Song Review – Tim McGraw’s “Damn Country Music”
Though some may consider Tim McGraw soaring in such high thermals that it’s sacrilege for him to be singing about scraping the bottom and setting out to fulfill your dreams in country music, but that’s exactly what McGraw did on May 10th, 1989 when he boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Nashville—the day after his country music hero Keith Whitley died.
Tim McGraw was one of the lucky ones. Shortly after arriving in town he met a man named Mike Borchetta who was working for Curb Records. The result was Tim McGraw spending over two decades on the label, making millions of dollars and becoming one of country music’s most recognized stars. But near the end of McGraw’s tenure on Curb, the label refused to release his final records, ostensibly holding Tim hostage so he couldn’t leave the label. It sent McGraw’s once high-flying career reeling, and bogged the singer down in protracted legal battles.
Once finally given the okay to sign to another record label in 2012, Tim McGraw requested the signing happen in an unusual place for such an occasion: the Nashville Greyhound bus station. Meeting him there was the CEO of Big Machine Records, Scott Borchetta—the son of Mike Borchetta who had brokered Tim McGraw’s first deal 23 years before. The papers were signed on May 9th: the same date as Keith Whitley’s death in 1989.
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“Damn Country Music” is a cognizant, reflective, honest, and appreciative ode to an art form that has helped put food on the table for many, and brought untold riches to others, including Tim McGraw, while also delivering bushel loads of broken hearts and shattered dreams over the years, and reshaping the lives of so many in disappointing and adverse ways.
Written by Josh Thompson, Jessi Alexander, and Cary Barlowe, “Damn Country Music” is a strong waltz slathered in steel guitar that delves into the intense feelings the term “country music” can evoke, and the role it plays in the performers who’ve chosen to bet their futures on it as a profession. There’s lines in the song about ripping up your roots, disappointing your mother, leaving your girlfriend, all for the pursuit of country—things it’s not far off to say Tim McGraw and songwriter Josh Thompson know about intimately.
“Damn Country Music” is well-written and brilliantly composed of reeling and emotional-laden musical movements that add to the melancholy, reflection, and depth the song looks to conjure. Productions decisions such as favoring the tom instead of the snare for the second drum hit in the chorus just ads to the aching nature of the words and the waltz beat. Unfortunately it still feels like a songwriting-by-committee effort because of the inclusion of mainstream country buzzwords such as “black top,” “whiskey,” and other oft-referenced country artifacts which hinder what otherwise is a respectable effort.
Beyond the country music forum, the song can also be about leaving your hometown to pursue your dreams, or feeling so passionate about something, you allow it to reshape your life like nothing else.
When we first saw news of McGraw’s new album coming in November, of which “Damn Country Music” is the title track, we wondered if the use of “damn” was for insult, irony, or emphasis. It turns out it’s the way to illustrate how the pursuit of country music can be a blessing and a curse. Country music takes sons and daughters away from their families. It makes superstars out of some, and misanthropes out of many. But it always has an impact on those who choose to pursue it. Though the discipline has become stained recently, “Damn Country Music” is pretty decent representation of what country music is supposed to be.
1 1/2 of 2 Guns Up (7/10).
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“Damn Country Music” can be purchased on Amazon.
Damn Country MusicHere’s the world premiere of my music video for “Damn Country Music.” You can get the song when you pre-order the new album on Apple Music here http://mcgr.aw/damncountrymusic
Posted by Tim McGraw on Tuesday, October 13, 2015
October 13, 2015 @ 8:42 am
“May 10th, 1989” It’s amazing how little I was when that happened, not even two months old when it happened. A review like this one is really making me curious now.
October 13, 2015 @ 9:09 am
Hopefully he will go back to the old Tim McGraw. It will be interesting to see if the rest of the album sounds like this or his previous album.
October 13, 2015 @ 9:28 am
The thing is, even in his early career, Tim McGraw wasn’t some big traditionalist. This may be one of the most traditional songs McGraw has ever released.
October 13, 2015 @ 9:33 am
“Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” preceded that, and I’d also consider that to easily be among his most traditional releases to radio.
It definitely struggled up the airplay chart throughout its run, but it held on for dear life and ultimately made it all the way to #3. That definitely had to have encouraged both McGraw and Big Machine.
I also am rather excited to hear “Humble and Kind”. You can’t go wrong with Lori McKenna writes.
October 13, 2015 @ 3:48 pm
You’d probably be surprised by the reaction Diamond Rings gets at his live shows. People go nuts and everyone is singing along. Makes you wonder who is listening to radio because his audiences are pretty diverse.
