Tag: love songs

Artist of the Month: Rose Cousins

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Rose Cousins is nothing if not intentional. With her new album Conditions of Love – Vol 1 (out March 14), Cousins demonstrates a controlled discipline as she considers the most unruly of our emotions. The JUNO award-winning artist is a student of love, from the sweet certainty of “One Love” from her 2016 album If You Were For Me to the entirety of her 2017 masterpiece Natural Conclusion to “The Agreement,” a consideration of the liberties and drawbacks of a long-distance open relationship from her most recent prior full-length project, Bravado.

Over the years, Cousins has honed her approach to her craft as carefully as her music, even taking a five-year break between albums to recover from burn out and focus on songwriting over performance. That commitment to her art is just one small part of what has earned Cousins the recognition of being named BGS’ Artist of the Month.

Conditions kicks off with “To Be Born,” an instrumental channeling of the rural Prince Edward Island where Cousins grew up. Buzzing wonderment introduces us to a song cycle of love in all its forms: romantic, platonic, a sense of one-ness with the universe – and what causes them to grow and die. At the beginning of it all, Cousins tells us, is that sense of wondrous possibility.

“I Believe in Love (and it’s very hard)” harbors a desire that Cousins hinted in a 2012 interview with No Depression – a fascination with songs that are upbeat and poppy, but communicate something serious. The song is a catchy thesis statement for this album: that as much we depend on our bonds with others to survive, we crave our individual freedoms and yearn for balance.

I know in love it’s hard to be
Everything that someone else could ever need
While holding onto “wild and free”

Wild and free
Wild and free
Wild and free
Wild and free

But there are certain types of love that require obligation. “Needed You” weaves bitterness and compassion together with the opening salvo,

Yeah I turned out fine
It’s what we do
I spent my time looking for clues
So I became a wishing well
And I don’t need water
Is what I tell myself

In this moving piano ballad, Cousins considers both the person she’s become and the inner child who needed nurturing. While the song seeks to find reconciliation between that vulnerable inner core and the people in our past who make us lock that core away, the song also invites us to empathize with the legacies of intergenerational trauma that can lead to a family’s failure to meet a child’s emotional needs. It’s an astonishing track, one that efficiently wraps years of therapy into four minutes.

“Denouement” is even more precise – an airy collection of word associations that invite us to fill in the blanks in the arc of a relationship.

Happenstance
Vast expanse
Circumstance
Second glance
Take a chance
New romance
Take my hand
Can I have this dance

Cousins’ abstraction is delightful, a wry acknowledgment of how cliche love can be, even as we revel in its glorious highs (and pray that the lows stay away as long as possible – forever, ideally.) But the cycle eventually starts again – after all, we’re only human – and the dance can feel as familiar as it does wondrous.

That feeling extends to another shade of love: gratitude. “Borrowed Light” asks us to reflect on the ways we connect with everything around us, and to appreciate the all-too-brief length of time we have to experience it.

I am borrowing light
From the moon, who is borrowing light
From the sun who comes back every time
Every time

“Borrowed Light” is anchored by a questing piano line, an instrument that Cousins feels is her first love. As the instrument – a 1967 Baldwin grand that Cousins and long-time collaborator/producer Joshua Van Tassel fell in love with immediately – traverses the cosmos, Cousins is buttressed by a backing chorus momentarily, sublimely, at the song’s apex.

Conditions of Love – Vol 1 doesn’t offer many answers and, of course, the title hints at further dives into the topic. However, Cousins does offer one example of how to live, a waltz dedicated to her late friend and colleague, Koady Chaisson, “K’s Waltz.”

Your heart
It did not give out or give in
It gave everything
It gave everything
It gave everything
It gave everything

As hard as it is, Cousins begs us to be as open as possible, to feel all of it – love and joy, yes, but also grief at partings that are inevitable, no matter what. It’s only when we push through our defenses to embrace radical openness, when we “give everything,” that we can say we have lived well.

We are so very excited to name Rose Cousins our March 2025 Artist of the Month. Dive into our exclusive interview with Rose all about the new album here, listen to Rose in conversation with her longtime friend Edie Carey on Basic Folk here, explore our Essential Rose Cousins Playlist below, and follow along on social media all month long as we go back into the BGS archives for anything and everything Rose Cousins.

