George Strait & Jamey Johnson’s New Song “Kicked Outta Country” Has Powerful Message
Country protest songs are a dime a dozen these days, and in many cases have become just about as cliche as the pop country songs they criticize. It really takes a fresh angle or a unique twist to make a protest song resonate beyond the anger many folks have at the direction of today’s country music, and that is what Jamey Johnson and George Strait have done with their new song “Kicked Outta Country.”
Appearing on George Strait’s Strait Out of The Box Part 2 being released on Friday, November 18th, it is one of two new songs featured on the box set. Strait isn’t really known for getting too riled about the state of country music, despite being a traditionalist himself and having been shuffled out of the spotlight in recent years. Aside from his rendition of “Murder on Music Row” with Alan Jackson, Strait mostly keeps his opinions to himself.
But on “Kicked Outta Country,” Strait tells it like it is, yet resolves with a very important message for all the folks complaining about what has happened to all the old greats on country radio and beyond.
During the release show of his new box set at historic Gruene Hall Wednesday evening (11-16), Strait explained how the inspiration for the song came about at Tapatio Springs during a charity golf event for the troops.
“Last year, Jamey [Johnson] always comes out and plays in it, and at night we get up and do a jam session and play a couple,” Strait explains “So I came off the stage and Jamey says, ‘So when you going back into the studio, I sure would love to send you some songs.’ I said ‘Sure, I’d love to hear them, but they probably won’t play them on the radio anymore. He goes, ‘Yeah, you know they kicked me out of country too.’ I got to thinking about that the next day, and I thought, ‘You know what, that’s a song title there.’ I texted Jamey and I said either you’re going to write it, I’m going to write it, or we’re both going to write it together. So we wrote it together.”
Johnson has also shared his perspective on how “Kicked Outta Country” came about.
“We wrote it by text message,” chuckled Johnson when speaking to The Commercial Appeal. “I don’t know if it’s a first for either one of us, but it’s definitely a first for the two of us working that way together. He sent me these lines, and I sent him some lines back. He really liked it and asked what it would sound like, and I said, ‘Well let me put a melody to it and I’ll send it to you.’ And that’s how it came to be.”
What’s unique about “Kicked Outta Country” is that instead of just raising gripes, it also adds the perspective that even though these country greats got shuffled aside, they still kept making music, fans still kept listening, and the music survived, and even found renewed success when the trends swung back towards traditional country again, just like they are doing today.
You can find the lyrics for “Kicked Outta Country” below.
– – – – – – – – –
I just got the news today, the record I sent them they threw it away
It don’t fit the format, don’t make the list
They said I’m too old, won’t even be missed
It happened to Jones, and even The Hag
Willie and Waylon, and the great Johnny Cash
They all got kicked outta country back then
But then one day country came calling again
Cash stomped out the footlights
Haggard, he had a ball
And Willie and Waylon, they stole the nation
And Jones never showed up at all
They lived what the wrote, and wrote what they sang
So getting kicked outta country didn’t hurt a thing
Getting kicked outta country didn’t hurt a thing
I just wrote a new song today
I pulled out my old guitar, and I started to play
Pressing my fingers into the strings
I felt the feeling a country song brings
I did some Jones, and one for The Hag
Waylon and Willie, and the great Johnny Cash
They all got kicked outta country back then
But then one day country came calling again
Cash stomped out the footlights
Haggard, he had a ball
And Willie and Waylon, they stole the nation
And Jones showed up after all
They lived what the wrote, and wrote what they sang
So getting kicked outta country didn’t hurt a thing
Getting kicked outta country didn’t hurt a thing
It don’t really matter, because I ain’t gonna change
Cause getting kicked outta country, won’t hurt a thing
Lewis
November 17, 2016 @ 9:49 am
Looks like it’ll be pretty good, thanks for sharing. What’s the word on a new album beyond the box set being released tomorrow?
Trigger
November 17, 2016 @ 9:58 am
Strait didn’t say anything about a new album last night at the release show, and Jamey “doesn’t want to talk about it right now” when it comes to new music. My guess is with “Cold Beer Conversation” not being too old and the box set coming out this year, this is basically Strait’s new record for the next year or so. That is why they included a could of new songs on it. Would be great if they released one or both as singles. Not that they would go anywhere, but you never know. I’ve not heard the studio version, but “Kicked Outta Country” brought the house down last night.
Lewis
November 17, 2016 @ 12:20 pm
I’m pretty excited to hear both them new ones. That makes sense for George, and I noticed the article a little bit back mentioning Jamey wasn’t focusing on that, which is a bummer. Thanks for the info!
Amanda
November 17, 2016 @ 9:51 am
George and Jamey are genuine badasses. I need to check this song out.
seak05
November 17, 2016 @ 10:08 am
This is great, and smart. What to many people either forget, or don’t want to acknowledge, is that just as Strait got kicked out of country music for younger artists, Strait (& his generation) did the same thing to older artists when he was young. It stinks, but it’s also a natural cycle & how most entertaignment industries work.
