Country music is built on its songwriting. But some songs are so good that they remain well-known, even several years later. These four songs all came out in 2016. Many years later, they are still some of the best country songs ever written.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Blue Ain’t Your Color” by Keith Urban
“Blue Ain’t Your Color” sounds like something Keith Urban would write. But surprisingly, Steven Lee Olsen, Hillary Lindsey, and Clint Lagerberg are the writers of the song, which appears on Urban’s Ripcord album.
The song is about a man who notices a woman who appears to be heartbroken, with him trying to make her see the brighter side of life. “Blue Ain’t Your Color” says, “Blue looks good on the sky / Looks good on that neon buzzin’ on the wall / But, darling, it don’t match your eyes / I’m tellin’ you / You don’t need that guy / It’s so black and white / He’s stealin’ your thunder / Baby, blue ain’t your color.”
“Road Less Traveled” by Lauren Alaina
Lauren Alaina wrote “Road Less Traveled” with Meghan Trainor and Jesse Frasure. The uptempo song says, “If you trust your rebel heart, ride into battle / Don’t be afraid, take the road less traveled / Wear out your boots and kick up the gravel / Don’t be afraid, take the road less traveled on .”
At the time, Alaina was struggling to be who she thought country music wanted her to be, five years after competing on American Idol in 2011.
“I felt so much pressure in my career to fit this mold and try to make everyone happy. I was just in a mood that day where I was like, ‘I don’t want to live my life to make everyone happy and please everyone,” Alaina tells Billboard. She adds that she was trying to prioritize her own feelings when writing “Road Less Traveled.
“I need to be happy. I was trying to say that,” she adds.
“Setting The World On Fire” by Kenny Chesney and Pink
Kenny Chesney is joined by Pink on “Setting The World On Fire”. On his Cosmic Hallelujah record, the song is written by Ross Copperman, Matt Jenkins, and Josh Osborne.
“Setting The World On Fire” is a nostalgic look back at the joy of youth. The song says, “When the song coming out of the speakers / Was the band that you had on your t-shirt / We were screaming ’cause all the streets were empty / And you kissed me, and we were / Up all night and we were feelin’ so good / Yeah, we got a little higher than we probably should / We were in a hotel singing in the hallway lights / We were strikin’ the match / Setting the world on fire.”
Chesney and Pink earned a Grammy nomination for “Setting The World On Fire”.
“Different For Girls” by Dierks Bentley and Elle King
Shane McCanally and J.T. Harding are the writers of “Different For Girls”, which Bentley includes on his Black album. The country music song is about the disparity in how men and women deal with things.
Elle King joins Bentley on “Different For Girls”. The bold song says, “It’s different for girls when their hearts get broke / They can’t tape it back together with a whiskey and coke / They don’t take someone home and act like it’s nothing / They can’t just switch it off every time they feel something A guy gets drunk with his friends, and he might hook up / Fast forward through the pain, pushing back when the tears come on / But it’s different for girls.”
Photo by Image Group LA/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
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