Year.
I appreciate everyone’s feedback, but it seems like the only people piping up about it are the folks that have a problem with it. I think the song is amazing and I’m confident in the decision. I hear people’s concerns, but as I tried to explain in the article itself, I think it’s due to the inherent biases against these types of songs. In a vacuum—which is where I try to judge everything—it’s a masterpiece.
January 2, 2022 @ 11:17 pm
That’s fair. And my apologies for my unnecessary piling on. What I meant was “I sincerely wish I got out of this song what you do” because I would like to have that experience as well. I didn’t go in to it with the intent of disliking it.
I may have an inherent bias against these types of songs, but not so much that I can’t enjoy “Sam Stone” or “Dress Blues” or “Tour of Duty”. A good song is a good song is a good song.
I know none of those songs were released in 2021, so to compare them to the SOTY isn’t exactly a fair exercise. But i find it difficult to listen in a vacuum when I feel there are other military songs that are better written. Although, again, none of the songs I mentioned discuss the legacy aspect from the angle “French Summer Sun” does. That does give it a unique flair. But up until the end I have to say I felt the writing to be rather bland and even a bit heavy handed. Just one man’s opinion, and I know arguing isnt going to change anybodys mind. Hell, I don’t even know why I felt compelled to comment, I could have just moved right along, but I did and so here we are.
As always, appreciate everything you do around here.
January 3, 2022 @ 10:13 am
I agree with you, Grant. Edy is one of my favorites, both as an artist and a person. But, I just did not get the feel that everybody else got with this song. I don’t mind it being SOTY and certainly appreciate how many people like it, but I just don’t see it as the top song, or even one of the top ones.
January 2, 2022 @ 11:24 pm
Hey Trigger
I want to thank you for all of the thoughtful work you put in every year. So many people put out “best of” lists but th3 facts that you actually review these artists and songs all year and then distill it to your best of makes it so much more meaningful. Have a great 2022!
January 2, 2022 @ 11:46 pm
Thanks for reading Ronnie.
January 3, 2022 @ 4:03 pm
I hadnt heard this song before. As far as a song goes musically, I feel it’s kind of weak in the first half anyway. As far as the written words, I feel it’s very strong. So I have zero issues with it. As far as some of the comments go, just shows the state of the world today. Lack of morals or values. Some people that went to a blm rally or some climate change protest and thought they were doing something. Kind of sad really.
January 3, 2022 @ 3:45 am
It is a good choice. It is what country music is about. It is powerful and tells a story. It is about family not war. The anti everything decent brigade has become tiresome, divisive and is undoing years of progress. This has been a great year of music (and I am not paying any attention to anything other than the music!).
January 3, 2022 @ 6:08 am
Superb choice. Jason Eady deserves all the accolades he can get. Another fantastic one by this gifted songwriter.
January 3, 2022 @ 6:57 am
I’m not a lover of military/nationalism/war or anything like that but this song still is a triumph of storytelling. well deserved.
January 3, 2022 @ 8:45 am
Obviously this is potentially a powerful song regardless of one’s biasses. (‘Bias’ itself can be powerful.) I found it very interesting to read the various comments. By selecting this song, you have opened up dialogue that spotlights these various differing points of view. Regardless of one’s stance of the topics involved in this song, it does seem to be “a triumph of storytelling” as stated by another comment.
January 3, 2022 @ 9:48 am
What a great song. And I really don’t understand the controversy. It’s not provocative. I wouldn’t even call it pro/anti war. It just tells a story. It’s sad we live in an era where some people interpret every piece of content as taking sides in some imaginary culture war. I don’t even think people really care about the truth anymore. They just want to invent reasons to be outraged.
January 3, 2022 @ 10:14 am
Great song from a brilliant songwriter. Excellent choice.
January 3, 2022 @ 12:47 pm
There wasn’t anything close to this good this year. Obvious song of the year winner. And your politics shouldn’t matter when it comes to choices like this. It’s the best song regardless of how you perceive the politics of the author.
January 5, 2022 @ 8:26 pm
Drew Kennedy is a great writer and heir apparent to Guy Clark. Eady is at the same table and maybe has a bitterness in him that Kennedy doesn’t. I’ll take both. I hope they have long careers.
Military haters are the weak links of human society and therefore require the protection they resent.
January 7, 2022 @ 8:06 am
I think a lot of people miss the point of this song. This isn’t a song about fighting for freedoms, it is about what could have been, but was not. Yes, the narrator could have done whatever he wanted because of his father or grandfather dying on a foreign shore, but in reality these things never happened because he was never born, therefore in context, freedom was meaningless. It’s very antiwar if you think about it.
January 11, 2022 @ 6:46 am
Good tune. But I think due to your title: Saving Country Music, I believe the song by the Bellamy Brothers and John Anderson: No Country Music For Old Men, says all you need to know about today’s country music.
January 11, 2022 @ 8:22 am
Good song and was featured here (https://savingcountrymusic.com/bellamy-brothers-john-anderson-sing-no-country-music-for-old-men/)