Photo Credit: Lindsay Duncan

Cheatin’, Betrayal, and Heartbreak

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

It’s Valentine’s Day again, which means we’re all wading through a saccharine sea of pink-and-red grocery store displays, sentimental commercials for overpriced jewelry, and unsolicited reminders of how dreamy love is supposed to feel. But country doesn’t shy away from the gritty, painful sides of love – and neither do we. So, if you need an escape from the nausea-inducing love parade this year, we’ve got you covered.

From classic pleas like Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” to rage-filled revenge ballads like Miranda Lambert’s “Gunpowder & Lead,” this Good Country playlist is packed full of songs about betrayal, heartbreak, regret, and unfaithful partners. Whether you’re recovering from a recent stab in the back or staving off memories of a long-lost love, these songs will ride with you through the pain and see you to the other side of another gruelling Valentine’s Day season.

Check out a few of our favorites and below you’ll find over four hours of cheatin’ songs on our Good Country playlist on Spotify.

“Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger” – Charley Pride

Jerry Crutchfield and Don Robertson mastered the art of the gentle-yet-cutting callout when they wrote this song for Charley Pride back in 1967. Released on Pride’s third album, The Country Way, “Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger” tells the story of a kind and understanding husband whose wife just can’t seem to keep her wedding ring on when she goes out on the town.

Unlike a lot of cheating songs that devolve (understandably) into anger and spite, this one holds a certain gentleness that we can really appreciate. Pride’s voice is booming and rich, but it’s also tender and emotive as he essentially says, “Hey, not to step on any toes here, but would you mind not pretending you’re single every time you go out? Thanks.”

“Whispering Waltz” – Sierra Ferrell

Sierra Ferrell’s “Whispering Waltz” is an earnest and sorrowful song of surrender. Showcasing the clear, subtle qualities of Ferrell’s voice, this short and sweet waltz holds no anger or contempt – just simple sadness and the acceptance of having been betrayed.

While much of Ferrell’s music highlights her skill as a belter and larger-than-life performer, this tune underlines her talent as a songwriter. But the recent four-time GRAMMY winner is no stranger to writing mic-drop-worthy cheating songs. One of her earliest hits, “Rosemary” (which originally garnered attention as a Gems on VHS field recording on YouTube) tells a time-tested and brutal tale of a woman who murders her disloyal partner’s mistress and buries her under a flower bush.

While of course we absolutely do not condone this kind of unhinged behavior, both “Rosemary” and “Whispering Waltz” are some of the best country songs about cheating and betrayal penned and performed in recent decades. And murder ballads, after all, have been a country tradition since time immemorial.

“Your Cheatin’ Heart” – Hank Williams

It may seem like too obvious a choice, but this list just wouldn’t feel complete without a nod to one of Hank Williams’ most famous songs – and one of the most well-known country cheatin’ songs ever recorded.

Written nearly 75 years ago, “Your Cheatin’ Heart” has been resonating with scorned lovers everywhere since its release in 1952. A great example of Williams’ knack for timeless storytelling and a brilliantly simple song structure, this country classic won’t make your heartbreak go away, but it might make it just a little easier to bear (at least for two minutes and 41 seconds).

“Gaslighter” – The Chicks

This fiery 2020 release from country superstars The Chicks is electrifying from its first belted notes to its last. An extremely personal song written by the band’s longtime frontperson, Natalie Maines, “Gaslighter” is direct, confronting, and does not mince words. We won’t name any names, but we wouldn’t have wanted to be in Maines’s ex-husband’s shoes when this banger first dropped.

For anyone out there who’s ever been cheated on, lied to, or misled by a long-term partner, “Gaslighter” offers an empowering boost of righteous redemption and brutal-yet-necessary honesty. In the words of one anonymous commenter on YouTube, “If you can’t afford therapy, listening to this song about 20 times on repeat works.”

“I’m Gonna Sleep with One Eye Open” – Dolly Parton

Written by Lester Flatt and first recorded by Flatt & Scruggs in 1955, “I’m Gonna Sleep With One Eye Open” is an irresistible bluegrass take on the classic cheatin’ song. Dolly Parton’s version, recorded for her 1999 album, The Grass Is Blue, might help cheer you up if you’re feeling down and out this Valentine’s Day. (Because really, who can be in a bad mood while listening to Dolly Parton?)

Of course, Dolly’s better known for a different song about jealousy and the risk of betrayal – her 1973 megahit, “Jolene,” which is quite possibly the most well-loved and well-known country song to ever hit the airwaves. In 2024, Rolling Stone named “Jolene” the greatest country song of all time, calling it “the ultimate country heartbreak song” – and we won’t dare disagree.