Trigger
November 17, 2016 @ 10:12 am
Some newer artists show respect to the old greats and do their best to not edge them aside but lift them up, and some don’t. Last night George Strait had very kind words for Merle Haggard and played two of his songs. Willie Nelson invited Ernest Tubb, Bill Monroe, and Roy Acuff to the Dripping Springs Reunion and his early 4th of July Picnics. Some of today’s artists try to do the same, but many of them don’t.
seak05
November 17, 2016 @ 10:58 am
I think by and large most artists appreciate the people who came before them. And we’ve seen somewhat of a trend of some of the current artists having older artists on their albums, which I think is cool. In this case I was mostly referring to radio and label execs vs artists.
MikeO
November 18, 2016 @ 6:48 am
its different now. older artist then still got airtime on the radio, they may not have been winning the awards but they could still influence things. Now America is being force fed a shitburger and told its good. Country music is just like the WWE, its fake, “here’s you champion, go love him” and the sheep just fall in line. They change the rules on how a number 1 is earned so they can prop up poor quality and lack of originality. Old timers in the day always had the potential to rise up with a number 1. Don’t need your rocking chair by Jones, Wrong by Waylon (got frozen at #2 behind friends in low places are just two that come to mind. The system is rigged and the quality suffers.
Crystal
November 22, 2016 @ 11:29 am
It does suck, a lot. It reminds me of that Vince Gill song, “It’s a young man’s town”.
Tezca
November 17, 2016 @ 10:17 am
I like those lyrics!
Fat Freddy's Cat
November 17, 2016 @ 10:30 am
I especially like this bit:
I just wrote a new song today
I pulled out my old guitar, and I started to play
Pressing my fingers into the strings
I felt the feeling a country song brings
Playing those songs does really have a special feeling–to me at least. I never get tired of playing “He’ll Have To Go” or “You Don’t Know Me” or “I Still Miss Someone”, etc.
Sarah
November 17, 2016 @ 10:33 am
Reminder: This is why we need more Jamey Johnson in this world! Too bad he’s been burned so many times by the very genre he loves so much. A cryin’ shame.
Liza Aikman
November 29, 2016 @ 10:35 am
We also need less Kardashian and more George Strait.
Carson Hilburn
November 17, 2016 @ 10:44 am
Great commentary on where the country music industry has gone. This song reminds me of the message in”Murder on Music Row”. I liked in the Nashville area between 1984-1987 and I am glad that I had a country station to listen to because Rock and Roll during that period had jumped off of the proverbial cliff. I am an old rocker, but if you are an old rocker then you have roots in country-traditional country. I look forward to hearing this song.
mary c hayden
November 17, 2016 @ 11:19 am
I watched the live stream last night – I wondered if anyone would say something about this song – I really liked it
Allen
November 17, 2016 @ 11:26 am
Will there be any sort of release of the show? I watched part of it but missed some too.
Trigger
November 18, 2016 @ 10:19 am
If the show comes available to stream, DVD, or whatever, I’ll make sure to alert everyone.
Old Brett
November 17, 2016 @ 11:26 am
First off, Trig, thanks for the heads-up on the live stream last night. I wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. Very enjoyable watch/listen.
I liked both the new songs he played. The protest songs were all kind of hitting the same vein lately, nice to hear a new (and true) perspective.
Master Spleen
November 17, 2016 @ 12:50 pm
These lyrics are bland, and the rhymes are cliche, overused and seem like they were written in twenty minutes.
I doesn’t seem like they put nin any effort at all.
I’d rather they just wrote better sons without getting all so political-and-devisicve.
Like the song says, the peopel will keep listening if the music is good. And this isn’t that good, but to practive what the song preaches they should of just lept to writing good old country songs and let the audience come to them like the song says country came calling again
theyve both done so much better lyrics than this. these are some of the worst lyrics ive heard out of either of them. Murder on Music Row was better and more original.
albert
November 17, 2016 @ 1:47 pm
”..they’ ve both done so much better lyrics than this”
Agreed . I don’t think Jamey Johnson has anything to prove in terms of great songwriting . Nor does George when it comes to writing or finding great songs to record. The lyric above adheres to the first rule of GREAT country songwriting . Make it CONVERSATIONAL . As they say ,” write from your heart , not from your head ”. Say what you mean clearly and to the point . The boys certainly do that with the above lyric . And the point is what this song is all about ….not bewildering a listener with vague , opaque phrases . This is all that some songs need when they are driven by substance.
