"Gone Country" is a song written by

Bob McDill Robert Lee McDill (born April 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, active from the 1960s until 2000. During his career he wrote or co-wrote 31 number one country hits. His songs were also recorded by popular artists of the 1970s, 1980s ...

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 ...

artist

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is known for performing a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country", as well as writing many of his own songs. Jackson has recorded 21 studi ...

. It was released in November 1994 as the third single from his fourth major-label studio album, '' Who I Am''. As with that album's first two singles ("

Summertime Blues "Summertime Blues" is a song co-written and recorded by the American rock artist Eddie Cochran. It was written by Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. Originally a single B-side, it was released in August 1958 and peaked at number 8 on th ...

" and " Livin' on Love"), "Gone Country" reached the top of the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

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, a position that it held for one week.

Content

"Gone Country" served as a commentary on the country music scene, illustrating three examples of other singers (a lounge singer in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

from

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

; a

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

er in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

; and a "serious composer schooled in voice and composition" who commutes to L.A. from the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

), all of whom find that their respective careers are failing, and as a result, they decide to begin performing country music instead. Alan Jackson said about the song: "Bob McDill wrote this and he is one of my favorite writers of all time. When I first heard this song I fell in love with it. I wish that I'd written it cause it says a lot of things that I'd like to say. I think it's just a fun song actually, celebrating how country music has become more widespread and accepted by all types of people all over the country."

Cover versions

Country music singers

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country music, country singer. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place ...

and

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack (; born August 19, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. She has charted 23 times on the American ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts; her highest peaking single there is her crossover signature song, " I Hope You Dance" ...

covered the song from the television special CMT Giants: Alan Jackson.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of ''

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that it was "the most talked-about country song of the year, and deservedly so." She goes on to say that it is "an ode to all the carpetbaggers flowing into Music City. Musically, it kicks ass."''

'', November 26, 1994

Music video

The video was directed by

Michael Oblowitz Michael Oblowitz is a South African filmmaker. Early life and education Oblowitz was born in Cape Town where he grew up surfing in the 1970s. He is a Fine Arts and Philosophy graduate of the University of Cape Town. He received an M.F.A. in Fi ...

, and filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

atop 622 3rd Avenue, as well as in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, and

. The concert scenes in the video were shot in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

, at Roberts Municipal Stadium, and in Knoxville. It features the former World Trade Center Towers in a flyover.

Chart positions

Year-end charts

Certifications

Parodies

*Jackson himself adopted the tune in commercials for the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

in the late 1990s, titling the track "Ford Country." *American country music parody artist Cledus T. Judd released a parody of "Gone Country" titled "Gone Funky" on his 1995 album ''

Cledus T. Judd (No Relation) ''Cledus T. Judd (No Relation)'' is the self-titled debut album of country music parodist Cledus T. Judd. The album's title is a reference to the popularity of country duo The Judds, stating that he has "no relation" to them. The album feature ...

''. *The comedy podcast PolitiPod released a parody about a supporter of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

titled "Gone Trumpin'" in their 2020 "Minisode #3."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gone Country (Song) 1994 singles 1994 songs Alan Jackson songs Songs written by Bob McDill Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Arista Nashville singles Songs about country music Music videos shot in the United States