When country songs are written, neither the writers nor the artists likely have any idea whether the songs will stand the test of time. These three country songs all came out in 1981, but sound even better today.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Seven Year Ache” by Rosanne Cash
Almost any music fan, of any genre, can likely sing along to Rosanne Cash’s “Seven Year Ache“. Written solely by Cash, the song is the title track of her third studio album.
“Seven Year Ache” says, “Girls in the bars thinking who is this guy / But they don’t think nothing when they’re telling you lies / You look so careless when they’re shooting that bull / Don’t you know heartaches are heroes when their pockets are full / Tell me you’re trying to cure a seven-year ache / See what else your old heart can take / Boys say, ‘When is he gonna give us some room?/ The girls say, ‘God, I hope he comes back soon.’”
Cash says in her 2010 Composed biography that she had no idea how much attention she would get from that one song.
“Old Flame” by Alabama
Among Alabama’s many iconic songs is “Old Flame”. Written by Mac McAnally and Donny Lowery, “Old Flame” is about a man in love with a woman who is clearly still not over her ex.
The song says, “There’s an old flame burning in your eyes / That tears can’t drown and make-up can’t disguise / Now that old flame might not be stronger / But it’s been burning longer / Than any spark I might have started in your eyes.”
Alabama was just getting started when they decided to record “Old Flame”. The band had recorded another one of Lowery’s songs, which is how they got “Old Flame”.
“I thanked them for cutting one of my other songs on their last album,” Lowery recalls on Our Southern Souls. “They were glad to meet me and asked if I had any other songs. I had the cassette of ‘Old Flame’ in my pocket to take home and play for my wife. We listened to it on their bus. After the song, there was silence, and Randy Owen asked me to play it again because he had chill bumps. I played it again, and they asked for the cassette. That was the only copy of the song, but I had to give it to them. A few days later, they were cutting it in the studio.”
“I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World” by Ronnie Milsap
Kye Fleming, Dennis Morgan, and Charles Quillen are the writers of Ronnie Milsap’s “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World”. On Milsap’s There’s No Gettin’ Over Me record, the song is about celebrating the joys of a relationship, even though it ended.
“I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World” says, “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world /Wouldn’t have missed loving you girl / You’ve made my whole life worthwhile with your smile / I wouldn’t trade one memory / ‘Cause you mean too much to me / Even though I lost you girl / I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images
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