These iconic country songs from 1978 could be seen as small-town anthems. If you were a small-town kid that year, chances are you listened to these tunes and enjoyed them, at least. Let’s take a look at a few gems from the late 1970s that small-town kids still know by heart, shall we?
“Texas (When I Die)” by Tanya Tucker from ‘TNT’
“When I die I may not go to heaven / Well, I don’t know if they let cowboys in / If they don’t just let me go to Texas, boys / Texas is as close as I’ve been.”
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If you’re a proud Texan, born and bred, you probably have heard this song. And maybe you even enjoyed it on quite a few occasions. It’s basically a small-town Texan anthem, one that couldn’t have come from anyone else but the incomparable Tanya Tucker.
“I’ve Always Been Crazy” by Waylon Jennings from ‘I’ve Always Been Crazy’
“I’ve always been crazy and the trouble that it’s put me through / Been busted for things that I did, and I didn’t do.”
While this song isn’t about a small town, specifically, it does celebrate being oneself, authentically. Even if being oneself isn’t always “good” or “marketable.” Around the time this was released, Jennings was feeling sore about Nashville attempting to co-opt what he had tried to do with the outlaw country music movement. Couple that with his infamous drug bust, and it makes sense that Jennings would dish out this track about always being a wild child. Small-town listeners and city slickers alike were fans of “I’ve Always Been Crazy”.
“Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson from ‘Waylon & Willie’
“Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys / Don’t let ’em pick guitars or drive them old trucks.”
Waylon Jennings makes our list again with this absolutely legendary duet with fellow outlaw country superstar Willie Nelson. This tune is all about hard rural living and the appeal of becoming a cowboy. It’s about old faded Levis and driving old trucks. This is probably one of the biggest country songs from 1978 to resonate with small-town rural-living listeners. It definitely makes sense that “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” was such a hit.
(Photo by Karen Wiles/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
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ATLANTA – OCTOBER 27: Willie Nelson Performs at the Great Southeast Music Hall on October 27, 1975 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Tom Hill/WireImage) -
Couple Disco Dancing on Colorful Dance Floor (Photo by Dennis Hallinan/Getty Images) -
UNITED STATES – JANUARY 01: Photo of Neal HEFTI; Portrait of Neal Hefti (Photo by William Gottlieb/Redferns) -
New York, N.Y.: Musicians Willie Nelson, left, and Waylon Jennings, right, at a party at the Rainbow Room in Manhattan on January 16, 1978. (Photo by Karen Wiles/Newsday RM via Getty Images) -
Arista Records showcase, City Center, NYC. Sept 21, 1975