“Fist City” – Loretta Lynn

Before Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” there was Loretta Lynn’s “Fist City.” With both dukes up, Lynn wrote this iconic country diss track in 1968, allegedly inspired by her real-life husband’s habit of cavorting with other women. But while the song quickly reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart after its release, it was soon banned by most major radio stations for its controversial theme. (That is, Lynn threatening to beat people up for hitting on her husband).

Lynn went on to have upwards of a dozen songs banned from various radio stations throughout her career, because they often addressed feminist themes (though Lynn herself didn’t identify as a feminist). In fact, some radio stations still won’t play Lynn’s song “The Pill,” a single released in 1975 about birth control and sexual freedom. This Valentine’s Day, we’ll be blasting “Fist City” in honor of Lynn, who passed in 2022, and in honor of everyone else who’s ever been wronged by someone who made promises they weren’t prepared to keep.

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Lead Image: Audrey & Hank Williams by Henry Schofield (1951), courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Empowered Love Songs

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Consult the comments section of any Martina McBride music video and you will find paragraph-length, highly personal expressions of adversity and triumph. These entries are varied, but often take the form of earnest tributes to lost loved ones, painful confessions of romantic loneliness or haunting stories of abuse and neglect. It’s a testament to the power of McBride’s voice – that inimitable instrument that arguably did more than anyone else’s to popularize the wide, throaty belt style now common among female country singers – that her songs still provoke such intensely emotional reactions.

It also speaks to her choice of material. Many of McBride’s best-loved songs operate on a grand emotional scale, and she has singularly foregrounded issues of domestic violence and child abuse in her work. But even as social issues songs largely define her legacy, she has most often recorded love songs, approaching them with the same shrewdness and self-assurance that colors her most celebrated work.

Take, for example, “Safe in the Arms of Love,” a number four hit from 1995’s Wild Angels. Written by female songwriting trio Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose and Pat Bunch, “Safe in the Arms of Love” was originally released in 1986 by Wild Choir, a short-lived country-rock outfit fronted by Gail Davies. More new wave than country, the Wild Choir version features a prominent bassline, heavy drums and synths, and little of the warmth or joy that McBride’s would bring to the song years later. McBride’s version is twangier and more streamlined, trading the original’s raw energy for country-pop polish and sunny bursts of fiddle and mandolin.

The first line of “Safe in the Arms of Love” is bracing, almost a cliche but not quite: “My heart’s not ready for the rocking chair.” It’s an off-kilter choice of words, immediately followed by a clarification: “I need somebody who really cares.” This first couplet sets the rules for the rest of the song, which moves between metaphor and straight-ahead, conversational lyricism as McBride voices her desire for a stabilizing partnership.

An avowed hater of “wimpy woman” and “doormat” songs, McBride brings a resolve that makes clear she isn’t looking to be rescued. Rather, like the narrator of Lucinda Williams’ “Passionate Kisses” – a number four country hit for Mary Chapin Carpenter in 1992 — she’s simply voicing her desires. (It’s no accident that the song’s chorus begins with the words I want.) McBride’s delivery is confident, never beseeching or desperate. Do we ever doubt she’ll achieve her romantic goals?

The song’s music video takes place in a circus-themed fantasy world inhabited by Cirque du Soleil performers dressed as children’s entertainers. There is, notably, no love interest in sight. In fact, men rarely figure in McBride’s videos, at least not as love objects. The men in her videos tend to appear only in glimpses, as with the abusive husband and father figures in “Independence Day” and “Concrete Angel,” flashes of motion that connote menace. In the videos for her love songs, she is more often than not alone, less a protagonist than a guide figure.

Consider the video for “Wild Angels” – filmed for whatever reason in a black and white, vérité style – which locates Martina on the roof of the Clock Tower Building in downtown Manhattan. The song is ostensibly about a couple whose bond prevails through thick and thin, but the video instead captures a group of citydwellers being visited by a mystical being. Then there’s the video for “My Baby Loves Me,” which features a barefoot Martina twirling in a floral dress as various, smiling couples pose behind an empty picture frame. (John McBride, Martina’s husband and long-time business partner, has a split-second cameo at the end of the video.)

