These 4 Country Songs From the 1960s Have Truly Unique Lyrics

The 1960s are an important era in country music for multiple reasons, including how clever the songs were in that era. These are four country songs from the 1960s that have lyrics that are truly unique.

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“Daddy Sang Bass” by Johnny Cash

Out in 1968 on Johnny Cash’s gospel album, The Holy Land, is “Daddy Sang Bass”. A six-week No. 1 hit, the song was written by Carl Perkins. It also uses lines from an early 1900s hymn, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken”.

“Daddy Sang Bass” may seem like a feel-good tune, which it is to some degree. But it is also about losing loved ones, which makes the song so special.

“Daddy Sang Bass” says, “Daddy sang bass / Mama sang tenor./ Me and little brother would join right in there / Singing seems to help a troubled soul / One of these days, and it won’t be long / I’ll rejoin them in a song / I’m gonna join the family circle at the Throne / No, the circle won’t be broken / By and by, Lord, by and by.”

“I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail” by Buck Owens

One of the numerous No. 1 hits by Buck Owens is “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail”. Written by Owens and Harlan Howard, “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail” is the title track of his eighth studio album.

The humorous song says, “Well, I thought the day I met you, you were meek as a lamb / Just the kind to fit my dreams and plans / Now, the pace we’re livin’ takes the wind from my sails / And it looks like I’ve got a tiger by the tail / I’ve got a tiger by the tail.”

“I’m A Honky Tonk Girl” by Loretta Lynn

“I’m A Honky Tonk Girl” might seem like a song of declaration, but it’s really about a heartbreak. Loretta Lynn wrote her debut single, released in 1960, and was the sole writer of the tune.

A Top 15 single, “I’m A Honky Tonk Girl” says, “I just can’t make a right with all of my wrongs / Every evening of my life seems so long / I’m sorry and ashamed for all these things you see / But losing him has made a fool of me / So fill my glass up to the rim / To lose my memory of him / I’ve lost everything in this world / And now I’m a honky tonk girl.”

“The Race Is On” by George Jones

Written by Don Rollins, “The Race Is On” is on George Jones’s I Get Lonely In A Hurry album. An uptempo song, “The Race Is On” is actually about heartbreak.

“The Race Is On” says, “Now the race is on, and here comes pride up the backstretch / Heartaches are going to the inside / My tears are holding back / They’re trying not to fall / My heart’s out of the running / True love’s scratched for another’s sake / The race is on, and it looks like heartaches / And the winner loses all.”

In 1989, Sawyer Brown released their own version of “The Race Is On”, which became a Top 5 hit.

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