Song Review – Trace Adkins’ “Jesus and Jones”
Boy this thing sure had me intrigued when I first saw the image of Trace Adkins looking all contrite, weathered, and wise in the promotional picture with his hat in his hand, like he was ready to ask for forgiveness for all the Honky Tonk Badonka Donkin’ of his earlier career, and the gratuitous puppet sex of his “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” effort. Perhaps he was ready to be washed in the blood of good ol’ true country music, and a song called “Jesus and Jones” could very well be that baptism he needed.
The word swirling around this new single was about how Trace had tapped into his own life and tragedies for inspiration. Remember, the last time we heard from the singer he was entering rehab after getting chippy on a cruise ship with his own impersonator, and finishing up his divorce. Perhaps Trace had realized some things in the time away, and having been jettisoned off of Toby Keith’s sinking Show Dog label and finding safe haven on the newly launched Broken Bow imprint Wheelhouse Records may have given Trace the fresh start he needed here in the new year. It’s easy to second guess all manner of career moves Trace has made, but even in his worst moments, it’s hard not to recognize the howitzer of a country bass voice he possess.
So as marketing and promotion will do, it sucked me in to the point where I was looking for an opportunity to bury a hatchet with the singer, praise him for his transformation, and let bygones be bygones in a new era where folks like Chris Stapleton are winning CMA’s, and traditional country is all of a sudden in resurgence mode.
And then I pressed play on “Jesus and Jones,” and was crestfallen within two seconds.
It’s not that the premise of “Jesus and Jones” is terrible as much as it’s been done ad nauseam. And even the variation of making it about trying to find equilibrium between partying Saturday night, and praising Sunday morning doesn’t offer enough originality to raise this effort to the redeemable level. “Jesus and Jones” isn’t an awful song to start with, but Trace figures out how to make it one with these ridiculous electronic wanks that try to prop up the incredibly weak versus, leading into a predictably rising chorus.
“Jesus and Jones” is a contrived, committee effort, and immediately reminded me of the structure of Carrie Underwood’s “Smoke Break” with just a few pieces shifted around. Not surprisingly, it’s written by Tyler Farr, with help from Jim McCormick and Casey Beathard. There’s no imagination, no soul here. It’s a formulaic way to drop corporate country buzzwords to appeal to low brow consumers. This thing couldn’t stand on it’s hind legs and make a fist to save it’s life.
Meanwhile the Auto-tune is slathered on the vocal signal gratuitously, like when you allow a six-year-old to spread the icing on their own birthday cake. And though lyrical videos aren’t normally something even worth criticizing, the raining dollars was especially douche-erific, and the fact that every time Adkins name dropped “Jones” it shows the image of someone behind bars was pretty unnerving. You know, George did a little bit more in his 81 years on this Earth than time, Mr. Adkins.
So it’s a new year, and time for new beginnings, fresh starts, and forgiving old adversaries. But unfortunately, it’s still the same old Trace.
January 6, 2016 @ 9:29 am
Anything that Tyler Fart puts his name on is bound to be garbage. It’s really quite unsurprising.
January 6, 2016 @ 9:39 am
I love how Trace is ahead of this thing telling folks this song is deeply personal and autobiographical of his life . . . yet it was written by three other dudes.
January 6, 2016 @ 3:14 pm
Two dudes and Tyler Farr.
January 6, 2016 @ 9:34 am
Sad. I’ve always felt that Trace Adkins was more country than many folks in the mainstream, and he has some good songs, both from the 1990s and even post-Badonkadonk. Trite as it might be, “Songs About Me” is one I like to include in that category. “Just Fishin'” from 2011 was a genuinely great song. I even got a trashy kick out of “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” and some of his novelty songs on the accompanying record Cowboy’s Back in Town. But here he’s struggling to fit back into a format that has passed him by. It’s alternatively sad and irritating. He’s one of those artists that knows and can do better, yet he’s also one that’s never quite hit the A-list and will likely be seen as nothing more than a footnote, if that.
January 6, 2016 @ 2:26 pm
Between the Rainbows and the Rain, Just Fishin, The Stubborn One, I Came Here to Live, All I Ask For Anymore, Til the Last Shot’s Fired, and my personal favorite, I Can’t Outrun You. All great songs by him. Shame he also has Honkytonk Badonkadonk, Brown Chicken Brown Cow, and Swing on his record.
January 6, 2016 @ 3:17 pm
“Swing” was stupid, sure, but it has a killer guitar riff.