Both “Wild Angels” and “My Baby Loves Me” continue the theme of the empowered love song. The rootsier “Wild Angels” presents a smartly egalitarian vision of love, with McBride expressing disbelief at her good fortune in finding such balance. “Somehow we wake up in each other’s arms,” she shrugs in the second verse before chalking it up to divine intervention in the song’s lofty, joyous chorus. The title track and opening song on McBride’s third album, “Wild Angels” also features the sound of McBride’s then-infant daughter Delaney giggling, a nod to the McBrides’ real-life love story and an indicator of how McBride would continue to foreground motherhood in her work.

Where “Safe in the Arms of Love” finds McBride searching for unconditional love, “My Baby Loves Me” takes the perspective of a woman who already has it. The song offers a typically country approach to beauty: fashion magazines, high heels, fancy clothes… who needs ‘em! It’s less feminist-presenting than, say, Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine,” but sets up a similar dynamic: This man is totally enthralled by me. In this country-pop version of the world, women run the show and men are their biggest cheerleaders.

Such was the utopian impulse of ‘90s country, particularly in the latter half of the decade, when a handful of female stars topped the charts nearly as often as their male peers and frequently sold more records. McBride was central to this moment and though she never quite reached the crossover heights of Twain or Faith Hill, she remained a steady presence on country radio even as the format purged female voices in the aughts and the wake of 9/11. She was in fact the only female country artist to notch a solo No. 1 during the entirety of 2002, a feat that wouldn’t be repeated until Gretchen Wilson took “Redneck Woman” to the top of the charts three years later. (This fact has depressing echoes of today’s hyper-masculine radio environment, in which it is nearly impossible for a woman to hit No. 1, even with the help of a male duet partner.)

To her detractors, McBride’s great sin at the turn of the millennium was her shift toward the smooth sounds of Adult Contemporary. She found great success in this format with “This One’s for the Girls” and “In My Daughter’s Eyes,” two hits from 2003’s Martina that reached No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. Critics have accused her of making “music for soccer moms,” an elitist term that equates suburban women with unrefined taste.

It’s true that McBride has at times leaned into inoffensive pop balladry, most successfully on “Valentine,” her hyper-smooth collaboration with pianist Jim Brickman that was her first brush with Adult Contemporary success in 1997. But to dismiss McBride’s music — which, yes, includes her honeyed love songs — as frothily unserious is to do a disservice to one of country’s great risk-takers. “Valentine” may not be hard-shell honky-tonk (for that, see cuts like “Cheap Whiskey” or her 2005 classic-country covers album, Timeless) but its softness isn’t a reason to reject it outright. It’s a symptom of country music’s eternal, exhausting authenticity debate that pop-leaning love songs, often the exact songs that allow women to break through country radio’s gender barrier and find commercial success, continue to be written off as superficial.

To be fair, not all of McBride’s more commercial instincts are brilliantly rendered; “I Love You” still smacks of a “This Kiss” retread, while “There You Are” is bland even as piano ballads go. But for every “I Love You” or “There You Are,” there’s an “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” a 2011 cut about a breast cancer survivor who finds strength in the selfless love of her husband.

With its sweeping, string-laden sound, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” risks being the kind of “soccer mom” fodder that McBride and her female peers have long been dinged for. But it’s also lyrically sober and undeniably moving, the kind of serious story song that has all but disappeared from the format. The song gave McBride her last top ten country hit and final GRAMMY nomination to date, for Best Country Solo Performance. (In one of the music industry’s great injustices, McBride has 14 GRAMMY nominations and zero wins.)

“Just take my hand, together we can do it,” McBride sings in the chorus, returning to the egalitarian vision of love that made her ‘90s work so disarming. Here, as in “Wild Angels,” McBride sees love not as a negation of self but rather as a mutual source of empowerment. Is it any wonder that her songs endure?

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Photo Credit: Martina McBride courtesy of Red Light Management.

With a Collection of ‘Vignettes,’ Humbird Show How Expansive Love Can Be

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

What makes a song?

It’s a simple sounding question, one that invites discussion about structure, melody, production techniques and more (and certainly has no real answer). It’s also something Humbird explores on her transcendent new record, Astrovan: The Love Song Vignettes, which follows last year’s critically acclaimed Humbird LP, Right On.

Written before the pandemic, the 11-song project spans just 16 minutes, but is expansive in its vision and emotional depth, as principal Siri Undlin muses on love in its many forms using varied musical styles. The resulting album is especially meditative when enjoyed in one sitting and invites listeners to consider how love is present in their own lives, whether in the beauty of nature or in small, domestic gestures from loved ones.

