The year 2003 was a great one in country music. Some of the most original and creative songs came out 22 years ago. We’re taking a closer look at three country songs from 2003 that every music fan needs to know today.
Videos by American Songwriter
“It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett
There may not be a better cross-genre collaboration in country music than Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett. “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” is written by Jim “Moose” Brown and Don Rollins. The song, on Jackson’s Greatest Hits Volume II record, spent a total of eight weeks at the top of the charts.
“It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” justifies day drinking. The song says, “I’m gettin’ paid by the hour and older by the minute / My boss just pushed me over the limit / I’d like to call him somethin’ / I think I’ll just call it a day / Pour me somethin’ tall and strong / Make it a Hurricane before I go insane / It’s only half-past twelve, but I don’t care / It’s five o’clock somewhere.”
Still, perhaps no one was more surprised that Jackson recorded the song with Buffett than Rollins.
“When Moose told me that Alan had it on hold and was about to record it, I remember thinking that Alan was way too country for that song,” Rollins tells American Songwriter. “Then the duet with Buffett was mentioned, and it started to make sense.”
“It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” also earned Buffett his first Grammy Award nomination. In addition, the two earned a CMA Award for Vocal Event of the Year.
“I Love This Bar” by Toby Keith
Toby Keith released a lot of iconic songs throughout his career. But one of the most popular is likely “I Love This Bar”. Written by Keith and Scotty Emerick, the song stayed at the top of the charts for five weeks.
“I Love This Bar” is an ode to a local bar. The song says, “We got cowboys, we got truckers / Broken-hearted fools and suckers / And we got hustlers, we got fighters / Early-birds and all-nighters / And the veterans talk about their battle scars / Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, I love this bar.”
Additionally, the song also inspired a chain of Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill restaurants. Two remain in Oklahoma.
“I Wanna Do It All” by Terri Clark
Tim Nichols, Rick Giles, and Gilles Godard are the writers of Terri Clark’s “I Wanna Do It All”. The uptempo track is on Clark’s Pain To Kill record.
“I Wanna Do It All” says, “I wanna do it all / Visit Paris in the fall, watch the Yankees play ball / I wanna take it all in / Catch a few beads down at Mardi Gras / Start a tradition, lay down the law / I wanna do it all.”
Although the song did not hit No. 1 on country radio, it remains one of Clark’s most beloved songs. In 2024, Clark recorded a new version of “I Wanna Do It All” with Lauren Alaina for her Terri Clark: Take Two record.
Photo by R. Diamond/WireImage
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