January 7, 2016 @ 5:39 pm
“For the rest of mine” was the last country song this hand job did and that was back in like 96 or 97. Shame too. A guy with his stature and that voice could have been a real nice addition to traditional country music. He instead chose to use his powers for evil and become a king sized douche nozzle.
January 6, 2016 @ 9:42 am
That was terrible. How did you keep from giving it 2 guns down?
You’re right that George Jones did far more than just get into trouble. With the help of his wife, who he always gave the credit to, Mr. Jones was able to get himself together and lived his twilight years sober and happy. I guess that’s not cool enough to sing about. This song reminds me of a person lighting up a cigarette and complaining how much they hate smoking and they know it’s going to kill them, yet they still puff away constantly while they talk about how they can’t quit. It amounts to an “excuse song.” I would have thought that with Trace’s recent struggles that hopefully have given him a better perspective on life, he would have chosen a song with some substance to put his name on.
January 6, 2016 @ 9:51 am
With the help of his wife, who he always gave the credit to, Mr. Jones was able to get himself together and lived his twilight years sober and happy.
Excellent point. Makes me think of Merle’s Branded Man.
This song reduces George Jones to a prop.
January 6, 2016 @ 10:08 am
Not giving it two full guns down may not be as much of a commentary on this song as it is the peers it must be judged among. At least there’s some humans playing instruments on it, and it is sort of an eternal theme of country music. Though it may have never been done so poorly.
January 6, 2016 @ 11:26 am
This is better than Fix, I Love This Life, and Backroad Song in my book any day of the week lol
January 6, 2016 @ 10:06 pm
I agree. I thought 3/10 was being generous. It’s just so boring and cliched.
January 6, 2016 @ 9:44 am
This is pure garbage. I can’t find one single redeeming quality to this mess of a “song”.
January 6, 2016 @ 10:18 am
I really want to like Trace Adkins. Why does he have to make it so hard?
January 7, 2016 @ 1:03 am
With a voice like his, and the seeming ability to stand up for himself, it is a VERY sad effort.
January 6, 2016 @ 10:25 am
My main issue with this single is how written-by-committee the entire result feels.
Take this chorus for example:
*
“I need to find a little middle ground,
between let her rip and settling down,
but I go from dry to drowned, lost to found,
stone cold sober to just plain stoned.
Trying to live like my heroes did,
is the hardest kind of livin”™ there is,
been a tug o”™ war since I was a kid,
between Jesus and Jones.”
*
Firstly, we’re on the crest of a trend where even many decidedly bro-country entertainers realize any shot at self-preservation, commercially, means at least straining for more emotionally grounded material and themes. To balance out the Saturday night zeitgeist with some Sunday morning reflection.
This plays squarely to that trend.
Also, Brantley Gilbert has a current single titled “Stone Cold Sober”. And, yeah, nothing like capitalizing on pot as a choice intensifier, eh?
Then, we have this lyric:
*
“I wish I could find a gear between,
‘White Lightning’ and John 3:16,
but girl I can”™t promise anything right now.”
*
What in Jove is this?
Since when did John 3:16 become a thing in mainstream country lyricism? Oh, rrrrrrrrrrright………………that ridiculous Keith Urban hit from six months ago. I certainly don’t recall that phrase cited even once prior to that. Way to name-drop a surefire recent hit to elicit an obligatory “Hell yeah!” fist-pumpin’ reaction.
And aside from the obligatory likening of his love interest to “girl” (You’re 53 frickin’ years old, Trace!)……………….the best he’s got is “I can’t promise anything right now!”?
Some may look at that lyric as a display of refreshing candor. I just look at it as a utter lack of backbone and testament. Yeah, that’ll go over convincingly when it comes to courting someone.
*
And yes……………on its own “Jesus and Jones” is a rather abysmal effort, but that lyric video makes it even more painful an experience with the shameless capitulation to prison imagery in association with George Jones’ legacy. It’s no less disrespectful than Brantley Gilbert and Colt Ford using him as a choice simile for inebriated joyriding in “Dirt Road Anthem”.
This is probably not going to wind up on my Worst Singles of 2016 list if 2015 was any indication, but this is still a rather discouraging result. I’m thinking a Strong 2 to a Light 3 here.
January 6, 2016 @ 10:25 am
It really is a shame that Adkins insists on doing garbage songs most of the time. As Trigger mentioned in his review, he has an awesome, country bass voice that would sound nothing short of excellent if it weren’t held back by below average songs. I certainly find this song less offensive than “Brown Chicken Brown Cow”, but it’s not good.