Liza Aikman
November 29, 2016 @ 9:38 am
George Strait writes good songs and singing’s good at what he does remember that he is the KING OF COUNTRY MUSIC here.
rusty beltway
November 17, 2016 @ 11:56 pm
I don’t disagree, but to add to albert’s reply, I think younger writers are more concerned with being clever lyrically. Seasoned writers are more concerned with making the lyric fit, even if the choice sounds more simple. Same with instrumentalists: youth is concerned with speed and flash, older players think about tone, economy, and emotion.
albert
November 18, 2016 @ 10:21 am
”I don’t disagree, but to add to albert’s reply, I think younger writers are more concerned with being clever lyrically. Seasoned writers are more concerned with making the lyric fit, even if the choice sounds more simple….”
” Clever ‘ in terms of using lyrics as syncopation factors and incorporating trendy phrases, perhaps …but certainly not clever in terms of using actual narrative and all of its elements ( irony , pathos , drama or humour , much less story movement a la Good Directions by Currington written by Luke Brian .. etc.. )
”Same with instrumentalists: youth is concerned with speed and flash, older players think about tone, economy, and emotion”
Perhaps in some pop , metal, and jazz youth is burning up fretboards , but in contemporary country music , the instrumentalist is a mostly a forgotten entity , unfortunately . The twang of a tele , the unique musical voicings of a steel guitar , the emotional palette inherent in a fiddle , in the right hands , the sweet musical register a mandolin can add ……most cont. country has forsaken these traditional tools as well , often , as the strong musical hooks and solos they brought to a song in efforts , apparently , to “tighten” the product for radio play and shorter attention spans in newerreleases .( Garth Brooks once suggested , jokingly and in response to this ” tightening of tunes “, that he may as well just sing a chorus 6 times and make THAT the song . But yes , Rusty , I believe you made a solid observation in terms of veteran players and their approach . The lyric and style of the song dictated their instrumental contributions in terms of emotion. You want fast …ALL these guys can play fast ( pick up just about ANY bluegrass record if you want a hit of serious acoustic shredding ) but now ” fast pickin’ is reserved for sound check and warm-ups . You will rarely hear anything on a new country release approaching what Vince , Brent Mason or even ol Albert Lee brought to a country record as lead guitar man .
Strait Country 81
November 18, 2016 @ 1:11 pm
I know good and well you’d praise it as the greatest thing ever if it was a Jason Isbell/Sturgill duet.
Master Spleen
November 18, 2016 @ 7:56 pm
Ehh… I’m not really a huge fan of Sturgill Simpson.
I lkie som eof his songs but he doesn’t sing real clearly and his instrumentation is usually a bit overwhelming. I loved High Top but Metamodern didn’t live pu to all the hype srrounding it.
and he’s probabky one of the worst live shows I’ve evr seen.
Dogit
November 17, 2016 @ 2:33 pm
I am a huge fan of both artist. George Strait’s music is the soundtrack for my life. I own every album. I will be buy this entire collection of songs I already own just to get the two knew songs. I think the lyrics are a little weak. I like the idea and love all the artists named in the song, but shouldn’t Haggard stomp out the footlights? Instead of just simply having a ball.
Kent
November 17, 2016 @ 3:14 pm
I think line about Merle “having a ball” refers to the “A place where even squares can have a ball” in “Okie From Muskogee” And the “Cash stomped out the footlights” , because Cash are assumed to have done just that at the Rymans once… 🙂
BigCheez34
February 23, 2017 @ 6:50 am
It’s not assumed that Cash stomped out the footlights, it’s fact. During Boy Named Sue, it was a live recording and caught on video.
DJ
November 17, 2016 @ 3:25 pm
The Encyclopedia Brittanica should have a section on “Wandering Minstrel” with Willie’s life story as the only entry.
the pistolero
November 17, 2016 @ 5:44 pm
Like I said elsewhere, this song makes for a nice little “fuck you” to country radio. Pretty neat. I didn’t think we’d get any more protest songs out of George.
albert
November 17, 2016 @ 6:51 pm
Its incredible to believe that guys like George (and Garth , AJ and others ) sell gazillions of albums and concert tickets /merchandise to fans of all ages and yet country radio doesn’t see them as ‘ fitting the format ‘ . They have deals with Target / Walmart etc that further maintains and enhances exposure ..no ? Wouldn’t these legends BRING HUGE NUMBERS OF THEIR FANS TO RADIO who aren’t there now and widen marketing demographics for radio sponsors ? Doesn’t that make sense to radio ? I mean , isn’t that just a good thing for sponsors , artists , labels , iTunes , Amazon , radio AND country music fans . These legends literally do their own legwork ….touring , getting their music out to fans , writing /co-writing , doing well for their respective labels etc. WHAT is the downside( to radio) of radio playing new ( and classic ) music by these guys ?
