The last time we looked at some good introductory country songs. This time, we’re looking at five more country tunes you might just dig.

Hank III – “Long Hauls and Close Calls” (2008)

Let’s start off out and a little more recent with a track from Hank Williams III. A friend introduced Hank III with to me several year ago with this track and I was blown away. It was just about everything I love in a song: it was fast, aggressive, and just rips.

Hank III’s sound mixes country music with hardcore punk and heavy metal and was developed over several years. “Long Hauls and Close Calls” is a hard partying, hard rocking weekend track—or any day of the week if that’s your lifestyle.

Of the songs on this list, this is the one that gets me pumped. It’s not a song that you dwell on the hidden meanings or anything. This is a party anthem pure and simple.

The Highwaymen – “Highwayman” (1985)

“Highwayman” is a track I put on when I just want to chill. It has a bounce and a pace to it while not being a ripper of a song. What I love about this track is that each singer—Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson—all told the story of men who died but believe that they will live on.

That’s the gist of the song. Different figures meet their end but know their stories will be told after they’re gone. It’s a great song to just reflect on and simply enjoy without deep thought as it doesn’t run for long at all but has an epic sound.

“Highwayman” is a song that gets a ton of play from me on iTunes. This is the deep thinking song and gives you a little something to ponder while not overstaying its welcome. It seems like song that would be longer since a bunch of stories of fallen men could’ve been told but the song is over shortly after it starts.

This track has a deceptively brisk pace but it works!

Hank Williams Jr – “All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)” (1981)

This is a rarity for any list I’ve done where a father and son makes it. “All My Friends (Have Settled Down)” is a low tempo tune that kind of gallops slowly as Hank Williams Jr discusses how all his friends have mellowed out basically.

Country music in the 1960s and 1970s was like any other music scene. In the same way that drugs and alcohol were a part of early rock, blues, folk, and jazz music, they’ve played a part in country music.

The song makes references to Williams’ friends in the industry as well as how they were and how they are years down the road with age.

Just like our first two entries, “All My Friends (Have Settled Down)” gives a picture of life but like “Highwaymen” it gives a clearer picture of a certain time in life after people mature and move on from stuff they indulged in during their youth.

Unlike “Highwaymen” there’s a humorous slant to the song where the singer/narrator is kind of lamenting about his friends no longer being rowdy before we find that they’ve simmered down in life as well.

Those little touches are something I really enjoy about country.

The Cowmen – “Maggie” (2015)

Bringing it back to rowdy and modern, we have The Cowmen, an New York band that mixes country rock and punk music. However, it’s different from Hank III’s cowpunk as it doesn’t have that level of dirtiness and aggression to the music.

The song “Maggie” is a great introduction to the band’s raunchy, energetic sound and the band’s style. One thing I’ve always dug about The Cowmen which is showcased in this song is the drum playing. It has this bounce that I love. Also noteworthy is the triple vocals from the band’s three singers.

While the song is under two minutes, that’s really all it needs. Put “Maggie” in the rotation with other uptempo country sounds for a treat.

Also with listening to are “Liquor Store Liver” and “Skeleton Dan”.

Kathy Mattea – “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses” (1988)

This was a track I happened upon some years ago while going through recommendations. The title was enough that I’d stop and entertain it and I’m glad I did!

“Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses” isn’t the kind of song that I usually give a full listen. It’s a slower, romantic tune about a truck driver who is wrapping it up on his career. This is his last run then he’s heading home to his wife with a dozen roses to celebrate.

It’s definitely not on the rowdy end of the spectrum but it’s still a s beautiful tune. Plus, you don’t have to be a country fan, a truck driver, or a trucker wife to be moved by this one or enjoy it.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

What I dig the most about country is the storytelling. I love a good story and country music has a way of telling a familiar story in different way.

Mind you, many of the best stories are sad as hell, these are still entertaining stories, folks.

Let’s look at five country classics that get your toes tapping and maybe even get you belting out the hook.

Dolly Parton – Jolene (1973)

While not Dolly’s most known song, it is one of her most known tunes and also the one that really, really slaps.

