Saving Country Music’s 2018 Song of the Year
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a split decision. In a year when it feels like a criminal act to choose the best song over so many worthy contenders, even whittling it down to just two feels like a grave offense. But it is two songs that just can’t be denied this year, and it would be a discredit to the process to choose one over the other since their both so similar in both message and quality.
Jamie Lin Wilson’s “Death & Life” and Lori McKenna’s “People Get Old” come from the same pool of wisdom and insight, though they take patently unique routes in telling their stories. Love is very often the inspiration for songs. Death is another subject that often cries out for canonization through music. Birth has inspired indelible odes over the years. But encapsulating them all in a way that can conjoin all of these emotions into one rich moment that touches every last one of your emotional receptors and shakes you to your core is the mark of true songwriting mastery.
More than any other year, all of the Song of the Year Nominees deserve their own accolades, and any could have been selected for the top spot. Cody Jinks‘s “Head Case” and American Aquarium‘s “One Day At A Time” did amazing work this year portraying the complexities of songwriters and performers themselves. Miranda Lambert and the Pistol Annies showed a master stroke in character creation in “Cheyenne.” The affects of memory loss and age were reflected on with cutting accuracy in Randall King‘s “When He Knows Me.” Caitlyn Smith encapsulated the struggle of a songwriter just trying to be heard in “This Town Is Killing Me.” Kenny Chesney showed surprising depth with “Better Boat.” Ervin Stellar had the twang banger of the year with “My Way.” And John Prine proved once again why he is songwriting royalty in “Summer’s End.”
But 2018 belongs to Jamie Line Wilson and Lori McKenna—two mothers of proud broods penning songs on kitchen tables after kids go to bed and chores are done, channeling their real-world experiences into songs, and speaking to us in ways that make us changed people by the end.
Lori McKenna – “People Get Old”
If there’s any hope for the future of mainstream country music, it lies in songwriters like Lori McKenna. Whenever you see a quality song from a major label country artist, it’s uncanny how often Lori McKenna’s name comes up in the songwriting credits. That was the case for Tim McGraw’s award-winning version of “Humble and Kind,” and dozens of other McKenna-penned tracks, including tracks she’s written with her cadre of fellow composers Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose, also known as The Love Junkies.
Mother of five Lori McKenna from Stoughton, Massachusetts is saving country music. You no longer have any legitimate license to say, “Oh, I’ve heard the name. Isn’t she a songwriter or something?” and consider yourself and enlightened music fan. Brushing Lori McKenna off is brushing off one of the greatest living songwriters of our generation, right up there with whatever field of heavyweights you want to amass as challengers or contemporaries. Just as we mourn the loss of songwriters gone by and wonder aloud who will ever be capable of filling their shoes, future generations will say the same of Lori McKenna.
Jamie Lin Wilson – “Death & Life”
“Death & Life” is nothing short of songwriting mastery, slaying all who listen with open hearts, feeling less like a country roots song, and more like some Eastern poem that unlocks the inalienable truths of life in a breathtaking efficiency of ink strokes on parchment.
Creating sermons about the cycles of life is at the very kernel of American roots music. This is the reason “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” is often given credit for being the first country song, and the reason these words ring the rotunda of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Jamie Lin Wilson hasn’t just re-imagined these eternal truths in yet another song, she’s forged them into a new axiom, both fresh and timeless.
Bill McClemons
January 1, 2019 @ 11:09 am
If this stuff today i “country” then I’m a jet pilot!!!!!
Trigger
January 1, 2019 @ 11:11 am
A good song is a good song.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
January 1, 2019 @ 12:33 pm
and good food is good food but if we’re entering babyback ribs in a chili cook-off there’s a bigger issue than the quality of the food.
