3 Country Songs That We Want Someone to Turn Into a Movie

Country music has an affinity towards storytelling. More so than any other genre, country tends to rely on character-driven pieces with a satisfying arc. Because of this, country songs make good jumping off points for a film script. Check out three country songs we’re waiting on someone to turn into a movie, below.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Travelin’ Soldier” – The Chicks

First up on our list of country songs that would make good movies is “Travelin’ Soldier”. This ballad would make a heartbreakingly wonderful rom-drama. Akin to A Walk to Remember, the poignant tale told in the lyrics to this Chicks track provides endless opportunities for a heart-string tugging film. Like the namesake song, this film would center around an unlikely romance between a soldier heading for Vietnam and a young woman who awaits his return. Letters passed between the two of them would be enough to bring tears to eyes of the coldest cynic. We’d like to see a southerly setting and Nicholas Sparks levels of devastation.

Two days past eighteen
He was waitin’ for the bus in his army greens
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair

“El Paso” – Marty Robbins

Marty Robbins’ “El Paso” tells a robust story. Few artists have been able to pack in quite as much exposition into one song as Robbins accomplished here. The story in this country song would make a compelling period movie about murder and the draw of true love. Akin to the Yellowstone prequels, the film version of “El Paso” would play on the cultural shift towards the western way of life. As much as this song has been featured in movies and TV, it has never gotten a moment to shine on its own. We think someone should rectify that sooner rather than later.

Out in the West Texas town of El Paso
I fell in love with a Mexican girl
Nighttime would find me in Rosa’s Cantina
Music would play and Feleena would whirl

wait in the truck – HARDY and Lainey Wilson

Though the music video is like a short film in itself, we think HARDY‘s “wait in the truck” would make for a powerful drama. Actors could expound on what HARDY and Lainey Wilson accomplished with this country song, adding another layer of intrigue to this story of revenge and bravery via the movie medium. This country song is relatively new, so we will give filmmakers some time to develop this ballad into an award-winner.

I don’t know if he’s an angel
‘Cause angels don’t do what he did
He was hellbent to find the man behind
All the whiskey scars I hid

(Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images for ACM)