This song has a beat to it where it’s mildly upbeat for a pretty sad tune. In “Jolene”, Parton acknowledges that the competition for her man is beautiful and that she can’t compete.

As a result, she pleads with Jolene not to take him from her. It’s not a complex song lyrically or from the instrumentals but it is an enjoyable, memorable track.

What ties “Jolene” together and made it a hit was Dolly herself. Her singing made this song but also when this song was released and she performed it live it’s like “Damn Dolly, you can’t handle Jolene?”

Dolly in the 1970s wasn’t a garden variety Southern lady, she had a superstar, big stage, big lights look to her. In her late-20s when she released this track, she was attractive and the blueprint for future women stars in country music as far as stage presence.

Now, I don’t know who Jolene was—I’m from the South and have only met one Jolene, folks—but I can say with confidence that she was no Dolly Parton.

Garth Brooks – Thunder Rolls (1991)

This Garth Brooks hit holds a strong top five spot in my favorite country songs. “Thunder Rolls” might not be in the top three but it’s not dropping out of the top five arena.

When it’s this song’s turn in a playlist or on Pandora, I’m singing it. It’s similar to “Jolene” in complexity but it’s even sadder and darker.

That’s actually the deceptive thing about “Jolene” in that the beat is actually really upbeat.

It’s a song that sound like it’s meant to make you dance. There’s none of that here with “Thunder Rolls”.

If anything, this is a drink some bourbon and smoke a few cigs track. It doesn’t slap like “Jolene” or our next entry but it’s such a great song.

On top that, this song about a husband who returns home from tryst has two versions.

The well-known version was edited because the original version was seen as too violent for radio play.

It simply ends with the wife being aware that her man has been cheating.

My favorite version is the full original version which ends with the wife shooting her husband and a lengthy build to the climax.

Both versions are good but I suggest the full version if you can find it on YouTube.

Alan Jackson – Chattahoochee (1993)

Changing the mood significantly, “Chattahoochee” is an extremely upbeat, fun song by Jackson.

The thing to point out about Alan Jackson is that the early 90s was a hot streak for this guy. He was putting out great tunes such as “Midnight in Montgomery”, “Tonight I Climbed the Wall”, and “She’s Got the Rhythm (And I’ve Got the Blues)”.

“Chattahoochee” is one of my favorites and was a staple on shows like The Bobby T Show here for a few years after its release. It’s just a fun tune about looking back on the good, memorable times of your youth.

What made it a hit is that Jackson didn’t tie it in with the challenges, responsibilities, and trials of actual adulthood. You know, once you get past that early-20s period and sh** gets real.

That keeps the song timeless—maybe a bit dated by today’s musical approaches in multiple genres—and upbeat. As a said, this track was the mood changer of this list.

Well, unless you’re up there in age and this “Chattahoochee” makes you wistful. Even then, Jackson was in his early-30s when he dropped this track. He wasn’t exactly young but not exactly old.

“Fairly seasoned” would be pretty accurate. Even in your early-30s, you can look back and think “Those were great times!” as by your 30s you’re handling more stuff and might not get the opportunities to just enjoy life.

That time you could spend enjoying it is probably better spent resting and recovering from responsibilities. This one is definitely a relatable tune.

Johnny Cash – Cocaine Blues (1968)

Originally written by T.J Arnall in 1944, many folk music, bluegrass, and country names have tackled this song such as Woody Guthrie, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams III, George Thorogood and The Destroyers, and Johnny Cash.

It’s Johnny Cash’s version that is the best known but I wouldn’t say it’s the absolute best version. I like the film of grittiness of a young Hank Williams III’s version and faster “is this even still a country song” version of George Thorogood and The Destroyers.

However, Cash’s version is that sweet spot between telling a “what are you in for” prison intro and something that is just peak 60s country music.

He had this gravelly voice when singing that made him sound a decade and change older than he actually was—late-30s at the time—and delivered this story about a man who hit some nose candy, shot his woman, and went on the run.

It was an outlaw standard that had its roots in Southern folklore but also happened more often than you’d think—if you replace cocaine with any abusable substance in some instances.

“Cocaine Blues” was the perfect song for performing before prisoners at Folsom. It also helps that this was more in the rockabilly vein of country, so it was more uproarious and had a bounce to it that I really love.

