Tanya Tucker Testifies and SINGS in front of Texas Senate Hearing
The State of Texas is planning to run transmission lines through the property owned by country music legend and Texas native Tanya Tucker, and she’s having none of it. She first spoke out about the proposed 765 KV transmission lines that would run across numerous pieces of property and potentially hurt wildlife and other natural resources on July 21st on social media. Then on Wednesday (7-29), Tanya Tucker testified in front of the Texas Senate Committee on Business and Commerce about the matter, and even sang them a song.
Tanya Tucker was born in Seminole, Texas in the southern part of the Panhandle. Now she owns a ranch in Burnett County close to Briggs, which is about an hour north of Austin. “That little ranch is our little piece of Texas heaven, with out horses and our animals, and the prettiest sunsets I’ve ever seen … I even shot my last album cover there. I was so proud,” Tanya told the committee after traveling from Nashville where she’s currently shooting a movie.
Tanya started off very jovial and cordial. But when it got down to the nitty gritty, she pulled no punches.“I’m sad,” Tucker said.“But I’m mad. And I’m very disappointed in how this has been handled. This isn’t the way we do things in Texas, you don’t rush in and turn someone’s life upside down.”
Tucker went on to say, “I want to be the voice for all the people who can’t be here today whose lives will be severely affected by these transmission lines. Some weren’t even notified, some can’t afford to hire attorneys to represent them, and I want to speak for those people too … Before you disrupt so many lives, I just ask that you take a longer look at the other options. Because I love Texas so much and I want Texas to have a stronger power grid.”
But perhaps one of the most compelling and persuasive parts of Tanya’s testimony is how she seemed to put a positive spin on the entire situation, disarming the tense nature of the proceedings by making the issue about a shared love for Texas. She started off by saying, “I’m not here to sing. I’m here to talk to you heart to heart, Texan to Texan.” But concluded by saying, “I’ve got to take one thing back, y’all. Just one thing. I am going to sing.”
Tucker then launched into an a capella version of her 1978 hit “Texas (When I Die).”
Tanya Tucker has spent her entire life having to navigate a world of powerful men who didn’t always have her best interests in mind, and tried to exploit what was hers. She was just 13 years old when she had her first hit with “Delta Dawn.” But as she displayed, a disarming smile, giggle, and charm sometimes goes a longer way than a sneer. We’ll have to see if it works this time for Tanya and the other Texas landowners that look to be affected by the proposed transmission lines.
But it’s sure hard to hate on Tanya Tucker, or to tell her “no.”
July 31, 2026 @ 7:50 am
A natural treasure! Well said!
July 31, 2026 @ 7:53 am
*National I could pay attention before I send. …What I get for pretending to be busy at work. hahaha
July 31, 2026 @ 12:00 pm
I thought “natural treasure” referred to the natural resources in Texas and the land Tucker is talking about and such things.
In that way, perhaps your initial comment could be seen as referring to a “national treasure” (Tanya Tucker) talking about a “natural treasure” (the natural resources in Texas).
July 31, 2026 @ 8:39 am
Gotta love Tanya. (And I sure as hell wouldn’t want to cross her.)
July 31, 2026 @ 10:32 am
Maybe if you paid them some mighty good amounts of cash, preferably tucked away in some tax haven…
It’s not like they listen to what you or anyone else way below their status says.
July 31, 2026 @ 11:41 am
“Tanya Tucker Testifies (…)”
I like alliteration. Here’s another option perhaps:
Tanya Tucker Testifies To Try and Terminate The Throw up of Transmission lines Through Texas
July 31, 2026 @ 12:17 pm
NIMBY
July 31, 2026 @ 2:39 pm
RIDE ‘EM,TANYA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 31, 2026 @ 2:58 pm
Unfortunately, the Texas that Tanya sang in 1978 about is dying, if not already dead.
“Lizzie and the Rainman” is her best song.
July 31, 2026 @ 5:45 pm
Love Tanya Tucker unequivocally. Now that’s said:
Im no activist, more a realist.Yet I dearly love the great outdoors as God made it. Here’s the conundrum.
Texas needs power and how. Why you ask? Loads of companies are moving there due to the absence of taxes and the amount of space to build…and a few other reasons. Also as Triggerman experienced last winter, a notoriously unstable power grid especially against ice and other factors. Further, Data centers and AI are sucking power at a ferocious and unsustainable rate. Personally I want nothing more than both to go away forever. Somehow I doubt that happens soon. So whats the state to do? Solar and wind simply can’t generate anywhere near what is needed. Much as im a fan of solar its just not cost feasible. You cant get the bang out your buck and with land costs what they are its not doable. Nuclear is the big one, but coal and fossil fuels work too. ( i know that’s not a popular take, totally get it)
How about transmission? How do you deliver the power efficiently and effectively? You can run underground power lines but you have other issues with that and nothing brings more power than big, bad high transmission lines. Thats a fact. And yes Texas has those wide open spaces that are conducive to that method of delivery.
All that said I too wouldn’t want high powered transmission lines going through my land so I fully get where Tanyas coming from. Whole thing sucks. But this is where we are as a society. I could rant about how Nicholas Tesla had a plan to deliver free electricity to the masses via another method entirely. Read about his testing at Wardclyffe sometime and then read about how he was cut off of all funding when his biggest benefactors realized it would cut off trillions of dollars in potential profits. All true. Read about it sometime.
Pointless rant over.
July 31, 2026 @ 6:43 pm
Not a pointless rant.
Was beyond pissed when I witnessed all the Chinese gentlemen flooding into Guymon, Oklahoma to buy up surface land rights, to install hundreds of wind turbines from the Long family.
The wind turbines are increasing the land temperature by 2° to 3°
This is extremely bad for the environment.
Never mind the tens of thousands wind turbines, in and around the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles.
August 6, 2026 @ 9:45 pm
Charley Crockett loves power lines and hates animals. He probably laughs when squirrels get electrocuted. I’m pretty sure I read that somewhere.