You would think I haven’t gotten very far
And I hope my hasty heart
Will forgive me just this once
If I stop to wonder how on earth you are
But that’s just a lot of water
Underneath a bridge I burned
And there’s no use in backtracking
Around corners I have turned
Still I guess some things we bury
Are just bound to rise again
For even if the whole world has forgotten
The song remembers when
Yeah, and even if the whole world has forgotten
The song remembers when
The Streak
Story by Ray Stevens
Song written by Ray Stevens
Recorded by Ray Stevens
I was on a plane flying from L.A. to Nashville. Back in those days, they used to carry several of the weekly magazines on board, like Time or Newsweek. Now they have their own magazines. And in the back, they always had these little news blurbs about events across the country. One of the blurbs was about a college student in California who took off his clothes and ran through a crowd and they called it “streaking.” I thought, “Now there’s an idea,” so I started making some notes.
When I got home, all of the news broadcasts were talking about streaking, so I thought I’d better finish the song, so we could get in the studio and cut it. I write a lot of comedy songs. When I sit down to write, I usually get the title or concept in mind first and then, of course, that dictates whether the song is going to be funny or serious. I try to have the tempo and the melodic structure reflect the silliness or the seriousness of the song. You can’t put a slow, dragging, love-song melody to a comedy song like this. And of course this had to be a funny song.
By the time I got my record released, there were already fifteen other streaking records out. I think mine was one of the ones that made it, though, because I had a little more time to think about it and polish the song. Most of the others were just hastily thrown together, and didn’t really have any other meaning to them other than just trying to cash in on a fad.
Later, when videos became more popular, we did a video for the song and put it in a package called Comedy Video Classics and it sold something like four million copies.
The Streak
(Reporter):
Hello, everybody, this is your action news reporter with all
the news that is news across the nation, on the scene at the
supermarket. There seems to have been some disturbance here.
Pardon me, sir, did you see what happened?
(Witness):
Yeah, I did. I’s standin’ over there by the tomaters, and here he
come, running through the pole beans, through the fruits and
vegetables, nekkid as a jay bird. And I hollered over t’ Ethel, I
said, “Don’t look, Ethel!” But it’s too late, she’d already been
incensed.
(Chorus)
Here he comes, look at that, look at that
There he goes, look at that, look at that
And he ain’t wearin’ no clothes
Oh, yes, they call him the Streak
Look at that, look at that
Fastest thing on two feet
Look at that, look at that
He’s just as proud as he can be
Of his anatomy
He goin’ give us a peek
Oh, yes, they call him the Streak
Look at that, look at that
He likes to show off his physique
Look at that, look at that
If there’s an audience to be found
He’ll be streakin’ around
Invitin’ public critique
(Reporter):
This is your action news reporter once again, and we’re here at
the gas station. Pardon me, sir, did you see what happened?
(Witness):
Yeah, I did. I’s just in here gettin my car checked, he just
appeared out of the traffic. Come streakin’ around the grease
rack there, didn’t have nothin’ on but a smile. I looked in there,
and Ethel was getting her a cold drink. I hollered, “Don’t look,
Ethel!” But it was too late. She’d already been mooned. Flashed
her right there in front of the shock absorbers.
(Chorus)
He ain’t crude, look at that, look at that
He ain’t lewd, look at that, look at that
He’s just in the mood to run in the nude
Oh, yes, they call him the Streak
Look at that, look at that
He likes to turn the other cheek
Look at that, look at that
He’s always makin’ the news
Wearin’ just his tennis shoes
Guess you could call him unique
(Reporter):
Once again, your action news reporter in the booth at the gym,
covering the disturbance at the basketball playoff. Pardon me,
sir, did you see what happened?
(Witness):
Yeah, I did. Half time, I’s just goin’ down there to get Ethel a
snow cone. And here he come, right out of the cheap seats,
dribbling, right down the middle of the court. Didn’t have on
nothing but his PF’s. Made a hook shot and got out through
the concessions stand. I hollered up at Ethel, I said, “Don’t
look, Ethel!” But it was too late. She’d already got a free shot.
Grandstandin’, right there in front of the home team.
(Chorus) (Witness):
Oh, yes, they call him the Streak Here he comes again.
Look at that, look at that Who’s that with him?
The fastest thing on two feet (voice: “Ethel? Is that you, Ethel?”)
Look at that, look at that (voice: “What do you think you’re doin’?”)
He’s just as proud as he can be (voice: “You git your clothes on”)
Of his anatomy
He’s gonna give us a peek
Oh, yes, they call him the Streak (voice: “Ethel! Where you goin’?”)
Look at that, look at that (voice: “Ethel, you shameless hussy”)
He likes to show off his physique (voice: “Say it isn’t so”)
Look at that, look at that (voice: “Ethel! Ethelllllll!!!”)