October 13, 2015 @ 4:00 pm
I believe you, and it makes it all the more awkward fans apparently go nuts for “Truck Yeah” in concert too! =P
October 13, 2015 @ 5:25 pm
Not awkward – crowd party song. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if the song sucks. Diamond Rings they appreciate for the right reason.
October 13, 2015 @ 9:11 am
As much as I don’t like Tim McGraw and how he has 8 greatest hit albums in the past 15 years, I listened to the song with an unbiased opinion.
I personally think the steel guitar doesn’t fit right, seems to me it was added just to say how country it is( a steel guitar is a positive though). The song started out decently, about halfway through it just got annoying and a headache to listen to.
October 13, 2015 @ 9:18 am
Can’t believe I’m defending Tim McGraw, but the Greatest Hits thing is just Mike Curb being a prick.
October 13, 2015 @ 9:27 am
Curb released Greatest Hits compilations for Tim McGraw every year so they would not have to release his final recordings and could keep him under contract indefinitely. Funny thing is that even after he officially left the label, they still haven’t stopped. They continue to release repackaged Tim McGraw albums because their roster has been gutted from so many artists leaving.
October 13, 2015 @ 9:21 am
Brutal album cover though. It seems like McGraw is a fan for releasing garbage covers
October 13, 2015 @ 9:24 am
Country Music as a genre has a serious shortage of good album covers, compared to the great rock albums of the last few decades.
October 13, 2015 @ 11:28 am
They probably purposefully slash album cover/lyric sleeve art and photography from the budget to maximize their profit margins! =P
I don’t mind standard headshot images at all for cover photos. What irks me is when the photograph doesn’t tie in with the album’s title at all (or, even worse still, when the album’s title is blatantly named after the lead single even if isn’t reflective of the album as a whole at all).
I like it when there’s a marriage of sorts between the album’s title and its artwork and/or photography. It doesn’t have to be anything heavily Photoshopped or else avant-garde. It can be minimally-edited and straight-forward. I thought the cover for Ashley Monroe’s “The Blade” is a great example of how you can achieve this without trying so hard and still leave a cover that is open to interpretation. Or even the cover for “Something More Than Free” with its play on both simplicity as well as nuance (the touches of glare on the side of Isbell’s face, touches of blur in the resolution, etc.)
October 13, 2015 @ 9:29 am
I’ll wait until I see it impact YouTube to listen to it in full.
What I will say for now is that I was pretty sure the title “Damn Country Music” wasn’t intended as being interpreted as McGraw scolding “DAMN YOU, COUNTRY MUSIC!” while holding a flamethrower and proceeding to burn it mercilessly, or as “Damn, Country Music…………Dayum!” Still, I like the lyrical angle of this titular hook, and I’m curious to see how it is relevant over the course of an entire album (“Top of the World” is an instantly forgettable, take-it-or-leave-it release). I am guessing McGraw could be approaching it much like Brad Paisley did with “This Is Country Music”: where the album only loosely ties to a concept due to being a collection of songs about faith, family, love and heartbreak with decidedly Adult Contemporary-leaning country production
“Sundown Heaven Town” was a rather decent album, though, with the only outright dud on the standard edition being “Lookin’ For That Girl”. But that single marked not only that album’s critical nadir, but commercial nadir as well, as he released three solid singles after that which all outperformed that disastrous gimmick. And though you can expect a Tim McGraw album is going to have its share of boring filler that plays it way too safe, I doubt we’re going to see any tracks remotely awful like “Lookin’ For That Girl” and “Truck Yeah” on “Damn Country Music”.
October 13, 2015 @ 3:15 pm
Wow, you must have an awesome career, being both a photographer/art director AND a A+R pro. Nice!
October 13, 2015 @ 9:45 am
I can’t dial my interstate into that channel, but I don’t want to hear it anyway. I will never listen to Tike McGraw again after the abominable “Southern Voice.”
October 13, 2015 @ 10:17 am
I like the song. “Cowboy in Me” is still my favorite from him. I’ve just never been a big of his voice, his song choices, his persona, or really anything about him. But, I like the song and I think it’s a positive step. I’m sure some of the young country stars idolize him, so maybe he can have some influence on them.
