100 Best Americana and Country Songs of the Decade: Part 2 (#90-81)

by Julian Spivey

​Note: portions of this article have previously been published on this site

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90. "Barabbas" by Jason Eady (2017)

"Well I know that I am free 'cause they did not like his kind/But the man who preaches peace is always looking for a fight"

​Barabbas is a unique figure in the Bible, as the man imprisoned alongside Jesus whose life is spared when Pontius Pilate offers the public the choice of pardoning a prisoner. Though guilty, Barabbas is chosen to be spared over that of Jesus Christ. He’s never heard from again in the Bible. Jason Eady decided to take this story and write the other side – Barabbas’ story. Eady does so brilliantly in a fashion that leads the song to not necessarily take a religious tone, but one of any guilty man given a second chance. The name Barabbas doesn’t appear in the song, at all, only as its title. It’s a redemption song at its finest. Eady explained to NPR: “To me this song is about the fact that you have two ways to react to guilt. You can ignore it and continue on the path you have been on or you can change your ways and try to redeem yourself. We hoped that Barabbas chose the second of those.” 

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89. "Dark & Dirty Mile" by Jason Boland & the Stragglers (2013)

"It's a broken-hearted world that we inherit/All we're told to do is sin and bear it/For a little while/On the dark and dirty mile"

​“Dark and Dirty Mile” is the closest thing I think Jason Boland (and his co-writer Stoney LaRue) will ever get to writing a Kris Kristofferson song. It’s poetic and at times elegant, at times witty and other times dark and I’m not 100 percent sure what Boland means by all of it, but it sounds damn good. And, it certainly is “a broken-hearted world that we inherit.” “Dark and Dirty Mile” is also one of Boland’s best vocal performances of his career and this song contains exquisite fiddling playing from Nick Worley, who’s certainly one of the best at his instrument in the business. 

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88. "Cover Your Eyes" by Jamey Johnson (2010)

"Cover your eyes/If you don't see me goin'/There's no way of knowin'/When it's time to cry"

Jamey Johnson is one of the most talented songwriters country music has ever seen and he can do seemingly every emotion with the best of them, but when it comes to writing a sad song he can take it one step further. “Cover Your Eyes,” off 2010’s double-album The Guitar Song, was one of country music’s finest breakup songs of the decade. It’s simple, but the emotion of Johnson’s powerhouse vocal really hits home the message of how our narrator is trying to let down a loved one as easy as possible, while also breaking his own heart. 

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87. "Django & Jimmie" by Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard (2015)

"Might not have been/A Merle or a Willie/If not for a Django and Jimmie"

​In 2015 Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard were the living legends of country music. So, when the good friends and songwriting kings got together for their second duet album, and first since 1983’s Pancho & Lefty, it instantly became one of the most anticipated albums of the year – and it didn’t disappoint. The truly standout track on the album is the title track “Django & Jimmie,” which takes its name from the heroes and musical inspirations of each of the legends – Willie’s hero Django Reinhardt and Merle’s inspiration Jimmie Rodgers. The song explains how a guitar picking gypsy and a blues singing railroad brakeman inspired the two to do what they’ve done for the majority of their lives. Shockingly something so autobiographical wasn’t written by either Willie or Merle, but rather Jimmy Melton and Jeff Prince who really got inside the heart and soul of the legends to craft such a fitting tribute to their heroes. 

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86. "Barton Hollow" by The Civil Wars (2011)

"Ain't going back to Barton Hollow/Devil gonna find me e'er I go/Won't do me no good washing in the river/Can't no preacher man save my soul"

​The Civil Wars shone brightly and then extinguished in such a short amount of time but left some timeless music in their wake. The duo of John Paul White and Joy Williams released “Barton Hollow” in early 2011 and it didn’t take long to take the music world by storm – it was essentially loved by all music communities – pop, rock, folk, country. The two voices meld perfectly in this track about mysterious events happening underneath the water down in Barton Hollow in a continuance of the grand history of the country murder ballad. 

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85. "From a Table Away" by Sunny Sweeney (2011)

"I heard you tell her you still love her/So it doesn't matter what you say/I saw it all/From a table away"

​There’s really no good reason why Sunny Sweeney shouldn’t have been a mainstream country hit. If mainstream country radio had bothered playing female artists during this decade she very likely could’ve been. “From a Table Away,” off her 2011 album Concrete, was her foray into the mainstream and peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard charts, but unfathomably was the only hit off an incredibly strong album. “From a Table Away,” co-written by Sweeney, Bob DiPiero and Karyn Rochelle, is the story of the narrator happening upon her still married love interest at a restaurant and realizing he’s still in love and that her relationship with him isn’t going to work out. The track has a lot of fiddle and steel guitar on it … that might be why Music Row jettisoned her back to Texas where she’s thrived on the Texas Country charts. 

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84. "Stripes" by Brandy Clark (2013)

"There's no crime of passion worth a crime of fashion/The only thing savin' your life/Is that I don't look good in orange and I hate stripes"

​Murdering or thinking about murdering a cheating ex is a popular country music trope, especially among female performers, but few have ever taken the unique and creative route that Brandy Clark did with it on “Stripes.” The narrator of her song has the passion for ending her cheating partner, but because of her fashion sense (not looking good in orange or stripes) she decides to spare him. It’s hilarious and catchy and signified Clark’s turn from award-winning songwriter to award-winning singer-songwriter, and we’re all better off for that. 

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83. "Bible on the Dash" by Corb Lund & Hayes Carll (2013)

"What kinda music you boys makin'?/We said Christian music, sir!"

​Canadians love their country music and one of the best Canadian country artists of all-time is Corb Lund. “Bible on the Dash,” off Lund’s 2013 album Cabin Fever, with his friend Hayes Carll (and was co-written by those two and Jason Boland) is a laugh riot. The song tells the story about how a traveling musician should always keep a Bible on the dash of their transportation just in case of being stopped by the law in hopes of it getting them out of trouble. It’s truly great advice and Lund and Carll have a helluva lot of fun on this performance. 

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82. "Guilty as Can Be" by Cody Johnson (2011)

"I ain't the kind to hurt a woman and I hope you understand/Somebody's got to die today/Son, it looks like you're the man"

​Cody Johnson has just started to breakthrough into the mainstream a bit after a successful start to his career in Texas Country circles and was recently nominated for Best New Artist at the CMA Awards (even if he’s been around more than a decade), but my first foray into his music was “Guilty As Can Be,” off his 2011 album A Different Day. “Guilty As Can Be” is a song about coming home from a long day at work to find your woman with another man in your bed and getting your revenge and not having any remorse whatsoever. Johnson has certainly found more success since this release, but I’m not sure he’s recorded anything this good since. 

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81. "July in Cheyenne" by Aaron Watson (2012)

"A little part of every heart or every rodeo fan/Died there in the rain and the mud in July in Cheyenne"

​Aaron Watson was one of the biggest and most successful non-mainstream country acts of the decade and was so successful he was able to even enter that mainstream a bit while sticking to his guns and who he is as an artist. His best song from the decade was 2012’s “July in Cheyenne,” a beautiful tribute to rodeo hero Lane Frost, who died in a rodeo event in Cheyenne, Wy. in 1989. The song was a bit more personal for Watson though, as he connected with Frost’s mother and her loss as he had experienced the recent loss of a child. The final verse gives hope of one day seeing Lane Frost again on high.