Below, BGS caught up with Undlin to chat about making Astrovan, finding beauty in mundane moments and how creative restrictions can often lead to happy artistic accidents.

This new project is such a cool idea with these short vignettes. I’d love to hear a little bit about the project’s beginnings and how that idea came to you?

Siri Undlin: It started off very much not an album. I was struggling to write and struggling to feel inspired. A friend of mine was like, “Why don’t you write simple, short songs and not worry about if they’re good or not?” I had recently fallen in love, so I was trying to write some love songs that weren’t super annoying. I was like, “Maybe short is the way.” So, yeah, it was just a goofy project that I sometimes did at live shows, because it’s funny.

People usually get a kick out of it and it’s fun to talk on stage about what a song is, like, “Why do we expect it to be a certain length?” It’s a fun, intimate audience moment. But then, a couple of friends who are really talented producers and engineers were at a show and they were like, “What the heck? You should definitely record these.” Those pals were Brian Joseph and Shane Leonard, so the three of us recorded them. This was all back in 2019, so it was also a while ago.

So, you’ve been sitting on those for a little while. What made it feel like the right time to put them out as a full album?

They were just weird enough that I was not quite sure what to do with them. Back in 2019, we were very much a DIY band. I was booking most of the tours. We were self-managed, putting out albums independently. So, it was just this one-woman shop. I honestly didn’t have time. I don’t want to release music unless I can do a good job and be proud of really putting my whole heart behind releasing it. It took a while, but I feel like, in the last year, it was like, “Oh, you should come out.” They’ve been waiting for a while, and now I have the bandwidth thanks to some folks helping me out behind the scenes. I’m also more confident as an artist. We’ve been a band for longer, and we’ve put out other music. So, I felt like, “Okay, if [fans] are into what we’re doing, they have an idea of this project’s personality and we can throw this strange project at them.”

I love how know each song is a love song, but you’re you’re covering lots of different types of love. It’s not just your standard, romantic love – there’s love for nature and plants and for mundane-seeming gestures like leaving food out for someone who’s coming home late. It’s a very expansive vision of love.

I know that in my personal life, sometimes those [mundane] moments are the most loving. Sometimes in love songs, on a broader scale, we get high drama and high stakes. But I love the little, ordinary moments that, when you put them in a song, feel really magical.

It’s a rewarding experience to sit and listen to the record start-to-finish. It feels very meditative, in a way. What was your time recording like? A few moments ago, you mentioned thinking about what makes a song a “song,” and what a song is allowed to be. How did that play out while you brought these songs to life?

In my memory, it was a pretty quick, moving process. I think we did the initial tracking in maybe four days and then we did some overdubs a handful of other days, maybe half a year later. And because the songs are so short, it was like, “Okay, how can we make these feel fully realized in such a short period of time and still take risks and have various arrangement choices that are engaging?”

It has to happen in such a condensed period. It was a great challenge: take your ideas but make them as compact and meaningful as possible because you only have a few seconds. Now that it’s out in the world, people are like, “I wish this song was just a normal length. It’s so sad when it’s over.” But I felt like we had to stick to the premise. Some of the songs could go way longer, sure, but it’s fun to keep it short and sweet.

What did you take away from that experience? It seems like it would be instructive to have to work with those restrictions and to learn how to cram so much meaning into a minute’s worth of music.

The biggest takeaway was that you can do it. You can have an emotionally resonant song in 45 seconds or one minute if you’re really determined. Going forward with recordings that came after it made me a better listener and a better editor of my own work, because when you have to be so cutthroat during the editing and arranging processes, you’ve flexed that muscle. I think it strengthens the writing and arrangements going forward because it was sort of a, “Do we absolutely need this or not?” question. That’s how I prefer to move through music recording: throw it all at the wall and then pare it back and have something you’re really proud of.

I’m surprised to hear that these songs were written so long ago, as I had noticed some musical and thematic connection points between Astrovan and Right On and assumed that Right On played an influential role. Do you feel a connection there, too?

I think you’re hearing it just right. But the truth is that Astrovan led to Right On. Astrovan has some folky, almost country music moments. But then there are also some rockers. Those are, to be honest, some of the first times in the studio where I was like, “Dang, rock and roll is fun to play.” It’s so fun to turn up the amp and use a distortion pedal and just have fun. It’s really cathartic, and those songs were only a minute. So then, when I picked up the guitar again later on to write songs for Right On, I think in the back of my mind I was like, “I want to do more of that fun, loud, more abrasive stuff.” And that definitely informed choices for Right On.