Sure the case could be made that this isn’t fully Country or is only loosely Country.
as a bit of a stickler for a more rigid interpretation I see the merit in defining this as Americana but since Americana is just Country Music that either isn’t Country enough or is too Country anyway… sure, have your cake and eat it too
Trigger
January 1, 2019 @ 12:41 pm
These songs fit within the country music songwriting legacy of Kris Kristofferson, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and many others. Are they super twangy shit kickers? Of course not. But the quality of the song is the primary concern with “Song of the Year,” not anyone’s unnecessarily strict interpretation of genre that impinges on their ability to enjoy good music. I’ve been raging for the importance of genre and country music for over a decade now. There’s a time and place for that. When you’re talking about the best songs, as long as they fit under the country umbrella, let the best song win.
altaltcountry
January 1, 2019 @ 4:45 pm
If you made a timeline of all legitimate country recordings from Eck Robertson to Ward Davis, “twangy shitkickers” would occupy only a small portion of the line. I do think Wilson is closer to the old stuff than is McKenna, but while I’m in awe of both performers / albums, I think The Tree is a more complex yet universal work (not to say “better,” which is a matter of taste). Are they country? Yes, in the sense that you take after your great-great-grandparent; no in the sense that the two of you are identical.
Both of these women got where they are honestly and humbly. We’re blessed to have their work.
Charlie
January 2, 2019 @ 6:19 am
Gulp, that’s the same logic that all the Nashville labels use as they’ve force fed us Sam Hunt, Walker Hayes, etc.
Trigger
January 2, 2019 @ 10:28 am
No it’s not. It’s blasphemy to include the names of Sam Hunt ans Walker Hays in the same universe as Lori McKenna and Jamie Lin Wilson. You misguided purists and your inability to draw distinctions between good music and bad music is doing way more damage to the country genre than good.
Charlie
January 2, 2019 @ 10:41 am
Haha, ok. I was pitching Dale Watson, the Derailers, Wayne Hancock and others 20+ years ago as I traveled and saw them in TX, OK, AR and all over the Midwest. I’ve drank beer with Hank III in MN, was on stage with Aaron Watson in IL, spent time on the Ragweed bus and had dinner with Dale Watson in WI. I morphed into Aaron Watson, Casey Donahew (seeing him next week in SD), Cody Johnson and others who are still considered country and honky-tonk and not this Americana nonsense. Be careful who you claim is wrecking the genre tiger, some of us aren’t enamored by social justice, actually see shows, hang with the bands and live the lifestyle. By your logic, if Justin Timberlake comes out with a good song that isn’t just snap tracks, it’s a candidate for song of the year. That’s sad.
Trigger
January 2, 2019 @ 11:01 am
“Be careful who you claim is wrecking the genre tiger, some of us aren’t enamored by social justice…“
Ah ha. Now we know what this is all about. For the record, these two women and their songs were chosen based upon their own merit, not some scale tipping like most of the media. It just happens they are women.
And if you really think that Cross Canadian Ragweed and Casey Donahew are significantly more country than this, then you need a serious recalibration of your genre compass. I’m a big Aaron Watson apologist, but that dude’s way more pop country than Jamie Lin Wilson has ever been.
altaltcountry
January 3, 2019 @ 8:30 pm
I’m new to contemporary country music, but I have yet to hear a single female vocalist / composer who has sold herself out for the sake of popularity (excluding the pretenders like Bebe Rexha obviously). Artists like Jamie Lin Wilson and Lori McKenna (and Pistol Annies, Kacey Musgraves etc. etc.) are national treasures. It’s not a matter of political correctness or social justice or affirmative action to appreciate these women for what they are. They could be selling a boatload more if they had chosen the Rexha route.
Jared S.
January 1, 2019 @ 2:02 pm
Oh come on, Death and Life is as Country as anything. People Get Old definitely fits under the umbrella too. If these songs aren’t Country enough for you, that’s your problem.
Fesgrow
January 1, 2019 @ 11:16 am
ANAL and The DISHES! – Wheeler Walker Jr…… Interesting choices Trigger.
63guild
January 1, 2019 @ 1:33 pm
I’m more of a “save some titty milk for me” guy
Angelo Rinaldi
January 1, 2019 @ 11:18 am
Wow, I thought the top two contenders were going to be ONE DAY AT A TIME and THIS TOWN IS KILLING ME, but I love these two songs too.
Great year for country music, can’t wait for what 2019 has in store!
DS
January 1, 2019 @ 11:22 am
Head Case was a clear number 1 in my opinion, though I can’t argue with People Get Old.