And I, like a few others here (including Trigger), was more than annoyed that Jones is painted as the opposite to Jesus in this song. While certainly not being a saint for many of his years, Jones cleaned up his drinking with the help of Nancy. And I’m willing to bet you’ll never hear people speak more highly of anyone than those that knew Jones spoke of him.
January 6, 2016 @ 11:56 am
“I Lived To Tell It All” remains one of my favorite autobiographies in how refreshingly nuanced and honest Jones reflects on his trials and tribulations, all while keeping excuse-making to a bare minimum.
And the vast majority of it is chilling (especially detailing how his family got trapped in a cocaine dealer predicament and describing the multiple times they tried to leave town but were apprehended and Jones force-fed the powder). You definitely are left rooting for his eventual triumph yet he also doesn’t feign sympathy or ever get mawkish.
Stunts like this and “Dirt Road Anthem” simply don’t honor his legacy at all.
January 6, 2016 @ 3:16 pm
I read it, and did my best to try and imagine the man himself narrating. Finished it in a couple of days, which, for a work of nonfiction, is unusually fast for me. Loved his stories about Buck Owens.
January 6, 2016 @ 6:56 pm
Like the time he sang all Buck Owens songs when opening for Buck Owens? Funny stuff.
January 9, 2016 @ 6:20 pm
Exactly! My old Scoutmaster used to go hunting with Ralph Stanley and Jimmy Dickens, and he said nothing but bad things about Buck Owens and Conway Twitty, so to here about these artists from the perspective of someone who knew them really put it in perspective.
How about the time he demanded to be introduced as Johnny Horton and Hank Williams before walking out and just kept going out the door?
January 6, 2016 @ 10:47 am
I actually like the song. I could do without the fake instruments, but I can give it a pass when it atleast stays within what he does.
January 6, 2016 @ 11:00 am
Trace along with Isbell, payed homage to Skynyrd, at the Fox this past fall, give him a brake.
January 6, 2016 @ 11:07 am
Yeah, we must slow him down.
January 6, 2016 @ 6:27 pm
He also showed up for the Gregg Allman tribute and did a passable rendition of “I’m No Angel” and a better job with “Trouble No More” but that doesn’t excuse this formulaic tripe. If anything, it makes it worse because he can clearly do better.
January 6, 2016 @ 11:47 am
He had some great songs early in his career. “Every light in the house” and “the rest of mine” to name a few. He’s capable of much better in my opinion.
January 6, 2016 @ 11:48 am
Lyrics are similar to Kid Rock’s “Jesus and Bocephus”. I kinda like the message in both songs. A little introspection and not just a tailgate party with girls in bikinis. At least this stuff is better than the bitches and hoes and gangbangers on the hip hop stations.
January 6, 2016 @ 2:30 pm
Yeah, like they’re pretty much exactly the same, and there’s dozens, maybe a hundred similar songs. I agree it’s better than the worst of Bro-Country, but it still could be much better.
January 6, 2016 @ 12:29 pm
This song is weak as water. I can’t say I hate it but I find it totally forgettable.
January 6, 2016 @ 12:43 pm
I’d love to know just how much final say Trace has on the creative end of things these days. Something tells me he’s not too excited about what he’s putting out, either.
January 6, 2016 @ 12:44 pm
This is a question that is off topic but I don’t know where else to turn to… The first time I heard this song is about one year ago These girls usually finish their concert with it. And I absolutely love this solo. It’s quite simple but it just makes me happy every time I hear it
But I’m also almost certain that i have heard this solo before but i can’t figure
out where or when. And now I wonder if anyone else also recognize it too?
This is a link to a video of the song and it starts about two sec. before the solo starts:
https://youtu.be/rMgGPojsB_0?t=4m40s
I should mention that they are not a country band. It’s a swedish folk/pop band ,
‘First Aid Kit’, and the guy on the steel guitar, Melvin Duffy , is from UK and this song is probably the closest to a country song they ever been.
Sorry for the english but as you probably already guessed, I’m swedish…
January 6, 2016 @ 2:25 pm
Big proponent of First Aid Kit here. They’re more country than most of the “country” bands here in the States. Unfortunately, don’t have much insight on the solo, though it does sound familiar. I’ll submit it to my memory and see if it spits out anything.