If there’s an audience to be found
He’ll be streakin’ around
Invitin’ public critique
The Thunder Rolls
Story by Pat Alger
Song written by Pat Alger and Garth Brooks
Recorded by Garth Brooks
Garth and I made up this story. It’s just an old fashioned country cheating song where he gets his comeuppance. The title actually comes from a line I wrote in another song for Kathy Mattea, “Like a Hurricane.” Garth said, “We should write a song about a guy who is cheating on his wife and every time he does it, the thunder rolls.” And we sat down and wrote it in about an hour and a half. We wrote it at Allen Reynolds’ office. There was a lot of room to pace there, and Garth likes to pace a lot when he writes. I think we even demoed it the same day.
We initially pitched this song to Tanya Tucker and we heard she was going to do it on her Greatest Hits album. So we thought, “This is great. This will sell at least a million copies.” Tanya’s producer, Jerry Crutchfield, thought it should be a little more dramatic, so he asked us to write another verse at the end. We actually wrote three or four different versions and turned one in. She has a gun at the end and the lyric reads, “Tonight will be the last time / she’ll wonder where he’s been,” but we don’t really say what happens. We imply that she shoots him, but I always like to leave a little to the imagination.
Garth didn’t have a record deal at the time, so we were really excited about Tanya doing it. After the fact, Allen felt the original
version of the song was fine, but Tanya wanted the extra verse, so we wrote it for her. For whatever reason, though, she ended up shelving it for a future album. By the time she got around to putting that next album out, Garth had been signed by the same label, Capitol, and he asked for the song back. Tanya did eventually put her version out. It’s on her boxed set, but I don’t think it was ever pushed as a single.
The way we wrote it originally is the way it appears on Garth’s record. After Garth cut it, they put an incredible amount of time and money into the video. It was one of the most expensive videos done at the time. There was a big controversy over what happens at the end, with the domestic violence. So they cut the last verse, but Garth always sang it in all of his live shows and still does.
It went on to be a much more popular video than it would have been if they had just left it alone. It became a big news item and actually raised quite a bit of awareness about domestic violence.
It’s a pretty dramatic song. Now, when I play it live, I sing that extra verse, too. I don’t even go back to the final chorus; I just end it there, and it usually gets pretty quiet in the room.
The Thunder Rolls
Three thirty in the morning
Not a soul in sight
The city’s lookin’ like a ghost town
On a moonless summer night
Raindrops on the windshield
There’s a storm moving in
He’s headin’ back from somewhere
That he never should have been
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
Every light is burnin’
In a house across town
She’s pacin’ by the telephone
In her faded flannel gown
Askin’ for miracle
Hopin’ she’s not right
Prayin’ it’s the weather
That’s kept him out all night
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
CHORUS:
The thunder rolls
And the lightnin’ strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls
She’s waitin’ by the window
When he pulls into the drive
She rushes out to hold him
Thankful he’s alive
But on the wind and rain
A strange new perfume blows
And the lightnin’ flashes in her eyes
And he knows that she knows
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
CHORUS
She runs back down the hallway
To the bedroom door
She reaches for the pistol
Kept in the dresser drawer
She tells the lady in the mirror
“He won’t do this again.”
Cause tonight will be the last time
She’ll wonder where he’s been
This One’s for the Girls
Story by Hillary Lindsey
Song written by Hillary Lindsey, Aimee Mayo, and Chris Lindsey
Recorded by Martina McBride
When Aimee Mayo and Chris and I first sat down to write, “This One’s for the Girls,” we were thinking of writing something that would be an inspiration only for younger girls. Then, the more we started talking about it, the more we decided to touch on every generation. The line that talks about “living on dreams and Spaghettios / wonderin’ where your life is gonna go” — that was me, at that same age, living in an apartment, and living on SpaghettiOs. I still occasionally eat them, because I love them. I was living in a really creepy apartment near Music Row. It was very convenient but was roach-infested and everything. So that part was pretty autobiographical.
I think when we wrote the line about “every laugh line on your face,” we were probably thinking of our moms, but also being at the age when we were starting to develop our own little laugh lines or crow’s feet.
When we wrote the lines about high school being so rough and mean and holding onto your innocence as long as you can, both Aimee and I felt this way when we were teenagers — maybe not feeling like you were part of the “in-crowd.” I don’t know how Chris felt, being a man and all. He probably felt the same way. There’s just so much facing young women today, from peer pressure to bullying to negative feedback from the media, so we were just trying to write a positive song that they can listen to and feel encouraged by.
We want girls to feel comfortable being who they are, being comfortable in their own skin, and not trying to be someone they’re not. It’s kind of addressing us girls, too, because heaven knows, we’re usually our worst critics. We can be pretty hard on ourselves and sometimes hard on each other, too. So this song was meant to be an encouragement to girls of all ages to just be themselves.