Billy Wayne Ruddick
January 1, 2019 @ 4:36 pm
I don’t the case for Head Case. It’s a basic arrangement that clearly is trying to ride the coattails / vibe of many aspects of A Sailors Guide to Earth, but in a more rudimentary way. The lyrics themselves are relatable and heavy, which is great, but the delivery of the lyrics is rushed. It almost sounds like he wrote the lyrics, someone else wrote the arrangement, and they then met up in the studio and were given 10 minutes to cram them together. This rushed lyrical delivery is one of the things that is really irritating about Lifers as a whole, along with the bad recording / mixing. A song like head case would have really benefitted from someone convincing Cody to let things breathe a bit.
Kevin Davis
January 1, 2019 @ 11:55 am
Yes, these were the best songs. And in response to Bill above, this is country. You might as well say Kristofferson wasn’t country.
Lisa Donnelly
January 1, 2019 @ 5:06 pm
Better Boat was written by Travis Meadows.
Black Boots
January 1, 2019 @ 12:34 pm
The two best songs of the year were Slow Burn by Kacey Musgraves and Mariners Apartment Complex by Lana Del Rey
Angelo Rinaldi
January 1, 2019 @ 12:36 pm
Slow Burn has nothing on these two songs. Nice to hear, but lyrically lackluster for her standards.
As for the Lana song, we are in a country music blog so…
Cameron
January 1, 2019 @ 1:29 pm
Saw this coming a mile away. Girl Power!!!
Head Case should have won.
OlaR
January 1, 2019 @ 1:57 pm
My Song Of The Year 2018:
Kolby Cooper – “Take It From Hank”
EP: Kolby Cooper Vo.1 (released 02/15)
Sleeper…was under my radar for a couple of month.
Close behind:
Travis Collins – “High Horse”
The Black Lillies – “Joy & Misery”
Kirsty Lee Akers – “Chasing Ghosts” (most played track of 2018)
The Sweet Jellyrolls – “I Guess Those Country Songs Are Finally Getting To Me”
OlaR
January 1, 2019 @ 2:19 pm
Texas – Hits of 2018 (Souce: Texas Regional Radio Report)
#1 – Aaron Watson – “Run Wild Horses”
#2 – Case Hardin – “Texas Rain”
#3 – Josh Abbott Band – “Girl Down In Texas”
#4 – Jason Cassidy feat. Heather Little – “Falling Too Fast”
#5 – Kyle Park – “Ain’t Nobody Hotter”
.
#25 – Natalie Rose – “My South” (highest female solo artist)
(Randall King on #8 with “Tuggin’ On My Heartstrings & #39 “Mirror, Mirror”)
Australia – Hits of 2018 (Source: The Top 40 Country Tracks Of 2018 by Campfire Publishing)
#1 – Carter & Carter – “Better Day”
#2 – Dale Duncan – “Diamantina Coming Down”
#3 – Drew McAlister – “Australian Heartbeat”
#4 – The Wolfe Brothers – “Ain’t Seen It Yet”
#5 – Tony Cook – “That’s Country”
#6 – Beccy Cole – “Lioness”
Sana Mello
January 1, 2019 @ 2:24 pm
Disappointed that American Aquarium’s The World Is On Fire, and Cody Jinks Head Case didn’t make the cut, but happy to see Lori did. I will have to listen to that Jamie Lin album.
yb01
January 1, 2019 @ 3:00 pm
I was somewhat disappointed that The World Is On Fire wasn’t nominated. It’s definitely my favourite…though it may be a bit too political for some! To be fair, the album has so many great songs that it must have been hard to pick only one for the SOTY nomination!
Orest
January 1, 2019 @ 2:28 pm
I’m not sure what the definition of country music is anymore?
yb01
January 1, 2019 @ 2:40 pm
Yay for People Get Old! Timeless lyrics. A true masterpiece!
Corncaster
January 1, 2019 @ 3:33 pm
Not a lot of passion in these two songs. They kinda range around, lack compression and focus. Very “workshoppy.” Songs for the plateau of mid-life. More “Americana” than country.
Still rooting for both writers, though.
Steven Gimmy
January 1, 2019 @ 4:56 pm
Three words, Dillon Fuckin Carmichael. Nuff said.
