3 Country Songs From the 1990s That Will Build You up and Break You Down

These country songs from the 1990s will both build you up and break you down. They have an emotionality that cuts to the bone, but the performances from these country greats still get the heart racing.

[RELATED: 3 Country Songs From 1991 That Every 90s Kid Still Knows by Heart Today]

“A Broken Wing” — Martina McBride

Martina McBride’s voice makes any song feel like a powerhouse moment. Her belts on this iconic 1990s country song, “A Broken Wing”, nearly make you forget how heartbreaking this song is. “She’d tell him ’bout her dreams / He’d just shoot ’em down / Lord, he loved to make her cry / ‘You’re crazy for believing / You’ll ever leave the ground’ / He said, ‘Only angels know how to fly,’” the lyrics read.

If you can tune out the story here, and distract yourself with McBride’s voice, you can trick yourself into thinking this song is an upper. Her voice lifts the listener, but the message hiding beneath all that energy breaks you down.

“Go Rest High On That Mountain” — Vince Gill

Vince Gill’s “Go Rest High On That Mountain” is a eulogy through and through. There’s no tricking yourself into thinking this song is happy in any shape or form. But the harmonies in the chorus do feel uplifting, nonetheless.

“Go rest high on that mountain / Son, your work on earth is done / Go to heaven a-shoutin’ / Love for the Father and the Son,” the lyrics in the chorus read. Despite the tears this song brings out in every listener, it manages to make the heart soar nonetheless. Depending on what state you’re in when you come to this song, you’ll either break down or be in awe of Vince Gill and his collaborators’ vocal chops.

“The Song Remembers When” — Trisha Yearwood

“I heard that old familiar music start / It was like a lighted match / Had been tossed into my soul / It was like a dam had broken in my heart,” the lyrics to this 1990s Trisha Yearwood country song read. We all know that moment. When an old song comes back into our lives, and we’re instantly flooded with memories, both good and bad.

The tone of this song makes us think Yearwood is reflecting on painful memories. But that might not be everyone’s experience. Some of us might listen to this song and be hit with bittersweet flashes from our lives, while others might think only of happy times and feel the sting of nostalgia. There are many reactions to this 1990s country song, all of which are spurred on by Yearwood’s timeless performance.

(Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)