"Boondocks" is a song co-written and recorded by American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
group
Little Big Town
Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has had the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook. Fa ...
. It was released in May 2005 as the first single from their second studio album ''
The Road to Here''. It became their first Top 10 hit on the U.S. ''Billboard''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
charts.
It was written by Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Roads, Phillip Sweet, Jimi Westbrook and
Wayne Kirkpatrick. The song is one of the band's most enduring and popular hits and they often perform it at the end of their concerts.
Background and writing
Originally, the song was titled "Waiting For the Sun to Go Down". According to Karen Fairchild, one of the group's members, "When we wrote it, it just wasn't there... We kind of set it aside for a few days and then Wayne
irkpatrick, one of the song's co-writerscame back."
The group later decided on turning the song into a
Southern anthem, at which point Kirkpatrick suggested "I'm born and raised in the boondocks" (The line "waiting for the sun to go down" was transferred to "Bones", another song on the band's album
).
Content
"Boondocks" is an up-tempo song whose main theme is of rural pride ("I feel no shame, I'm proud of where I came from / I was born and raised in the boondocks"). In the song, all four of the group's members trade off lead and harmony vocals, with all four members singing in various combinations throughout.
Music video
A music video, directed by Roger Pistole, was released for the song. The music video was filmed in
Watertown, Tennessee.
The video topped
CMT's ''Top Twenty Countdown'' for the week of January 26, 2006.
Other notable versions
*
Etta James
Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...
recorded an R&B version for her 2011 album ''
The Dreamer''.
* Several characters from
Big Idea Entertainment's
VeggieTales
''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, Christian Computer animated, CGI-animated series and multimedia franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series stars Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumb ...
series of media covered the song for the 2012 album ''Bob and Larry Go Country''. This version is 1 pitch lower.
*
Home Free, a country, a capella group, covered the song as a mashup with The
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (sometimes abbreviated NGDB), also known as the Dirt Band, is an American band founded in Long Beach, California, in 1966. Since 2018, the band has consisted of Jeff Hanna and his son Jaime Hanna, both guitarists and voc ...
's '
Fishin' in the Dark' for their 2015 album ''
Country Evolution''.
Chart performance
"Boondocks" debuted at #59 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs for the week of June 4, 2005; it eventually peaked at #9. On the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, the single peaked at #46, becoming their first single to appear on the chart.
Certifications
References
External links
Lyrics to ''Boondocks''
{{authority control
2005 singles
Little Big Town songs
Songs written by Karen Fairchild
Songs written by Kimberly Schlapman
Songs written by Phillip Sweet
Songs written by Jimi Westbrook
Songs written by Wayne Kirkpatrick
Equity Music Group singles
Etta James songs
2005 songs