This One’s for the Girls
This is for all you girls, about thirteen.
High school can be so rough, can be so mean.
Hold onto, onto your innocence.
Stand your ground, when everybody’s givin’ in.
This one’s for the girls.
This is for all you girls, about twenty-five.
In little apartments just tryin’ to get by.
Livin’ on, on dreams and Spaghettios.
Wonderin’ where your life is gonna go.
CHORUS:
This one’s for the girls,
Who’ve ever had a broken heart;
Who’ve wished upon a shootin’ star:
You’re beautiful the way you are.
This one’s for the girls,
Who love without holdin’ back
Who dream with everything they have.
All around the world,
This one’s for the girls.
This is for all you girls, about forty-two.
Tossin’ pennies into the fountain of youth.
Every laugh, laugh line on your face,
Made you who you are today.
CHORUS
Yeah, we’re all the same inside
From one to ninety-nine:
CHORUS
Time Marches On
Story by Bobby Braddock
Song written by Bobby Braddock
Recorded by Tracy Lawrence
“Time Marches On” was a huge record for me. It’s probably already a little dated. It was timely when I wrote it because it was about the people who were going through those transformations around 1996. The people that started out as hippie kids were starting to get old then and they’re a whole lot older now!
When I was a kid in a small town in Florida, a lot of the country people moved up north looking for work. And by the time I wrote that song, there were people from the North moving down into the area to retire. So that’s where the line “the South moves north, the North moves south” came from.
We were at a family reunion once and my ex-wife’s sister had a bumper sticker on the back of her car that said, “Sexy Grandma.” I thought that was pretty funny, so I put that in the song, too.
I thought the songs that were mentioned in each verse reflected the time periods: Hank Williams for the 1950s and Dylan for the 1960s, and then back to Hank again. I decided to add the B-3 organ lick right after the line “Dylan sings ‘like a rolling stone’” on the demo because it sounds like what he did on that song. They decided to keep it on Tracy’s record. Of course, on Dylan’s, it wasn’t in a minor key, but it falls in a minor on “Time Marches On,” so it sounds a little different, but it’s still the same lick. I also used a Don Helms-style pedal-less steel guitar lick on the Hank Williams line, but they didn’t use that on the record.
On my demo, Brent Rowan played that little acoustic thing that sounds like a clock ticking at the beginning of the song. Then Brent Mason played on the record. They are two of the best session players in town, but
it’s kind of ironic that Brent Mason got credit for playing a Brent Rowan lick.
Tracy just had a hit with my “Texas Tornado,” and I played the song for Don Cook, his producer, and he liked it. I think Tracy had already heard it somewhere and liked it anyway, so that’s how he decided to cut it. Tracy did a great job on it. He sang it with a lot of conviction, even though he was too young to really have gone through much of that.
There was a major artist that is really hot today — I won’t say who — who heard it and he passed on it. When he heard Tracy’s song, he asked his producer, “Why didn’t I get to listen to that?” His producer said, “Well, you did. You passed.” So that goes to show that sometimes an artist will hear a song differently in different situations.
Time Marches On
Sister cries out, from her baby bed.
Brother runs in with feathers on his head.
Mama’s in her room learning how to sew.
Daddy’s drinking beer, listenin’ to the radio.
Hank Williams sings “Kaw-Liga” and “Dear John”
Time marches on, time marches on.
Sister’s using rouge and clear complexion soap.
Brother’s wearing beads and he smokes alot of dope.
Mama is depressed, barely makes a sound.
Daddy’s got a girlfriend in another town.
Bob Dylan sings “like a rolling stone.”
Time marches on, time marches on.
BRIDGE:
South moves north, North moves south
A star is born, a star burns out.
The only thing that stays the same is everything
changes, everything changes.
Sister calls herself a sexy grandma.
Brother’s on a diet for high cholesterol.
Mama’s out of touch with reality.
Daddy’s in the ground beneath the maple tree.
As the angels sing an old Hank Williams song.
Time marches on, time marches on.
Time marches on, time marches on.
Unanswered Prayers
Story by Pat Alger
Song written by Garth Brooks, Pat Alger, and Larry Bastian
Recorded by Garth Brooks
I had an experience where I ran into my high school girlfriend. I had grown up in Georgia. This girl and I dated all through high school, and we both assumed we would get married. But after high school, I went off to Georgia Tech and she went to Emory. Once we were both in the big city, we lost contact and moved on. When we saw each other again, I think we both realized it probably wouldn’t have worked. She’s a wonderful person and I actually introduced her to the guy who ended up being her husband, who was a friend of mine.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music: The Inspirational Stories behind 101 of Your Favorite Country Songs Page 26