Euro South
January 1, 2019 @ 6:16 pm
You’re spot on for highlighting these fine ladies, Trig, because they show exactly what Country Music is really about: reaching into the depths of your lived experience, pulling up what you find there, and turning it into honest and beautiful songs. That and the twang.
Big Red
January 1, 2019 @ 8:09 pm
I think People Get Old is a great song and can fully support it. I might have added some consideration for “Traveling Day” off the new Gibson Brothers album.
Wayne
January 1, 2019 @ 8:58 pm
A woman won. Where is the diversity? Men sitting around a table crying in their lemonade because they weren’t treated fairly.
What is the music community coming to that men are not represented in SCM song of the year. I DEMAND EQUAL TREATMENT.
Of course, tongue-in-cheek
Wayne
January 1, 2019 @ 9:24 pm
Men not represented. Time to start a bro-writer movement. Unfair. Too dominated by women.
Will men whine about unfairness?Probably not.
I think I smell political correctness here.
Ulysses McCaskill
January 2, 2019 @ 1:19 am
Not saying they’re bad songs, but what’s country nowadays? These two sound much like the 90 % of stuff that gets played on XM’s Outlaw Country lately. Ain’t a whole lot of outlaw left in outlaw country, hell, ain’t a whole lot of country left in outlaw country. Good thing Willie’s Roadhouse still gets it mostly right.
Back to the song of the year, I’ll take Saskatchewan in 1881 for 1000 Alex.
Have a good 19.
hoptowntiger94
January 2, 2019 @ 4:52 am
I agree with the Americana music infiltrating the Outlaw station. Hillbilly Jim’s Moonshine Matinee is still good! He mixes in some good southern rock with true Outlaw music.
I can’t really get into either of these songs. It’s just not my style.
Ulysses McCaskill
January 2, 2019 @ 6:55 am
Yeah there’s still a couple bright spots. In a perfect world, if I were running a station, I’d play nothing but Ernest Tubb, Hank Sr., Webb Pierce, Haggard, Waylon, Willie, Billy Joe, Guy Clark, then sprinkle in a few new guys like Childers and Wall, and then round it out with Marshall Tucker and Skynyrd.
And there’d be a mandatory slot for Marty Robbins each show.
Spoony
January 3, 2019 @ 1:40 am
Because every country station needs its share of classic rock. Can’t find classic rock hardly anywhere
Ulysses McCaskill
January 3, 2019 @ 6:10 am
Can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.
However, Marshall Tucker was more country than 99% of “country” we hear today. That includes all of this new fangled Americana mumbo jumbo. Their sound with Toy Caldwell on steel was undeniably country as hell.
As to your point about not finding classic rock, well I really can’t find the good countrified southern rock I’m looking for. I never hear MTB and the same 2 or 3 Skynyrd songs are played only occasionally. And there’s a shit ton of Skynyrd stuff more country than most of this new crap.
Ulysses McCaskill
January 2, 2019 @ 1:27 am
Changed my mind.
I’ll take “I Like Smoking Pot (A Lot)”.
P.S- If you’ve never polished off several joints while simultaneously polishing off a half bottle of OGD 114, I highly recommend it.
Ok that’s all.
Ann Stokman
January 2, 2019 @ 4:32 am
Love it
Kevin Smith
January 2, 2019 @ 5:38 am
Yes these songs are “country” songs. To say they are not shows a lack of understanding of the last 4 decades of country music. A few names of the past like Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kathy Mattea, Dolly, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, Crystal Gayle, should illustrate the variety of sounds , song themes and vocal styles that have been a part of country music. I feel like some of the regulars here are stuck on “outlaw” as the only legit sound to define country music. There is so much more to it than that. These two songs Trig highlights here are good songs. Are they song of the year worthy? Perhaps. I don’t love them as much as Trig does, but I think they are world’s better than anything Abusin’Music Row put out!
I personally haven’t listened to anywhere near the amount of new releases Trig did this year, so I don’t have a great opinion on song of the year. The Jinks tune head case mentioned here is pretty good as is the new Whitey Morgan release. I will say I recently listened to the new Jerry Jeff Walker album and found it to be a decent listen.
hoptowntiger94
January 2, 2019 @ 6:21 am
Through Emmylou Harris in there too! That’s who Jamie Lin Wilson reminds me of most.