October 14, 2015 @ 2:58 pm
This is why I like him. He’s always about family first. http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/10/14/tim-mcgraw-sings-teen-daughter-new-album/73949386/?hootPostID=599dfa716c83f2901e14258e0493a5a0
October 13, 2015 @ 10:20 am
Some of the earliest memories I have of listening to county music are of Tim McGraw, who was and remains to this day, a favorite of my mother. Songs like Don’t Take the Girl, Where the Green Grass Grows, Indian Outlaw and Something Like That are really dear to me. That made it hard to listen to things like Truck Yeah, Highway Don’t Care and Southern Voice. It was almost a physical pain to watch him tumble so far from what I knew. Like watching a sheltered teenager explore their rebellious side or maybe a really bad car accident.
This song makes me happy in the same way Something Like That made me happy when I was a little kid. I love Tim McGraw, his recent bad releases be damned. Here’s to hoping that this album is a turning point in his career, or maybe a u-turn back to what made him great more than a decade ago.
October 13, 2015 @ 11:01 am
WoW. Plenty of Tim McGraw hate to go around. I guess true country music fans don’t get over “Truck Yeah” moments. I think Tim’s last album was decent for any artist who is being played on Country Radio (I have said this numerous times). This song is decent and I like it. I think most people here are missing the point though. This song has the potential to get an actual country sounding song on the radio and will hopefully build courage from other artists. Tim is sort of doing the opposite of his piers (he always has). What I mean by that is he is not trying to sound like anyone else. He is just going with it.
He is pushing the envelope by releasing more country sounding music (which is ridiculous that it has come to this). Other artist his age or stage of career are resorting to peddling Bro/Metro sounding shit.
October 13, 2015 @ 11:22 am
I think he’s a mixed bag for a lot of country fans. Though I’m not a fan, as I said above, I actually just looked through his discography and found several songs that I really liked and had kind of forgotten about, like “Red Rag Top”, for example. It was super gutsy to do a country song that talked about abortion in a way that was honest but not preachy one way or the other.
On the flip side of the coin, songs like “Down on the Farm” and “I like it. I love it” were ahead of their time in terms of being awful. He was, at times, bro country before it existed. And…apologies to the person above who remembers “Indian Outlaw” fondly, but that song should make any list of worst country songs ever. Just shallow, banal, and so incredibly insulting to Native Americans.
So yeah; a total mixed bag of a career, but I applaud his new direction in going more traditional.
October 14, 2015 @ 3:10 pm
Everything you said is what I was thinking. “Ahead of its time in terms of being awful” is classic.
October 13, 2015 @ 11:23 am
You can hear the full song here (lyric video)
https://www.facebook.com/TimMcGraw/videos/10153722990208556/
October 13, 2015 @ 12:15 pm
Thanks for the heads up Liza, looks like it was just posted. That may mean one will be uploaded to YouTube soon.
October 13, 2015 @ 1:13 pm
It says exclusive to Facebook, but it still should be posted…maybe not soon.
October 13, 2015 @ 2:09 pm
posted not a moment too soon 🙂
October 13, 2015 @ 11:27 am
Whoa… I’ll be honest, with songs like “live like you were dying” and “truck yeah” I’ve never WANTED to like Tim McGraw.
But between this and his last one, “diamond rings and old bar stools,” I think I’m going to click over to Spotify and give him more of a listen.
Man, he does love that vi-V-IV chord progression for a bridge though, doesn’t he?
October 13, 2015 @ 1:02 pm
It was nice to see this page give Josh Thompson some credit. He’s gotten more flak here than I would have expected. Show Dog Universal tried to ruin him entirely on Turn it Up but after that flopped he’s getting to release Change, finally.
October 13, 2015 @ 5:54 pm
I was very happy to see that Josh Thompson was mentioned. And the reason why this song is so well written is BECAUSE of Josh Thompson, he is an amazing artist and song writer. He IS real modern country music. Real shame that Toby Keith’s piece of shit label fucked him and caused Turn It Up to tank out, Cold Beer With Your Name On It, Wanted Me Gone, and A Little Memory were all very solid songs that SHOULD have done well at radio. Josh’s new label is not a major label from what I know though, its Ole Digital I think? Obviously not a major label so i never see Josh getting ANY radio airplay again.
