Nashville Without You

So it's no secret that I loathe the direction my beloved Country Music is going in. (And you probably don't really want to get me started on it, because it's one of the few things I'm passionate enough to argue like hell about....) When I'm not listening to my iPod in the car, I'm listening to Sirius, usually Willie's Roadhouse to get my old stuff in or the occasional Prime Country for all the good 80's & 90's music.

Today I was driving back from the store and hit the wrong button on the radio & switched it to FM, and heard this song by Tim McGraw called "Nashville Without You". I love Tim's early stuff, but his recent stuff is so god-awful, I was about to turn it off when the lyrics caught my attention....

Hey Georgia, Hey Smokey Mountain Rain
Hey Galveston, He Stopped Loving Her Today
Hey Fancy, you know it's true
That Nashville, wouldn't have
Blue Eyes, Cryin' in the Rain
Hey Fire, Burnin' Round the Ring
Hey Crazy, you know it's true
That Nashville, wouldn't be Nashville, without you

And I immediately burst into tears (I mean, obviously....I'm already overly emotional as it is. Throw in my music, and I can become a hot mess in mere seconds). I came home immediately and bought it on iTunes -- wish I'd known this song was around a few months ago when the CD was released!

I'm such a sucker for my old school music.....and I'm such a sucker for my town. I may have been away for a short bit when I moved away temporarily, but that's been the extent of time away from Nashville. Nashville's been my home for 17 years, longer than anywhere I've ever lived. I can't imagine actually moving away from here. Love of Country Music is what moved us here - and what keeps me here. (Okay, Okay - and the thought of being away from my Mom, Sister & the kids again would absolutely kill me!)  Country Music may be going in a direction that makes me super sad, but they can't erase the history of it -- and that history is here.  And not just the obvious huge ones of the Ryman or Opry that everyone and their brother thinks of --- (not that they aren't some of my favorite things) it's also stuff like Hatch Show Print, Printer's Alley, Ernest Tubb Record Shop (don't get me started on how it feels like Granny is walking in with me every time I stop by ETRS), Studio B.....

It's funny because over the weekend on the ride home, the bestie & I were talking about how we'd love to live in Kentucky, and I made the comment I don't know that I would know what to do without being in Nashville anymore, and that's the truth.

This song is worth a listen!