Trigger
January 2, 2019 @ 10:35 am
It also shows a lack of understanding for what Song of the Year means. My picks have always been sappy, heady, teary-eyed shit. Rarely have people complained they’re not “country” enough. Some of these folks are just cheesed that Cody Jinks didn’t win.
Euro South
January 2, 2019 @ 4:58 pm
Good for you, Trigger! Sappy, heady and teary-eyed is how I like them.
Kross
January 2, 2019 @ 6:02 am
both good songs, and tell important stories, but I find People Get Old more melodically pleasing.
Bill
January 2, 2019 @ 6:13 am
I don’t know if these are the two best songs of the year. But I am moving my 91 year old dad to assisted living this morning while my 87 year old mom is suffering from the ravages of dementia. So these songs speak to me and that is all I need to know and feel about them at this point in my life.
Kevin Smith
January 2, 2019 @ 6:37 am
Bill, that is the best comment here! I feel your struggle, similar stuff going on in my life with my family. The fact that these songs resonate so well is because they speak to our lives, offer validation that we aren’t the only ones out there going through it. That surely makes them better songs than the tripe that Trashville is putting out! And hang in there man.
Mad_Habber
January 4, 2019 @ 9:07 am
I said in the nominee thread that Lori McKenna’s song is one that people will be able to play years from now and it will still have relevance because people are always getting old. Same can be said about Jamie Wilson’s song as well.
I like Cody Jinks music but in my opinion head case isn’t even one of his top five songs. Even if it is slightly more country sounding then the two winners, it isn’t a better song.
Charlie
January 2, 2019 @ 6:15 am
Personally, country music should require a beat and more than acoustic guitar. While the songwriting may be sound, this is pure emo/hipster coffee shop music vs something that would ever cause me to stop auto-seek in my truck and say holy crap is this the real deal. I come to this site to see what’s all our there and appreciate the overall offering even if I don’t agree with what is considered viable or not. This is Lillith Fair vs Greune Hall or even Martina McBride.
Benny Lee
January 3, 2019 @ 9:36 am
Charlie, I want you to know I get what you’re saying and I’m not attacking what you said.
Just going off on a tangent here.
Technically speaking, beat is absolutely not a requirement in pure country music. Rhythm is crucial, and historically that has come from instruments like acoustic guitar and upright bass. In general, as a country instrument, drums should be one of the last considerations to add to a song. A lot of country songs employ brushes on snare, to help accentuate the rhythm as opposed to providing any sort of beat.
Of course, there are practical reasons for including drums, especially in live settings like big halls and loud bars; and subgenres like honky tonk are tailor made for a good beat.
Trainwreck92
January 3, 2019 @ 12:30 pm
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mAiqYTyRic0
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HMB3sfvrFKc
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V8mO6JVAShw
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5pIFNFqGlKs
So none of these songs would be considered country by you?
Charlie
January 2, 2019 @ 6:17 am
And I typoed Gruene , classic 🙂
Ken
January 2, 2019 @ 8:53 am
I am happy to see your choice came dow to two female artists, because in my mind this was a year where country female artists, real country singers came to the forefront.
albert
January 2, 2019 @ 10:42 am
Way too many superb songs came along by superb artists this past year . For me , the two posted above , while solid and deserving of attention, were nowhere to be found on my list .
All good…… but if , as a writer , ” He Stopped Loving Her Today ” isn’t the bar , you’re aiming too low . No , that’s not nostalgia talking ….that’s appreciation of the power in a completely accessible , timeless , emotion-fueled , melody -centric and beautifully crafted PURE COUNTRY yet cross-genre, cross-generational song . We need to remember the integral role MELODY plays in SONG writing .
Jim L.
