3 Nostalgic Country Songs That Aged Like Milk

As time moves forward, cultural norms change and once commonplace things become taboo. Looking at entertainment from bygone eras is like opening a time capsule and seeing the cultural differences in stark contrast to today’s norms. For music lovers, digging through nostalgic country songs makes for a great way to get a look at the past.

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No matter how nostalgic for the “good old days” the country songs below make listeners, they aged like milk in a hot car. While they were acceptable upon release, the lyrics make them cringeworthy or even creepy by today’s standards.

[RELATED: 3 Country Songs With Lyrics That Really Haven’t Aged Well]

1. “Indian Outlaw” by Tim McGraw

Penned by Tommy Barnes, Jumpin’ Gene Simmons, and John Loudermilk, Tim McGraw released “Indian Outlaw” in 1994 as the lead single from his sophomore album Not a Moment Too Soon. It peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, giving McGraw his first hit single. It was also a crossover hit, peaking at No. 15 on the Hot 100 chart. Those who were listening at the time remember it being all over country radio.

Plenty of nostalgic country songs have lyrics that are questionable in retrospect but this one didn’t need decades to age poorly. The lyrics to “Indian Outlaw” read like a list of Indigenous stereotypes. Thankfully, McGraw went on to prove that he could pick better songs.

2. ”Chug-a-Lug” by Roger Miller

Roger Miller was among the greatest songwriters in country music history and his songs are pure nostalgic gold. However, some of them didn’t age quite as well as others. For instance, “Chug-a-Lug” might make some modern listeners raise an eyebrow or shake their head in disbelief.

Miller penned the song and released it in 1964 as the second single from Roger and Out. It was a crossover hit for Miller, landing at No. 3 on the country chart and No. 9 on the Hot 100. At a glance, the song is about the joys of drinking with some friends. Upon closer inspection, though, the song is about getting drunk at school. The final verse sees the 14-year-old narrator’s uncle sneaking him into a bar. While it’s not the most egregious song on the list, underage drinking isn’t quite as okay now as it was in the ’60s.

3. “Scarlet Fever” by Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers has a library of great nostalgic country songs. “The Gambler” is a classic. “Islands in the Stream” might be the best Dolly Parton duet ever recorded. However, his 1983 No. 5 hit “Scarlet Fever” is just downright creepy. If someone released it today, they’d end up on a watchlist with fans demanding that someone check the artist’s hard drive and search history, and rightfully so.

Written by Mike Dekle, Rogers released the song as the third single from We’ve Got Tonight. The song sees the narrator going to a nightclub to watch a dancer named Scarlet perform. He’s immediately smitten with the 16-year-old dancer who he swears “looked 25.” Throughout the song, Rogers sings about fantasizing about and being infatuated with the child. In the end, she quits dancing at the nightclub for “bigger and better things,” leaving the narrator heartbroken.

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