The Top 10 Americana Songs of All Time: Andy Short

Asking someone to list an all-time top ten of anything can be difficult. It is a personal choice, and what one individual loves, others don’t care for. For this assignment, it is the “Top 10 Americana Songs of All Time”. A broad brush that contains many artists and a colossal amount of terrific songs. Previous writers have taken different approaches to the task. Starting by writing down songs that came quickly to mind, and then going through artists, making sure to cover as much ground as possible. After filling more than four pages, I had the choice of pleading with our illustrious editor to increase the list to 100 or get to work on slimming it down. This is the final list; perhaps next week it will be different, and no doubt a year from now, more new songs will make their way in, but I believe some classics will always remain. Enjoy.

Number 10. Richmond Fontaine ‘Wake Up Ray’ from “You Can’t Go Back If There’s Nothing to Go Back To” (2016)

From the last album by Oregon masters of Americana, Richmond Fontaine. Perfectly capturing a complicated relationship on the slide. What writer and lead singer Willy Vlautin does so well is tell stories. The angst of the lead character in  ‘Wake Up Ray’ as he runs outside in a futile attempt to find the pet finch, Little Joe, as his marriage collapses around him. “Now all I remember is running through the snow / Looking for Little Joe as the wind blowed”, incredible imagery and so sad.

Number 9. Justin Townes Earle ‘Am I That Lonely Tonight’ from “Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now” (2012)

The first pick had a long album title, and here we go again with the opening cut from the incredible “Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now”, weighing in with only ten words. Earle opens with the heartfelt line “Hear my father on the radio singing take me home again”, an exquisite poetic moment. The whole song drips with Justin Townes Earle’s vulnerability. Musically, the mournful sound of the horns carries the song along, and Earle’s guitar playing, as usual, is terrific. Lucky enough to see him live in Leeds on his last UK tour, where this was in the set list. Played solo, it took on another dimension and proved what a master of his craft JTE was.

Number 8. Lyle Lovett ‘If I Had A Boat’ from “Pontiac” (1988)

I first heard of Lovett as one of his songs appeared on “The Tape With No Name”, a New Musical Express cassette released back in  1987. Featuring many of the best “New Country” artists of the time. “Cowboy Man” from his self-titled first collection was included, and Lovett’s incredible voice and guitar playing were an instant draw. His second album, “Pontiac”, included the brilliant “If I Had A Boat” as the opening track, and wow, three minutes and six seconds of joy. At the time, I had no idea what this guy was talking about, but I was still mesmerised by the words and the guitar playing. Horses on boats, it’s never going to catch on? The song is a dream of freedom, getting away from it all. A weird wonderful concept from one of the best.

Number 7. Wilco ‘Pick Up The Change’ from “A.M” (1995)

When Illinois alternative country band Uncle Tupelo split in 1994, Jay Farrar formed the brilliant Son Volt, and Jeff Tweedy put together Wilco. Both released albums in 1995, with Son Volt’s “Trace” getting rave reviews. The initial release from Tweedy’s Wilco, “A.M”, received only modest write-ups. We could easily be listening to ‘Tear Stained Eye’ from the Son Volt album here, but the simplicity and beauty of Wilco’s ‘Pick Up The Change’ is breathtaking. The idea of delaying the “Pick up the change” line, splitting it over two lines, and placing three lines after a short pause in the last two sections is genius. A song about relationships and the ever-changing nature of them: Tweedy sings, “We used to have a lot of things in common / But you know now, we’re just the same”, which must resonate within many relationships. Musically up there with ‘California Stars’ for its lilting, laid-back rhythm, this song has been loved from first listen.

Number 6. The Band  ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’ from “The Band” (1969)

The aftermath of the American Civil War as told by Virgil Kane. A man who took a “rebel stand” only to see the South devastated by the Union. Levon Helm assumes vocal duties after co-writing with Robbie Robertson, and his delivery has an aching, anguished quality that perfectly complements the lyrical content. It recounts the treatment and hardships faced by the people of the South following the Civil War. The people suffering for something out of their control, as always seems to be the way of things. There have been notable covers of the tune, including the most famous one by the wonderful Joan Baez. Eric Church also sang an energy-filled live rendition for his “61 Days In Church” collection. The words repeated by so many artists over the years.