Speaking of Right On, that’s been such a big record for you. And now that we’ve hit 2025, it’s been out for the better part of a year. When you reflect on the year you had in 2024, what comes to mind?

One really cool thing that I didn’t anticipate was a level of confidence that me and my bandmates were able to sink into with the Right On album. We put our whole hearts into making it. It was so fun to record and it’s so fun to play live. As a result of performing it all year, we’ve just gotten better at performing. I think we all really stand behind what we do on stage and in a music ecosystem that’s so confusing and hard to know. But when you can get on stage with people you love and play music that you’re proud of and you’re excited to share with people, that is the best feeling ever.

I feel like that was what a lot of our year was about. We love playing this music. We’re stoked to share it with you. And we’re not getting too caught up in all of the other elements that swirl around with making music your livelihood. Not that those factors aren’t there, but ultimately, the year was about this record that we were proud of. So, that feels great.

You have some festival dates on the books for this year. Do you have any plans to tour, too?

We’re a band that definitely hits the road, historically, and that’s the plan for 2025, as well. We were all upper Midwest kids, so we also hibernate hard. But when the snow thaws, we’ll be out there, and I think it’ll be pretty consistent throughout the year. That’s where we’re at right now as a band and we’re soaking it up because it’s a good chapter to be in.

Photo Credit: Juliet Farmer

WATCH: John Inghram, “Little Mountain Mama”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: John Inghram
Hometown: South Charleston, West Virginia
Song: “Little Mountain Mama”
Album: John Inghram
Release Date: May 13, 2022

In Their Words: “When I first started putting music together for this record I knew right away that I wanted to write a song for my wife Steph. Of course I love a nice, sappy ballad… (who doesn’t?!) But for this one I really wanted to go in a different direction. I wanted something that reflected how I (and so many others) see her. Upbeat and fun! The opening riff and groove for ‘Little Mountain Mama’ is undeniably a nod to the ‘Father of Rock n Roll’ Chuck Berry. His influence on the song doesn’t end there. In my opinion, Chuck is one of the most prolific, yet shockingly underrated, lyricists of all time. Just listen to ‘Promised Land’! I put together rapid fire lyrics that tell a story of our past, present, and an ideal future. Once I had the bones of the song built I decided to arrange it in a way that I thought Lowell George and Little Feat could have done it. I tried to make it a little more contemporary and progressive with somewhat of an atypical form. It should be noted that Steph wasn’t crazy about the fact that I included the ‘little bit of drama’ line. Ha! There’s never been a woman like my little mountain mama!” — John Inghram

Photo Credit: Sam Wiseman

MIXTAPE: Rising Appalachia’s Love Songs for Blooming Spring

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

This is a collection of the BEST love songs in my life, the heartbreakers and the heart menders. The ones that make your heart burst and bloom. Because hey, it’s spring, and who doesn’t want a damn good love song or two in their lives? — Leah Song, Rising Appalachia

John Prine – “Angel From Montgomery”

This song brought me to my knees when I heard it live at the Kate Wolf Music Festival years ago. A hardened kind of love song, a love long changed and still just barely holding. But still, even the love between John Prine and Emmylou Harris is precious…

The Roots, Erykah Badu – “You Got Me”

I have listened to this song since my teenage years and it is rich, passionate, and real amid the throes of what life on the road looks like. What longing feels like. How to show up.

Hozier – “Almost (Sweet Music)”

The most joyful and epic lyricist around. And such a bright and catchy melody, this one is contagious.

Keb’ Mo’ – “Kindhearted Woman Blues”

Such a rich treatment of this classic. Got that salty form of simple, front porch, storytelling love.

Arouna & Biko – “Doubabu”

Nothing sings to the heart like the sweetness of this melodic instrumental by our dear friends, Arouna & Biko.

James Blake – “A Case of You”

I mean, this needs no additional telling. It just SLAYS.

Ray LaMontange – “Shelter”

The tamber of LaMontange’s voice is so insane, it’s another delicate one, but it reaches into the pain and pleasure of love.

Lankum – “What Will We Do When We Have No Money?”

A gentle, Irish look at love and the long haul. How to piece it together with your beloved when times are tough.

Beyoncé – “Drunk in Love”

Riddles with unapologetic passion.

