Some songs are so well-written and performed so well that they remain timeless. These three country songs were all released in 1977, and will still put anyone who listens to them in a good mood today.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Here You Come Again” by Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton enjoyed a five-week No. 1 hit with “Here You Come Again“. The song, written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, is the title track of an album that also came out in 1977.
“Here You Come Again” is about a romance that just can’t seem to end. The uptempo song says, “Here you come again / Just when I’m about to make it work without you / You look into my eyes / And lie those pretty lies / And pretty soon I’m wondering’ how I came to doubt you.”
“Here You Come Again” became Parton’s first gold record of her career. It’s an interesting accomplishment, since Parton originally didn’t want to record “Here You Come Again”.
“She said a monkey could sing this song and have a hit with it,” Parton’s manager, Sandy Gallin, reveals on SiriusXM. “And she was very nervous that it would turn off the country market, which she was very loyal to. There was no way she wanted to ever let anything insinuate that she may be turning her back on the country audience.”
Here You Come Again also includes the No. 1 hit, “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right”.
“Lucille” by Kenny Rogers
“Lucille” is the second single from Kenny Rogers’ eponymous sophomore album. Written by Roger Bowling and Hal Bynum, the song is about a man who comes looking for his wife in a bar, where she has taken off her wedding ring.
Although the subject matter might not seem light-hearted, Rogers’ delivery, especially in the chorus, makes it worthy of a sing-along, 48 years later. “Lucille” says, “You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille / With four hungry children and a crop in the field / I’ve had some bad times, lived through some sad times / But this time your hurting won’t heal / You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille.”
Rogers won his first Grammy ever with “Lucille”. The song stayed at the top of the charts for two weeks.
“Take This Job And Shove It” by Johnny Paycheck
For decades, countless people have thought of Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job And Shove It” when they are quitting their own job. David Allen Coe is the writer on the song, which became the title track of a Paycheck album, also out in 1977.
“Take This Job And Shove It” is about a man who quits his job, after his woman left him, presumably because he was working too much. The chorus says, “Take this job and shove it / I ain’t working here no more / My woman done left / And took all the reasons I was working for / You better not try to stand in my way / As I’m a-walking out the door / Take this job and shove it, I ain’t working here no more.”
Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images
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