January 6, 2016 @ 3:21 pm
Oh Thanks you very much! It’s been on my mind for a long time now…
January 6, 2016 @ 1:20 pm
Never liked Trace’s music, and never understood why anyone else did. This is just more proof I was right.
January 6, 2016 @ 1:22 pm
Love me some First Aid
kit. One of my favorite bands.
January 6, 2016 @ 2:10 pm
Trace would have been a lot better off if he’d recorded Lance Miller’s “George Jones and Jesus” instead. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U53aiumGoz8
January 6, 2016 @ 2:15 pm
Sad… I used to really dig his early stuff.
January 6, 2016 @ 2:22 pm
Good lord, no one pointing out how badly this song rips off Jamey Johnson’s “in color”?
January 6, 2016 @ 2:58 pm
I don’t buy Trace Adkins’s “Heartfelt and personal” bullshit for a second. This guy sold out worse than Fernando Duque in Narcos!!!
January 6, 2016 @ 6:33 pm
Songs like this make me wonder: what happened to storytelling in country music? This is what passes for “serious songwriting” in the genre today? It is just a bunch of clichés strung together. I’ve heard the “Saturday night, Sunday morning” concept in so many songs now that it just feels almost brain-deadening.
Of course, the music is not even remotely country, but that goes without saying.
It’s truly sad how we can’t get any great singles from major country artists anymore. Just as recently as 2011, the country charts were saturated with songs that featured actual stories and emotion-inducing melodies. In just two years, all of that was gone from the radio.
I don’t know if country music can ever recover from the damage that bro-country wrought.
January 6, 2016 @ 7:03 pm
My guess is that thanks to the rise and proliferation of fancy handheld yoo-haws and social media, which both came to prominence around the time that Country Music started its nosedive, have contributed to a shortening attention span of the average listener, the end result being that songs need to be more repetitive in order to be popular, and the concept of a song telling a coherent story fell by the wayside. I think the slide started in and around late 09 to 10 myself.
The mainstream artists who are immune to this are people like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, whose innumerable legions of fans will buy into their work no matter how good or bad it is.
MOST of the artists who really keep storytelling alive are non-mainstream, AND a good portion of their fans have rejected the fancy gadgets and the social media. MOST of these fans buy music in a physical format.
Country Radio is doomed because it alienated all the true fans, and when the bros jump ship the old farts will be a difficult crowd to win back after repeated betrayals. Country Music the genre is fine and dandy thanks to dozens of artists around the globe constantly churning out great piece after great piece, they just won’t get played on the radio, and at this point most true Country fans wouldn’t spit in the direction of the nearest radio station, especially since most of them, as I’ve stated above, buy albums in physical format and/or use a streaming service, which oftentimes results in people buying more albums.
The days of any one genre holding sway over the population are over, we’ll never see another Elvis or Sinatra because the days of large swaths of the population relying on the same medium are finished. The superstars of yesteryear are obsolete because the public is so divided among the many different music options that the kind of exposure needed to become the next Beatles will never happen again. Luke Bryan may be a superstar in a certain field, but among the greater population he’s perceived considerably worse, and so too is Taylor Swift, arguably the biggest artist in mainstream music. She’s nowhere near the caliber of past superstars like Garth Brooks, because there are so many options now that whole chunks of the population can sidestep the mainstream completely, and subsequently she’s the biggest fish in a smaller pond.
January 6, 2016 @ 8:37 pm
The real question is why the fall of country music was so sudden. The Internet has existed for over 20 years now, and people have been complaining about some variation of “shortened attention span” ever since radio became popular almost a century ago. What happened around 2011 that caused country music to go down the bro drain?
Was it about a grassroots backlash led by the “hick-hop” movement against the perceived “sappiness” of the mainstream country of that time? Was it about a demographic strategy by country radio to abandon its traditional middle-aged audience in favor of a younger audience, perhaps inspired in part by Taylor Swift’s success in introducing young women to the genre?
It would be great if somebody did a thorough study on this.
January 7, 2016 @ 7:17 am
I’ve been blaming Taylor Swift for years, because she, Shania and Carrie were, in large part, responsible for first the soccer mom and Jesus phase, and then Swift came along, in essence a more talented and less repulsive version of Miley Cyrus, and revealed to the “Country Community” that pop-stars could be successful in this genre, and then boom we got the Band Perry and Lady A.
Another reason for the slide, I think could be the degree to which the technology arrived. The internet has been around for decades, but it’s only recently become a common fixture in every device. Before 2009, at least, many people still used dial up and didn’t use streaming services and the like. The last few years have been awful in terms of technology taking over our every day life.
