Some country artists try to emulate pop music, looking for crossover success. But then there are some artists who are so proudly country, they sing about it in their songs. These are three country songs that were recent hits, which boldly celebrate being country.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Stay Country Or Die Tryin’” by Blake Shelton
There may not be a better anthem celebrating the country lifestyle than Blake Shelton’s “Stay Country Or Die Tryin’“. On his For Recreational Use Only record, Beau Bailey, Graham Barham, Sam Ellis, and Drew Parker are the song’s writers.
“Stay Country Or Die Tryin’” says, “From the red, white, and blue flyin’ high at the farm / To the Boone and Crockett stud on the wall in the barn / Where the magnolias bloom, there’s a lab on the lawn / Where your buddy and your boat both got the name John / In God, we trust / Detroit, we rust / Redneck letter testifyin’ / From the born in the cut / ‘Til the day that I’m dust / I’ma stay country or die tryin’.”
Shelton’s first single, “Austin”, came out in 2001. With dozens of songs out in the years since then, he says “Stay Country Or Die Tryin’” remains one of his favorites.
“I love songs that are filled with attitude,” Shelton says on Country Countdown USA. “That’s what ‘God’s Country’ had too. You’re so proud of who you are that you’re mad about it. It’s just the lifestyle I live when I can turn off the singer and become the fake rancher I am. I become that guy when I sing this song.”
“Stay Country Or Die Tryin’” became Shelton’s 31st No. 1 single.
“Let Your Boys Be Country” by Jason Aldean
In 2023, Jason Aldean released “Let Your Boys Be Country“. Written by Allison Veltz Cruz, Jaron Boyer, and Micah Wilshire, the song is on his Highway Desperado record.
“Let Your Boys Be Country” says, “Yeah, let ’em chase, let ’em fall for a small town girl / Let everything inside these county lines be his whole world / You want him to grow up to be someone he’s damn proud to be / Mamas, let your boys be country.”
“I got a five-year-old little boy who’s growing up in a crazy world right now,” Aldean explains to Taste of Country. “It’s like, man, just let ’em be kids. Let them be little. Let them go play and do all the things they’re supposed to do and figure things out for themselves.”
“Country On” by Luke Bryan
Luke Bryan didn’t write “Country On”, but it sounds like something he could have written. The song, about fully celebrating the country way of life, is written by Mark Newsler, David Frasier, Mitch Oglesby, and Styles Haury. Out as a single in 2022, it appears on Bryan’s Mind Of A Country Boy project.
“Country On” says, “Hey farm boy, keep dropping that plow / Baling that hay, feeding them cows / From the rooster crow ’til another long day is gone / Country on / Hey big rig, keep clocking them miles / Pulling that horn, making us smile / Rolling that load down the road all night long / Country on.”
Photo by: Tyler Golden/NBC via Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.