Jorge Cafrune – “La atardecida”

Classic heart strings, plus the guitar just makes you swoon.

Rising Applachia – “Novels of Acquaintance”

Our favorite love song.

Polecat Creek – “That I Should Know Your Face”

A traditional Appalachian love ballad. “That I should know your face,” the depths of loyal love.

Maggie Koerner – “Shades of Grey”

Simple, open-hearted love song from the young vulnerability of the road.

Trevor Hall – “Chapter of the Forest”

A love song to the divine.

Hypnotized – “Ani DiFranco”

The classic bass line of this song plus the simplicity of the imagery. Sometimes, you are just brought to your knees by the wafting breathlessness of love.

Photo credit: Savannah Lauren

LISTEN: Lonesome River Band, “Love Songs”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Lonesome River Band
Hometown: Floyd, Virginia
Song: “Love Songs”
Release Date: February 19, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Love Songs’ is another great song written by our friend Adam Wright. It tells the story of a songwriter who has had bad experiences with love and can’t find ways to be positive about it. The lyrics depict the songwriter’s frustration: ‘They say write in what you know / And all I really know is the losin’ and the leavin and the left.’ Adam puts a comedic twist to selling sad songs, and Brandon Rickman, our guitarist and vocalist, portrays it in his unique way.” — Sammy Shelor, Lonesome River Band

Photo credit: Anthony Ladd

MIXTAPE: Sam Outlaw & Sarah Darling’s (Just) Love Songs

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Our duet, “Forever and Always,” is a sweet and simple love song about dedication and commitment. It’s devoid of any cynicism or irony and there are no strings attached. Hence the (Just) Love Songs distinction. While we all know that the reality of love is filled with shadows, I think it’s OK to occasionally revel in the parts of life that still resemble the bright fantasy — and to take a walk in the sun. — Sam Outlaw & Sarah Darling

Sam’s picks…

The Everly Brothers – “Devoted to You”

This is the song my wife and I chose to play for our wedding ceremony when she walked down the aisle. From the opening chimes of the electric guitar to the unflinching Disney-esque lyrics, this is one of the sweetest love songs I’ve ever heard. And while the singer seems to be promising a perfect world that is completely at odds with the harsher realities of love, the sentiment is pure and the delivery is flawless.

Gerry Rafferty – “Right Down the Line”

This is the song I most associate with my relationship with my wife and also a song that we included in our wedding ceremony. You could call it “our” song. The laid-back instrumentation and the humility of the lyrics best describe how I feel about my love for Andie. “The brightest light that shines. It’s been you, woman. Right down the line.” Damn, Gerry.

Don Williams – “We’ve Got a Good Fire Goin’”

I love adult contemporary and easy listening, and this song quadruples down on everything I love about it. And while one could argue the dangers of objectifying one’s partner I think the writer is simply making associations between his beloved and the elements that bring him the most peace. Fire in the fireplace and rain falling outside. Coffee in the cup. All is well. And please God why can’t I have just one billionth of the vocal charm present in every syllable of a Don Williams song?? PLEASE GIVE ME HIS VOICE LIKE IN THE LITTLE MERMAID. Ugh.

John Berry – “She’s Taken a Shine”

Not sure a song like this would even be ‘allowed’ in our present culture. The subject is a stereotype of a woman who is essentially being “saved” by a man. To put it bluntly — she’s finally getting laid and it’s completely changed her whole vibe and everyone’s noticing it. But what a great pop song. And while it might not have hit as big as some of the other country hits from the ‘90s I doubt you can find me a sweeter chorus. John Berry’s voice makes you absolutely believe every word of the story and if you love a good bridge as much as I do look no further.

Dolly Parton – “Think About Love”

Dolly. Is. The. Absolute. Ultimate. And EIGHTIES Dolly is one of her best eras. She coolly pivots to full blown Pop Star and Movie Star in the ‘80s and has a bunch of hits while other “traditional” country singers were getting lost to the discount cassette bin. I love every gated snare crack and every goofy synth punch in the production and I love the grandiose bridge. Repeat after me: We don’t deserve Dolly. We don’t deserve Dolly.

Randy Travis – “Deeper than the Holler”

George Jones said his favorite singer is Randy Travis. So combine one of the best voices of all time (across any genre) with a song that is so catchy you could tow a small planet on the hook and you end up with “Deeper than the Holler.” But what exactly is a “Holler”? Well I can tell you it DOESN’T MATTER when the song is this good. Again, we’re not talking about “real life” love here with all its heartaches and rough edges and nuance. We’re talking about good-ole-boy lovey dovey ooshy gushy love love love love. Fuck yeah.