Trigger
November 18, 2016 @ 10:15 am
At this point country radio is attempting to appeal only to a small niche to young consumers that solely coincide within the target demographic of certain advertisers.
albert
November 18, 2016 @ 10:26 am
Understood , Trigger . But what I’m questioning is why radio doesn’t think that all of those fans buying product , concert tickets and supporting the older artists wouldn’t add to their listenership thus encouraging a broader sponsor base and more revenue ? In other words , why such a narrow demographic when they could have it ALL ?
Greg
December 4, 2016 @ 1:11 pm
There are a lot of so called Country radio stations that just don’t care for their listners,and will use every lie they can think of,or that the consultant tells them,to get off the hook with the listener who called or wrote to request that star.
Thank the good Lord for WSM,and the few stations that DO play what the listeners want to hear….REAL COUNTRY MUSIC
CarolinaCowpunk
November 17, 2016 @ 8:55 pm
You know what? George can’t get kicked out of country, because he IS country. Just like the other greats, and a few young artists trying to swim their way through the boat load of cr** noise ( its NOT music). .it’s such a shame that the ones with real country traditional talent can’t be heard because of all the static coming out of these pitiful others. I wish George would go back to touring and only take “the real deals” with him!
Matt
November 17, 2016 @ 9:02 pm
Three chords and the damn truth right there
Tighthead
November 18, 2016 @ 9:26 am
Is this that much different than Waylon’s “Living Legends” or George Jones’ “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?” – you just name check a bunch of legendary singers and acknowledge them. I love George Strait, but this doesn’t feel like a fresh concept.
Trigger
November 18, 2016 @ 10:11 am
To me, what makes this song unique is how it resolves. Instead of just complaining and coming across as bitter, the songs concludes in saying that even though they were “Kicked Outta Country,” nothing really changed because the fans were still there, and the music was still as important as ever. I just think it ends on a more positive, and more realistic note for someone like Strait and Johnson. Sure, they don’t get played on the radio anymore, but they’re doing just fine, and they’re happy because they’re doing it their own way.
Glen S
November 19, 2016 @ 7:00 am
I can’t wait to hear this…Maybe Country will come around again..Also can’t wait to hear what else is on that Box-Set, But with George it will be nothing more than Great
Sam
November 19, 2016 @ 11:47 am
So, so happy about this. All around.
Only criticism I have is trivial, but it brought to my attention something I hadn’t thought about before.
So my first thought was fantastic, and I’m glad they didn’t end up implying the “that’s the way it goes, it was time for the new generation to take the mantle, take over, fill the shoes, evolving” ideology. Then I thought why is it always the same crop of Legends that are name dropped in these kind of songs (petty, I know). Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for George and Merle Haggard (as well as the Highwaymen mentioned) getting recognition every chance they get, but even those 2 and especially the Outlaws are like stock answers in Country (and even not Country) songs at this point. It’s almost cliche. It would be so refreshing to hear a Faron Young, Marty Robbins, Buck Owens, Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce, etc reference in one of these “protest songs”. I realize none of those names would have the kind of impact or get the point across as easily as the Legends mentioned would to the average listener & that that probably has alot to do with it.
But it brought me to an interesting (to me anyway) observation. In addition to those artists from that generation being arguably some of the greatest singers, musicians, writers, and entertainers of all time, they revered, respected, and honored their heroes, mentors, and predecessors on a constant basis. The Country artists born roughly from the mid 20s to the late 30s not only payed homage by carrying on the tradition in their music, but many of the pioneers in the genre became their peers & continued to have successful careers concurrently with their successors. ET, Bill Monroe, Red Foley, and Roy Acuff come to mind immediately. And I don’t believe back then, for those younger artists, it was ever a conscious decision to “keep it Country” (for the most part) or show such high regard to “their” Legends. No, their music wasn’t exactly the same, but the progression was seamless. What a further contradiction with the “performers” of today who have almost no connection, appreciation, or knowledge of the Giants of the past
CaseyK
November 20, 2016 @ 8:03 am
Thanks for the lyrics, although they are a bit different in the recording which you can hear at this link on YouTube. Love the song and don’t think it will get played on mainstream radio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuDJwpw9Pbw
Christian H.
November 21, 2016 @ 11:37 pm
Trigger,
Just FYI, your article was quoted in a foxnews story:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/11/21/george-strait-goes-after-country-radio-in-kicked-outta-country.html
Trigger
November 22, 2016 @ 12:17 am
Thanks for the heads up.
justin casey
November 22, 2016 @ 2:24 pm
i love both of the new songs i’ll have to pick up this box set
Mama Tried
July 28, 2017 @ 11:06 pm
For all of those who criticize this song, George Strait can write and record a song about whatever the hell he wants to. He didn’t ask for your permission! He and Jamey are badass and so is the song!
Matt
August 1, 2017 @ 12:40 pm
What I don’t get is, how can you complain about getting pushed out of country music in 2016 after you announced your retirement in 2012?