Number 5. Gillian Welch ‘Wayside/Back In Time’ from “Soul Journey” (2003)

“Soul Journey” was released June 3^rd, 2003. After the superb “Time (The Revelator)”, Welch’s fans were no doubt wondering how she could follow that. ‘Red Clay Hero, ’ or the title track of that 2001 collection, could easily have made this list. There is often something, someone somewhere, that you feel you could go back to. Something you wish you had done differently. It’s a modest arrangement, and the melody doesn’t stray too far from the opening until the bridge. The final verse states, “Oh, I wish I was in ‘Frisco in a brand new pair of shoes / I’m sitting here in Nashville with Norman’s Nashville blues”, a nod to Norman Blake. And his “Nashville Blues”. Welch and her long-time partner and producer on “Soul Journey”, David Rawlings, get this one just right.

Number 4. Whiskeytown ‘Houses on the Hill’ from “Strangers Almanac” (1997)

Ah, the controversial figure that is Ryan Adams. Whiskeytown were around for a short while but left us with some incredible alternative country music. “Strangers Almanac” included a host of songs that could easily have made this list. ‘Houses on the Hill’, written by Adams and Caitlin Cary, captures the futility of war and the people it affects, as well as the lives it changes forever. Starting with a minor key guitar, well, it is Ryan Adams, before Cary’s gorgeous violin joins in. The story recounts the discovery of a collection of returned or possibly never-sent letters written during a war in the attic. With reference to Eisenhower and the line “And when he hit shore / It must have been a target for the gunner-men,” Adams and Cary must be referring to D-Day in the Second World War—a tribute and a warning, weighing in at two and a half minutes —perfect.

Number 3. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit  ‘Streetlights’ from “Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit” (2009)

There was life before “Southeastern”, from Isbell’s time with southern rock band The Drive By Truckers to his first solo collection and then with the 400 Unit. After his 2007 “Sirens of the Ditch” record, which was made with the help of Patterson Hood and Shonna Tucker of the Drive By Truckers, Isbell formed the 400 Unit. Their eponymous album was released in 2009. Featuring some excellent work, including the choice here, which was actually vying for attention with the last track in the set, ‘The Last Song I Will Write.’ Isbell’s work always feels so personal, so close to home. On his recent solo tour, he did try to stress that many of the subjects are characters, and not all his work is autobiographical, which is comforting because he does enjoy the occasional murder ballad, such as ‘Live Oak’ from “Southeastern”. My chosen cut starts with a beautiful guitar over ethereal voices before the drums kick in. Grieving a disintegrating relationship, alcohol as an escape, with a need for any human contact, complete with a stunning piano at the end that you wish had gone on longer, Isbell’s writing is as sharp as anything he has done since. “Time moves slow when you’re seventeen and then picks up steam at twenty-one / Pretty soon you’ll remember when you could remember when you loved someone”; simply breath taking.

Number 2. Sam Baker ‘Odessa’ from “Pretty World” (2007)

Texas-born Sam Baker has produced such a wonderful collection of music over the years and seeing Baker live is always special. In 1986, Baker was travelling in Peru when a terrorist bomb in the luggage rack above his head exploded. The bomb killed seven other passengers, including the three people sitting with him. Major surgery saved his life, and he needed to teach his body to play guitar left-handed so that he could use his right hand for shaping the chords. “Pretty World” was his second release in 2007. ‘Odessa’ starts with a gorgeous rendition of the song ‘Hard Times Come Again No More’ sung by Chris Baker-Davies before Baker takes on the story of an oil baron’s son. Baker’s delivery is perfect for the sad and cautionary tale, and the traditional ‘Hard Times’ fits in the mix like it was always meant to be there, fading back in at the end. The closing lines from Baker say it best: “See he loved the girl who was pinned in the  Vette / Talks to her every day / Her face was blood and diamonds / He remembers her that way”. As with so many of our americana favourites, it is immensely sad and gorgeous all at the same time.

Number 1. Johnny Cash ‘Wichita Lineman’ from “Cash Unearthed” (2003)

The number one spot is taken by this classic, penned by Jimmy Webb for Glen Campbell in the late sixties. The idea came to Webb as he travelled the back roads of America and saw a lonely lineman at the top of the pole talking into a handset. Although Campbell’s rendition is a piece of incredible splendour, it wasn’t until listening to a Lost Highway compilation of rarities one afternoon that the final track came on and proved to be the most fantastic version of the song ever sung. The drawling, breaking voice of Cash takes the longing and sadness to even higher levels. The piano is still there and plucks away at any hard-hearted people still listening. Only available on the vinyl version of his album “American IV: The Man Comes Around”, this was almost a lost gem—a rung higher up the ladder than the already impressive Campbell version. “And I need you more than want you / And I want you for all time / And the Wichita lineman / Is still on the line”, hats off to Webb, Campbell and the man in black.