Vince Gill – “Whenever You Come Around”

Vince famously wrote this song for his wife, Amy Grant, but he wrote it before they got married at a time when he couldn’t just come right out and tell her of his love. One time my wife and I had the pleasure of seeing the Western Swing band The Time Jumpers play a rare ‘on tour’ show in San Diego. Vince, who is a member of the band, opened the show with a solo acoustic set and when he played this song there was not a dry eye in the room. In fact I’m pretty sure I just cried his entire set so. Lastly — the BEE GEE VEES in this production are the gold standard of ‘90s smooth and Vince’s guitar solo is expert level.

Handing it off to Sarah…

Alison Krauss – “When You Say Nothing at All”

Not only is this song featured in my favorite movie Notting Hill, but it’s simply just so beautiful. When you are with your mirror soul, you don’t have to say anything. They already know what your heart is thinking and that’s true love. It’s also one of my favorite cover songs to play live.

George Strait – “I Cross My Heart”

There’s a theme of me loving songs from movies on this list! I first heard this track in Pure Country and absolutely was head over. That moment in the movie when George’s character Dusty goes after his girl at the end while being serenaded by this beautiful one made all us country girls swoon.

Louis Armstrong – “What a Wonderful World”

I literally cry every time I hear this track. It’s probably in my top five songs I love of all time. Isn’t it true how love makes you feel? Music and everything around you seems to have a different glow. I believe Louis when he’s saying these sweet words. Also, audio/visually, it’s stunning to hear the imagery. I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

Michael Bublé – “Home”

This one made my list because it tugs the heartstrings. As a traveling musician, I get homesick often and find myself daydreaming about sitting on my front porch with my husband and looking at the sunset. I have the most panoramic view of the Tennessee sky. Home is where the heart is.

Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”

This is my favorite slightly scandalous love song. I like it because we’ve all been there. We’ve had that person we know we shouldn’t call but we need to have that fix. Love can make you think you’ve completely lost your mind and do crazy things.

Willie Nelson – “Always on My Mind

Isn’t it true that there’s always that person you can’t ever shake or get out of your mind? I feel like this song allows us to know we aren’t alone. Maybe the timing wasn’t right or simply not meant to be, but you learned something from each other. Some people stick forever and they become part of us.

Photo credit: Sean McGee

LISTEN: The Trongone Band, ‘Blind’

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Artist: The Trongone Band
Hometown: Richmond, VA
Song: “Blind”
Album: Keys to the House
Release Date: May, 2017
Label: Harmonized Records

In Their Words: “We wanted the video to have a piece of our home, so we shot it in downtown RVA, right on the canal, surrounded by various murals done by local artists (one including Wolfe’s cousin, Chris Milk). The song suggests classic themes of love and peace of mind, so we went with a classic music video style. Simple, live, outdoors. Was a lot of fun for us to shoot!” — Andrew Trongone

Photo credit: Joey Wharton

Caroline Spence, ‘All the Beds I’ve Made’ (acoustic)

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There are only so many words and casual phrases in the English language, but a great song can challenge the way we think about the finality of the tools we are given. Sometimes, if it’s smart enough, it can even unfold new meanings within repeated listens or flip a cliché on its head. “All the Beds I’ve Made,” a track from the Nashville-based songwriter Caroline Spence, does both.

Appearing on the Secret Garden EP, her forthcoming collection of B-sides from March’s Spades and Roses, “All the Beds I’ve Made” thinks about the multi-faceted meaning of this phrase. It’s a metaphor we all know — making our own beds and lying in them — but it’s a physical act, too — tucking in the sheets to cover the multitude of sins that exist beneath those cotton fibers and pulling the blankets over one too many mistakes. It’s the mornings we’ve woken up in a bed not our own, and it’s the dark roads of our own making, with the streetlights smashed at our own hand.

“There’s no wrong side to get up on,” she sings, her vocals crystalline and striking to the core. “No ghost keeping me awake. Honey, this love’s gonna make up for all the beds I’ve made.” Spence uses carefully curated language to get across an entire backstory: Rough roads and mistakes have led her here, to a place of romantic contentment, and that’s all part of a story. She’s made her bed, but she’s not trying to smooth out the wrinkles, either. Life is beautiful, but it’s messy, too.