Small Town

"Small Town" is a song written by John Mellencamp and released on his 1985 album Scarecrow. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Content

Mellencamp wrote the song about his experiences growing up in a small town in Indiana, having been born in Seymour, Indiana, and living in Bloomington, Indiana, which, at the time of the release of the song, was much smaller. The music video has references to both towns.

Backstory

"I wrote that song in the laundry room of my old house," Mellencamp told American Songwriter magazine in 2004. "We had company, and I had to go write the song. And the people upstairs could hear me writing and they were all laughing when I came up. They said, 'You've got to be kidding.' What else can you say about it?"

In popular culture

NBA legend and fellow Indiana native Larry Bird used the song during his retirement ceremony in 1993, referring to his hometown of French Lick, Indiana as a "small town." The Sports Illustrated-produced VHS NBA Superstars featured a highlight reel of Bird set to the song.

Southern man

In New Zealand, the southern man is a stereotypical southern male, well used to the solitude and conditions of open mountain or hill country, and completely out of his depth in the city.

The stereotype draws on images of high country farmers and hunters, particularly from areas such as Central Otago and the Mackenzie Basin, who work large sheep stations, often employing the horse and dog rather than mechanised transport, due to the terrain they have to cover.

Ironically, the New Zealander who probably best exemplified the characteristics of the southern man was a North Islander - writer and bushman Barry Crump.

Already a well-known stereotype, it gained an extra boost due to its use in the advertising campaign of Otago's best known pale lager beer, Speight's, in a series of advertisements which have been running since the early 1990s.

The stereotype was later attributed to an iconic song, which is now regarded as an unofficial anthem of Dunedin City and Otago in general. Written by Ad Agency Creative Director, Roy Meares, produced and sung by Murray Grindlay. This song is currently performed for Otago Rugby and Speight's Breweries by local musician Denis Henderson.

Southern Man

"Southern Man" is a song by Neil Young from his album After the Gold Rush. The album was released in 1970. An extended live version can be heard on the Crosby Stills Nash & Young album 4 Way Street.

Description

The lyrics of "Southern Man" are vivid, describing the racism towards blacks in the American South. In the song, Young tells the story of a white man (symbolically the entire white South) and how he mistreated his slaves. Young pleadingly asks when the South will make amends for the fortunes built through slavery when he sings, "I saw cotton and I saw 'bac, tall white mansions and little shacks. Southern Man, when will you pay them back?" The song also mentions the practice of cross burning.

Young was very sensitive about the song's message as anti-racism and anti-violence. During his 1973 tour, he cancelled a show in Oakland, California because a fan was beaten and removed from the stage by a guard while the song was played.

Response

Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote their song "Sweet Home Alabama" in response to "Southern Man" and "Alabama" from the 1972 album Harvest by Young, who has said that he is a fan of both "Sweet Home Alabama" and Ronnie Van Zant, the lead vocalist for Lynyrd Skynyrd. "They play like they mean it," Young said in 1976. "I'm proud to have my name in a song like theirs." Young has also been known to play "Sweet Home Alabama" in concert occasionally. To demonstrate this camaraderie, Van Zant frequently wore a Neil Young Tonight's the Night T-shirt while performing "Sweet Home Alabama".Crazy Horse bassist Billy Talbot can often be seen reciprocating by wearing a Jack Daniel's-styled Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt (including at the Live Rust concert).

Small Town Southern Man

"Small Town Southern Man" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released in November 2007 as the lead single from his album Good Time (see 2008 in country music), the song reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in March 2008, becoming Jackson's twenty-third Number One hit on that chart, as well as his first since "Remember When" in February 2004.

Content

Described by the magazine Country Weekly as a "loping, fiddle-and-steel-guitar-driven song", "Small Town Southern Man" is set in a moderate tempo and composed of three verses. Its lyrics tell of the life of Jackson's father, and how he was "raised on the ways and gentle kindness of a small town Southern man".

Despite several similarities between his life and the song, Jackson did not intend for it to be a tribute to his father or grandfather, although he did draw from his own ancestry as an inspiration. This is especially evident in the line, "First there came four pretty daughters for the Small Town Southern Man, then a few years later came another, a boy; he wasn't planned," (Jackson is the youngest child and only boy in his family and has four sisters). According to him, the song is actually a tribute to anyone with a rural upbringing such as his own: "Wherever you go, there are rural people that are working for a living and raising families. They all have the same qualities and goals as a small town Southern man."

Alan Jackson

Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 15 studio albums, three Greatest Hits albums, two Christmas albums, two Gospel albums and several compilations.

Jackson has sold over 80 million records worldwide, with more than 50 of his singles having appeared on Billboard's list of the "Top 30 Country Songs". Of Jackson's entries, 35 were number-one hits, with 50 in the Top 10. He is the recipient of 2 Grammys, 16 CMA Awards, 17 ACM Awards and nominee of multiple other awards. He is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

In August 2014 the Country Music Hall of Fame opened an exhibit celebrating Jackson’s 25 years in the music industry. It was also announced that he was an artist in residency as well, performing shows on October 8 and 22. The exhibit highlights the different milestones in his career with memorabilia collected over the years. His 25th Anniversary "Keeping It Country" Tour began January 8, 2015, in Estero, FL.