3 Outlaw Country Songs From 1975 That Still Sound Dangerous Today

Outlaw country songs were everywhere in 1975, and some of those early-genre tunes were quite dangerous-sounding in Nashville. Let’s look at a few such songs from that year that still sound dangerous (in a good way!) today.

“Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” by Waylon Jennings from ‘Dreaming My Dreams’

Few songs could be seen as a direct, stiff middle finger to the Nashville establishment, but this gem from Waylon Jennings certainly fits that bill. “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” is a bona fide anthem of the genre, one that pays homage to the greats of country music while also lamenting the state of Nashville country music at the time. Jennings bemoans all of those “rhinestone suits” and “shiny cars” enjoyed by the rich and popular country musicians and producers at the time. And, as Rolling Stone once eloquently noted, if outlaw country had a mission statement, “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” would probably be it.

“Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” by Willie Nelson from ‘Red Headed Stranger’

I know what you’re thinking. “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain”? This tune’s a tender heartbreaker. What’s so dangerous about it? Well, that tenderness is precisely why it’s on this list. Outlaw country music was known for being on the punk rock side of country in 1975. Willie Nelson challenged that notion with a tender heartbreaker that still had the outlaw themes of the subgenre. That proved that outlaw country music could really stand on its own as a wholly unique genre. The entirety of the poignant Red Headed Stranger proved that outlaw country had legs and mass appeal. And that was quite the challenge to the Nashville establishment at the time.

“You Never Even Called Me By My Name” by David Allan Coe and John Prine

You know you’ve got some good songwriters on board when even a parody song ends up being genuinely good. This entry on our list of outlaw country songs from 1975 is a parody of both Nashville country music and outlaw country music as a whole. And while it’s loaded with and pokes fun at the clichés of country music at the time, Coe still sounds like a threatening outsider, one who wasn’t polished like his Nashville contemporaries. By making all of those tropes seem less serious, he actually produced a seriously good song. No wonder “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” hit No. 8 on the Hot Country Songs chart when it was released.

(Photo by Tom Hill/WireImage)