The fall wasn’t sudden, we just didn’t see it happening. It’s the old frog in the boiling water analogy. We just didn’t see it because it was happening too slowly. We didn’t realize that we had a Blake Shelton problem, we didn’t know how bad Luke Bryan and Aldean sucked. They are Country Music terminators, designed to fool us, infiltrate our ranks and destroy us from the inside.
January 7, 2016 @ 10:15 pm
The irony is that neither Blake Shelton nor Luke Bryan were bad at all when they started (Blake actually had many downright great traditional songs in the early 00s). It was only around 2010 when the quality of their music started to go sharply downhill. Even Jason Aldean, early in his career about 10 years ago, had some solid hits like “Amarillo Sky” that depicted the travails of rural life. Jason helped pioneer bro-country with “Dirt Road Anthem”, but both Blake and Luke were trend-hoppers more than anything.
January 9, 2016 @ 6:22 pm
Like I said, we didn’t know how bad they were because they had us fooled. Country Music Terminators!!!!
They clearly had no allegiance to our genre and were only here to make money, and that devalues the work they put out, which unless you’re really desperate isn’t even very good anyway compared to the myriad of quality Country albums from the past few decades.
Come on, “Austin” isn’t good enough to make up for treason.
January 6, 2016 @ 7:20 pm
I haven’t heard this song yet but is it worse than “Brown chicken, Brown cow”?
January 6, 2016 @ 8:17 pm
No. But not much is.
January 6, 2016 @ 9:03 pm
Take a listen to WAYFARING STRANGER from Trace’s BIG TIME album (1997!) That is Trace at his best! THE REST OF MINE is another good one from that album. I knew when I first heard HOT MAMA from his 2003 COMIN’ ON STRONG album that things had changed…and he never looked back, unfortunately!
He comes back when he contributed to Waylon’s Compilation album singing YOU ASKED ME TO in 2011 which is a great (but slow) cover of one of Waylon’s best.
Such a disappointment!
January 6, 2016 @ 10:40 pm
This song is not that bad and I would rate it 7/10.
January 7, 2016 @ 12:45 am
I’ll agree that the auto-tune is distracting at first,but I love this song. Best song he’s done since Just Fishin’. Nice one Trace; good t have you and Dunn making music!
January 7, 2016 @ 3:10 am
Once when I was listening to WSM, I heard a clip of Trace Adkins on the Grand Ole Opry telling a heartfelt story about meeting Charlie Louvin. As I recall, he even got kinda choked up talking about it. He then proceeded to sing a darn good version of Charlie’s “See the Big Man Cry.” Honestly, that performance is the first thing I’ve ever really liked from Trace Adkins. If SCM’s “Worst Country Songs of All Time” list were reformulated tomorrow, some of Trace Adkins’ songs from the 2000’s would be among the few that would easily merit inclusion alongside the worst excesses of bro-country. He was really on a tear there for several years with “Badonka Donk,” “Swing,” “I Got My Game On,” and so on. (I had to consult his discography on Wikipedia, since I’ve blotted most of those titles out of my brain.)
The guy has a cool voice, and is probably a nice dude, but he’s a poor artist, in my opinion. If he had some kind of benevolent producer picking out quality material for him to perform which suited his vocal talent, and just said, “Here, sing this,” that would probably work.
Edit: I forgot to add, this song sucks.
January 7, 2016 @ 7:27 am
The artistic purpose of metaphor and analogy is to jolt the listener/viewer out of their ordinary way of thinking/seeing and force them to hear/look at something in a new (for them) way. Joseph Campbell use to liken the process to the act of entering a cathedral. Once through the doors, the mundane trappings of the day to day falls away and is replaced by a magical environment where anything is possible. That example might seem like a grand description for a witty turn of phrase in a country song but basically that’s what’s happening, you hear that phrase and then you’re thinking about your life and the lives of others in a sparkling new way. It’s a kind of magic. But once the novelty wears off, the magic stops working. If you lived in the Cathedral, it would eventually cease to be a spiritual place. There was a time when a Jesus and Jones song might have worked. But at this point, it’s just cheapens both. Adkins, and radio country in general, aren’t just living in the church, they’re not even respecting it as a warm, dry place to live. They’re treating it like a frat house, or worse, a stock exchange. They aren’t just country atheists, they’re country nihilists. The sad thing is that I think that Adkins is made of better stuff. It’s just an industry that hammers out the original until they can stamp you out like whatever widget is selling at the moment.
