Country music, more so than most other genres out there, is known for its storytelling, dramatic narratives, and use of lyricism to paint a mental image. Telling tales is at the heart of country music, and some of the best storytelling songs in the genre dropped between 1960 and 1980. Let’s look at just three gorgeous storytelling songs that made an impact on country music forever.
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“Please Help Me, I’m Falling” by Don Robertson (1960)
What a classic. “Please Help Me, I’m Falling” by Don Robertson was released in early 1960 off of the album of the same name, and it was a fast hit for the country crooner. In fact, this story song was Locklin’s most successful song of his career.
This tune doesn’t tell some grand, anthemic story about cowboys or murder. It does, however, paint a picture of a man who is desperately falling in love with a woman while he is married to another, and he is unsure of how to handle it. It’s actually quite a short song, too, which only makes the lyrics that songwriters Don Robertson and Hal Blair chose all the more impactful.
“The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” by Vicki Lawrence (1972)
This one might be the most memorable Southern gothic tune of the 1970s. Vicki Lawrence scored a No. 1 hit with this song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Lawrence, as the narrator, spins the tale about her brother, who was hanged for a crime he didn’t commit. If you somehow missed this song, I won’t spoil it for you. But the twists and turns that “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” takes are enthralling. Even if you’ve heard it a million times.
“He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones (1980)
“He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones honestly sounds like a pre-80s song. It has that emotional, glittering quality that 1970s country music had. And yet, Jones managed to be both ahead of his time and nostalgic with this heartbreaking entry on our list of storytelling country songs. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” tells the story of a man who loved a woman until the day he died, even though she rejected him. It’s the kind of classic country tearjerker that made the genre’s weepy side so appealing back in the day.
Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage
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