October 13, 2015 @ 1:14 pm
I think I’m gonna puke. Just finished reading your old defense of Garth “Anti-Christ” Brooks and now this. I am depressed…
October 13, 2015 @ 1:46 pm
I apologize, I forgot I’m supposed to shit all over artists I’ve predetermined I don’t like, regardless of the actual quality of the music I’m supposed to be reviewing objectively. Since you named artists, not songs, albums, or music, I can tell you’re one of these fans that approaches music like cheering for laundry in sports. If you’re a fan of limiting your music experience based off of bias, then perhaps you’re not ready for Saving Country Music. Not sure what “defense” of Garth Brooks you’re referring to, but trust me, you can find half a dozen other times I’ve ripped him a new asshole. Does that mean I’m inconsistent? No, it just means I’m honest. If you don’t like this song then hey, I totally understand that. We all have a right to our own opinions. But “Tim McGraw sucks” isn’t an informed opinion, it’s a preconceived bias, and that’s not my business.
And besides, everyone knows the country music AntiChrist is Scott Borchetta.
October 13, 2015 @ 6:15 pm
Some folks just can’t think with nuance. They look at labels over substance. They can’t imagine that an artist they don’t like could put out a good song…or that a politician from a political party they don’t like could have a good idea. The list goes on.
I think McGraw has put out some dreck (see above post) but its silly to think he hasn’t had some good ones in his big catalog.
Your reviews, whether I agree with them or not, always come across as sincere and well thought out.
October 13, 2015 @ 2:57 pm
I’m about as far from being a Tim McGraw fan as you can be, but the song honestly wasn’t bad, Hank.
October 13, 2015 @ 2:33 pm
I was listening to this song on Spotify over the weekend and I thought you might review it, I predicted you’d give it 1 and 1/2 guns up and if you did the one outta ten, a 7. Do I win a prize?
October 13, 2015 @ 4:06 pm
Not too bad for Tim.. When I was listening to the song, 16th Avenue by Lacey J. Dalton keep playing in my brain. This song is no where in the same ball park as that song, though. But, I think this song maybe was meant as an updated sentiment to Lacy’s song.
October 13, 2015 @ 8:00 pm
It’s a damn sight closer to Lacy J than Aldean’s “Crazy Town” which was so void of imagination and filled with generalities it was sad. I don’t understand why the mainstream these days can’t write good emotional songs AND be “catchy”. They did it for decades. Now it’s just list after list – and you can forget story songs altogether.
That being said, this isn’t bad – for Tim.
October 14, 2015 @ 7:10 am
LOL Mule. No shit, I heard CT and thought, “That song was a lot better when it was sung by Lacy J. Dalton and titled ’16th Avenue.'”
October 15, 2015 @ 5:52 am
Aw “16th Avenue” was one of my very favorite songs as a kid, and I hadn’t thought about it in years, so thanks for reminding me to put that back in play. 🙂 I’m at work (shhh) and can’t listen to the McGraw song right now, but I’m a sucker for the theme, so I’ll probably like it, lol. See also- “Damn These Dreams” by Dierks.
I too always thought of McGraw as a little light and fluffy for my taste, but I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, or because the rest of the mainstream is getting so bad, but I find myself smiling whenever I hear him on the radio these days. Even the cheesey stuff is at least not offensive to my ears, and some of it’s damn good. And some of the older stuff that I blew off back in the day is really quite good in retrospect.
October 16, 2015 @ 2:00 pm
This song is decent, but doesn’t even come close to “Damn These Dreams” which can pretty much make me tear up at any moment.
But so does “Don’t Take the Girl.”
October 13, 2015 @ 4:27 pm
It’s a solid song, the one criticism I have of the song is how it really feels like almost a “list” song. More and more it feels like mainstream Country writers are just incapable of telling a story in their songs anymore. Writing wise this song provides little substance, it doesnt offend you the way most Luke Bryan songs do or FGL, etc…..but it also doesnt really blow you away with it’s depth or heart.
October 13, 2015 @ 8:03 pm
Ha! I just made a similar comment above! Must be on to something here!
Take the line “damn sure makes you do things you never thought you’d be doin'” – like WHAT? Lazy songwriting. Guy Clark and his ilk would have told us exactly what. 🙂
October 13, 2015 @ 5:30 pm
Damn Country Music
(Jessi Alexander, Cary Barlowe, Josh Thompson)
I packed it all on a whim
Threw an old Hank cassette tape in
Dad”™s 84 rusty Ford, he swore we’d never make it
I quit my job, let my Mama down
Broke an angel’s heart on the way out of town
Pulled my roots from the ground for
The hum of wheels on the black top
The strum of strings on a flat top
It’s a neon fever for a small town dreamer
Tells you everything you have is worth losin’
Damn country music
You might get lost in the lights,
The things that keep you up all night
Whiskey straight at 3 a.m.