January 7, 2016 @ 8:55 am
Somebody please turn on Mr Tubbs Saturday sinner Sunday Saint. I know I did after I heard this shit. Think Ill spin the Possum next since were speakin of Mr Jones
January 7, 2016 @ 9:25 am
Sucks as usual! The song sucks from the start. I hate the music and lyrics. My kids could have written this recycled garage. I don’t get these guys who are not going to get radio play anyway making this shit music. Why not make music for your fans? Look at Willie, that is what he has done. People buy it and show up for his concerts. I guess Trace has to cut this crap hoping to recapture his glory days…..
January 7, 2016 @ 9:50 am
Are we sure he is capable of writing anything that people want to hear? The guy doesn’t strike me as a deep, introspective person. He has a great voice, but he is probably best suited to the ribfest circuit…
January 7, 2016 @ 12:38 pm
I like Trace, and really want to like him more. His music from the past is very good, but I’m trying to figure out what this is. It sounds generic and like it’s the same song I’ve heard a million times before on country radio. I’m really disappointed. Trace always seemed like a country dude to me and his music reflected that, but this song is just……mostly garbage like Trigger said. Lyrics are awful….song layout is terrible too….just not a good song period.
January 8, 2016 @ 5:54 am
I bet there are hundreds of other songs that sound exactly like this. Trace has a great voice, too bad he can’t put it to good use.
January 8, 2016 @ 7:05 pm
He’s lost that lovin’ feelin’ and it’s gone, gone, gone.
January 16, 2016 @ 11:08 am
Atkins is a marketing master manipulator and narcissist – he knows how to tug at ‘just the right heartstrings’ to sell a product [his voice]. Too bad he could never hide his arrogant condescension to anyone he comes into contact with. I hate that Tyler, Jim and Casey’s creativity has to be tied to Atkins; a hold out for Toby Keith or Garth Brooks would have been the more prudent thing to do with the song IMHO.
June 1, 2016 @ 4:34 pm
And you imply that you know Trace, personally, very well…unless you do, you should apologize for your insults. And Trace is a MUCH BETTER singer than garth brooks….which is MY opinion, but, please notice I’m not talking like I know garth or toby. I have met Trace, many times, and he is a very sweet, personable man. Judge not lest ye be judged.
April 1, 2016 @ 4:30 pm
Farr stole the idea for this song and he knows it.
May 9, 2016 @ 9:00 am
First of all I love Trace Adkins music and I never comment on these kinda things. It always seems that the public likes things more than the criitics do whether it’s movies or music. I believe anyone who has had a addiction to anything whether its alcohol, drugs, sex, porn or just a self distructive life style would relate to this song. I truely believe that anyone who grew up in church and that was taught from a young age that you should live a righteous life and follow in the teaching of the bible. But life brings temptations everyday and we fall away from those teachings and Gods grace. We struggle everyday with the things we have done and try to make amends with God and the ones we love, but we are human and humans make mistakes….alot!!!. Yes , John 3.16 says “do onto others as you would have them to do upon you”. Our loved ones forgive us numerous times just to be let down again and again. So yes we do try to find common ground between Jesus and the things of this world. I do believe that Mr. Adkins is trying to find that common ground between Jesus, his career, his demons and his personal life. The bible also says “ye who is without fault throw the first stone”.
June 1, 2016 @ 11:08 am
I am an avid Trace Adkins fan and VERY PROUD to be, thank you, very much. I do NOT listen to the so called country radio stations any longer, haven’t in years…for the obvious reasons that they don’t play country music very often any longer. I had no idea there were other songs of this nature out there, but REGARDLESS, I LOVE this song. It’s about his inner struggles, they are very real to him, lest all of you trash talkers doubt, just because you think you’ve walked in his boots, you haven’t. or if you doubt him, that’s fine, but you don’t know unless you HAVE walked in his boots. The very words you cut are what appealed to Trace. The struggles of alcoholism…Trace knows them first hand.
It’s very easy to be a critic and to say such awful and negative things about someone, because it’s not you. I sure don’t see most of you giving your real names here, and OBVIOUSLY none of you are well-known music artists. So, haters gonna hate, you sound very jealous of someone who has worked his butt off to achieve the level of success that Trace Adkins has achieved.
Most of us out here in the real world listen to what we enjoy and don’t listen to what we don’t enjoy. If you don’t like it, then just don’t listen.