The 1980s were a much simpler time, in more ways than one. The decade was before the prevalence of the internet, before social media, and before people spent hours at home watching shows on streaming platforms. There are a lot of advantages to our modern, current era, even if we still long for parts of the past. We found four country songs from the 1980s that make us nostalgic for an easier time.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout The Good Old Days)” by The Judds
It seems ironic now, but The Judds were longing for an even simpler time in 1986, when “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout The Good Old Days)” was released. Jamie O’Hara penned this hit single for The Judds.
The song says in part, “Grandpa, everything is changing fast / We call it progress, but I just don’t know / And grandpa, let’s wander back into the past / Then paint me the picture of long ago.“
“The fact that they call it progress. … It was sort of another topical song for me, besides being so old-fashioned, going back to and admiring family values,” Naomi Judd says (via Songfacts). “I’m not for progress. Our world is way too technological for me. I don’t do Facebook. I do face to face.”
“Tennessee Homesick Blues” by Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton shows off her yodeling skills in “Tennessee Homesick Blues”. The uptempo song might have what sounds like a sad title. But for Parton, it’s really a celebration of her simpler life in East Tennessee. Not surprisingly, Parton penned the personal tune by herself.
“I wish I had my old fishing pole,” Parton sings. “And was sitting on the banks of the fishing hole / Eating green apples and waiting for the fish to bite / Life ain’t as simple as it used to be / Since the Big Apple took a bite out of me / And Lord, I’m so Tennessee homesick that I could die.”
“I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” by Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell’s “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” is on Mandrell’s 1981 Barbara Mandrell Live record. Written by Dennis Morgan and Kye Fleming, the song is about enjoying country music and the country way of life before it was popular.
But the lyric is also a reminder of how different times were then, compared to now. In the song, Mandrell sings, “I remember circling the drive-in / Pulling up and turning down George Jones / I remember when no one was looking / I was putting peanuts in my Coke.”
“1982” by Randy Travis
What could be more nostalgic for the 1980s than a song called “1982”? The song, written by Buddy Blackmon and Vip Vipperman, released by Randy Travis in 1985, is really a song about regret.
“1982” begins with, “Operator, please connect me / With 1982 / I need to make apologies / For what I didn’t do.”
Regrets aside, from the opening line, it’s clear that the song, which uses an operator to make a phone call and a postage stamp to send a letter, is still a celebration of times gone by.
Photo by Craig Sjodin/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
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