Actually, “Jolene” has that country bounce at the bottom that I love as well from the drums and bass section as does our final entry here. For a song dealing three dark subjects—murder, spousal abuse, and drug abuse—it’s upbeat as hell and my all-time favorite country song.

Charlie Daniels – The Devil Went Down to Georgia (1978)

Oh boy, here we go. Yes, a lot of these songs very “Country 101” tunes that most fans have heard and some non-fans have possibly heard but “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” is a song that slaps.

It’s not a downer song, it’s an upbeat country epic. Well, you could say it’s an upbeat epic because it could just as easily be applied to hard rock or blues music because of the folkloric edge of challenging The Devil to a musical contest.

Deals with The Devil have been a staple of music since the 1920s with the myths involving blues legend Robert Johnson giving up soul for musical talent and dying at 27 and so on.

Unlike some of Johnson’s songs that had a dark approach to them, Daniels’ song ends on a victorious note with Johnny winning The Devil’s golden fiddle.

What he did with it, I’m not sure because a fiddle made of solid gold doesn’t seem playable or too heavy to hold while playing.

That aside, this tune has everything I like in a song instrumentally: it’s fast, it has a bounce to it from the drums and bass, the guitars aren’t too fast and overwhelming, and someone gets to show off—in this case, Daniels’ and his fiddling.

Lyrically, I love songs involving the supernatural, fantasy, or the occult. This was safely in supernatural territory and became a hit.

The sequel “The Devil Comes Back to Georgia” is also worth a listen and continues the story from the original song’s ending featuring Johnny offering a rematch.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

I discovered “The Man in Black” back in 2008, an older student/co-worker of mine was a former musician and big into collecting vinyls. He introduced me to our topic Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison, recorded in 1968.

Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison

The concept to the album was simple. While in the Air Force Security Service during the early 1950s, Cash became interested in the prison after watching Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison.

It’s a lengthy title for an early 1950s film but it’s not a bad movie at all. Inspired, he wrote “Folsom Prison Blues” in 1955.

“Folsom Prison Blues” would become a hit in prisons—particularly Folsom—and he would get letters from the inmates asking him to perform the song for them.

It would be thirteen years before he did but prior to that, he did perform live at Huntsville State Prison in 1957 and got a favorable reception.

Those thirteen years were rough for Cash personally and professionally. He had racked up a number of hits and songs that would later go on to be considered classics but drug abuse really derailed things for him.

Once he dialed back on the booze-drugs, he got back on track and kicked off the second wind of his career. Cash took advantage of an office shake up at Columbia Records and managed to get the idea of doing a live recording at a prison greenlit.

The rest is history. Folsom Prison got back to Cash’s camp about the performance and we got At Folsom Prison.

This recording took place between two performances on January 13, 1968 and the setlists are roughly the same. Obviously, he played the hits along with songs specific to each set.

I thought this was smart since prisoners weren’t getting a ton of live entertainment and not everyone could make both performances. You’d have to play the hits for everyone and not just hit one audience with the hits and other with B-sides and album cuts.

No, you play “Cocaine Blues” and “Jackson”.

The Prison Venue Was Key

Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison was also my first Cash album. I tend to seek out full-length releases and might dive into demos on a particularly slow day.

When it comes to live albums, I tend not to listen to them but when I do, I’m always entertained. I’d be hard pressed to name a bad live album. At Folsom Prison was interesting because it was different from other live releases I heard afterward.

It all comes down to the venue. Most live albums are at music venues or arenas and it makes for this large, sometimes epic—depending on the song—experience for the listener.

Live performances breathe life into songs and the performances themselves—just wait until we get to the Judas Priest Electric Eye DVD from 2003!

At Folsom Prison was different simply because it was set in a prison. It’s a different crowd and some of the songs will hit them harder than people who were fans but had never seen prison bars.

That resulted in a crowd who were really into many of the songs. Also, a prison is a venue that you just can’t get a ticket to attend. It’s the most unique of concert venues while still having an audience.

Even if you’re not into country music, I suggest checking this album out just for the performance and atmosphere.

Staff Writer; James Swift, Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.