January 2, 2019 @ 1:07 pm
I listened to far less music than I wanted to this year, and can see that I have some catching up to do. But here’s some of my favorites from last year:
Head Case – Cody Jinks
Giving Back the Best of Me – Jaime Wyatt
Nothin’ at All – Shotgun Rider
I’m Not Alright – Shotgun Rider
Best Years of My Life – Pistol Annies
Dancing Away with My Heart – Dillon Carmichael
Other Side – Folk Soul Revival
Ruby’s Stool – Loretta Lynn
Shout Mountain Music – Old Crow Medicine Show
Lesson – Sarah Shook and the Disarmers
New Ways To Fail – Sarah Shook and the Disarmers
Best Seat in the House – Blackberry Smoke
Goliath – Kasey Chambers
This Little Chicken – Kasey Chambers
The Comeback Kid – Lindi Ortega
People Change – Homegrown
Lucky Penny – JD McPherson
Mr. Jukebox – Joshua Hedley
Almost every song on Other Arrangements – Parker Millsap
Matt
January 2, 2019 @ 3:15 pm
“People Get Old” is easily one of the best songs I heard in 2018. Country music is a big-tent genre, and that song certainly fits underneath.
Corncaster
January 2, 2019 @ 4:08 pm
Faithful and True and Oklahoma Stars are the best songs on Jamie’s record. Really, really good. Every bit as good as Lori McKenna.
Looks like the circle won’t be broken with these two.
Clyde
January 2, 2019 @ 4:45 pm
The Caitlyn Smith song would have been my choice. I havn’t heard a more personal and honest song this year (except maybe One Day at a Time). In its own delicate way, just crushes Music Row.
Daniele
January 3, 2019 @ 7:40 am
Totally agree on people get old. That Whole album is superlative…i love JLW too but i need to spin it more…
scott
January 3, 2019 @ 9:16 am
Meh, I’ll take Gulf Moon By Baumann or Kenny any day over these.
JB-Chicago
January 3, 2019 @ 9:50 am
I know I’m in the minority but the one song that stood out to me as THE song I personally most enjoyed was Whitey Morgan’s Honky Tonk Hell it drips with well………….everything a Country song should drip of.
Although it came out late my second choice is Sarah Shook and the Disarmer’s The Way She Looked At You. It’s real, authentic, and Country.
Love Cody’s Head Case as well but not as much as these 2.
Shelby Webre
January 3, 2019 @ 11:33 am
Once some of you learn that there is a difference between hearing and listening, your journey as a music fan will change entirely.
altaltcountry
January 3, 2019 @ 6:40 pm
Absolutely. Country music is a system. The more you LISTEN to country songs from all periods and performers, the more you appreciate its breadth and depth and consistency. That’s why the faux country that some people simply HEAR is so pernicious.
KGD
January 4, 2019 @ 7:00 am
The more I listen to Jumping Over Rocks, the better I like it. Highevah, my favorite song on the album is “In a Wink”.
Probably the 2018 song I played the most this year was “Lost My Mind In Carolina” by Jason Eady, so I guess that would have gotten my vote.
Don
January 5, 2019 @ 12:23 pm
I wore that song out too.
Lugnut
January 4, 2019 @ 11:24 am
Two superlative choices. Great music. Not Country, but country as we knew it is gone – not to return. So we look for quality – something with a melody that actually consists of a rational thought, and we embrace it. I mourn the passing of country. Willie’s Road House on Sirius keeps my thirst quenched a bit. There are ways. One of those ways will not be turning on the radio in the car and tuning into a “country” radio station. No complaints – it’s a waste of time. Death is decidedly final, isn’t it.
TXMUSICJIM
January 4, 2019 @ 10:42 pm
Jamie Lyn Wilson is a Texas Music Treasure period. She was great in the Trisha’s and even better as a solo artist. Great album great song. To quote Willie Nelson’s Caracter from the great Movie songwriter “Mister purified country don’t you know what the whole things about or is your head up your ass so far that you can’t pull it out” Song of the year and a great song deal with it!
Don
January 5, 2019 @ 12:39 pm
I am not too sure how folks do not hear country in these two songs. I’m no spring chicken, and have been listening to country all of my life, however at no point did I hear either of these songs and think: americana or pop. I truly believe that some people just get stuck in the music of their good old days and refuse to move on. The music of my good old days unfortunately reminds me of wasted time and drinking too much. It’s actually the music I listen to the least.