Chasin’ songs in your head
It’s the sweetest highs, the lowest lows
Needin’ yes and hearin’ no
Just another sold soul
Believe me I know it’s
The hum of wheels on the black top
The strum of strings on a flat top
It will take you, break you
Damn sure make you do things
You never thought you’d be doin’
Damn Country Music
When the money, the fame
The lights on your name
All fade away, you still be a slave to
The hum of wheels on the black top
The strum of strings on a flat top
It’s a neon fever for a small town dreamer
Tells you everything you have is worth losin’
Damn Country Music
Damn Country Music
October 13, 2015 @ 6:03 pm
Never been much if a McGraw fan, but I am pleasantly surprised by this.
October 13, 2015 @ 7:32 pm
While I am not a fan of Mr. McGraw, and much more prefer the scathing review usually given to his ilk, I can understand why he’s very popular on mainstream country radio. He’s generally formulaic with pop under tones and if that’s all one ever hears, then he’s as good or better than anyone out there. I am glad to hear he’s trying to be more country than pop on this album, and maybe I’ll be surprised in a good way by liking a song or two. After this review, I’ll at least give it a chance. Thanks
October 13, 2015 @ 7:58 pm
Hey trig, with the end of the year approaching is there anything you haven’t reviewed yet or releases you are excited to review before 2016
October 13, 2015 @ 8:35 pm
Yes, I will be hopefully catching up on some albums I missed this year as the release cycles slow down and I scan through my lists of albums that I haven’t touched on yet. But I have to say, overall 2015 has been the biggest disappointment for discovering new music, and for big Album of the Year-caliber releases since I started this website. It doesn’t mean there hasn’t been some great stuff out there because there has been, but I have never spent more time listening to music, and been more disappointed than in this year. Even the best albums seem like a slight step down from previous years, and the volume of great albums is just not there like it was in 2014 or 2013.
October 13, 2015 @ 10:15 pm
I was really hoping this would be the year we would finally get a new Jamey Johnson album with him being on his own label now and with the few singles he has released but I haven’t heard of anything coming down the line anytime soon
October 13, 2015 @ 9:52 pm
I like it. It’s been a long while since I’ve heard a good McGraw song. I’d listen to this again. I hope the rest of the album is like this. Tim really makes some great songs, but unfortunately he makes some really crap ones too. I miss 90’s Tim, most of the 00’s and on have been bad. But hopefully he’s getting back to some decent music.
October 14, 2015 @ 7:36 am
Meanwhile Back at Mamas was one of his best ever in my opinion.
October 14, 2015 @ 2:49 pm
And if you haven’t heard Diamond Rings and Old Barstools, you should.
October 13, 2015 @ 11:18 pm
I’ve just heard this via the Facebook link provided earlier, and here’s my thoughts.
This didn’t impact me quite as hard as “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” did, but I definitely agree with the overall consensus here in that it is among McGraw’s finer efforts as of late. It definitely still adheres closely to the chicken-fried brand of Adult Contemporary he has honed all too well since the 90s, but that’s really not a bad thing if the sum of its parts work well. And they do.
The timing of this release is actually quite fitting, because you just reviewed “The Driver” this week and explained well why the songwriting just doesn’t work there in that it sounds too canned and reliant on bro-country and/or laundry list stock imagery. In contrast, I think “Damn Country Music” has much more of the right idea on how to broach the emotional realism surrounding those who chase that neon rainbow like Alan Jackson sang about. I appreciate that the lyrics don’t try and skirt around the heartaches and sacrifices that make up such leaps of faith (saying it’s akin to pulling your roots from the ground is a startling line alone).
Lyrically, I appreciate the nuance. Musically, it’s nothing particularly special or noteworthy but it easily hits that soft spot among McGraw fans. Vocally, McGraw has never been real remarkable, but like Trigger says he has a knack at selecting songs that suit his personality well, and he offers another competent, likeable performance.
So yeah, I’m feeling a Light to a Decent 7 here.
October 14, 2015 @ 8:37 am
Another good country music song telling me all about what country music is.
Thanks, I got it.
In this case though TMcG deserves some extra credit. It is hard for an older performer to put out something that doesn’t seem pathetic. This isn’t pathetic.
October 14, 2015 @ 12:18 pm
That album cover really makes me want Chik-Fil-A.
October 15, 2015 @ 4:05 pm
I’ll buy the cd when it comes out.
October 15, 2015 @ 9:50 pm
Here Tonight was just released on iTunes.