3 Country Songs That Are Almost Too Honest for Radio

Country music is no stranger to hard truths. The genre has built a reputation for being one of the most candid. But music for the masses is always expected to be easy to swallow. Radio-friendly country music is rarely filled with bitter truths, at least not to the point of being unlistenable. The three songs below are popular enough, but the truths in their lyrics are hard to hear. Revisit these three brutally honest country songs.

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“If We Make It Through December” (Merle Haggard)

Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December” isn’t just a made-up story for many country listeners. Many Haggard fans know the realities of poverty and the added burden of winter.

If we make it through December / Everything’s gonna be all right, I know / It’s the coldest time of winter / And I shiver when I see the falling snow, Haggard sings in this sparse wintertime classic.

“Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” (Kris Kristofferson)

Kris Kristofferson wrote many of country’s most candid songs. His songwriting voice lent itself well to hard truths. One of his most famous songs, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” is an intimate look at a man in crisis.

Well, I woke up Sunday morning / With no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt / And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad / So I had one more for dessert, he sings in the opening line of this painfully honest ballad.

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“The Man in Black” (Johnny Cash)

Not everyone wants to hear about the dark realities of life while listening to the radio. Johnny Cash didn’t much care about that, though, when he released “The Man in Black.” This country classic saw Cash hold a mirror to the world for country fans, reminding them of the inherent injustices.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down / Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of tow / I wear it for the prisoner who is long paid for his crime / But is there because he’s a victim of the times, the poignant lyrics read. This song got significant radio play, but without Cash’s fame, it would likely have been deemed too honest for the mass market.

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