"Little Rock" is a song written by Tom Douglas, 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 ...

singer

Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960), known professionally as Collin Raye and previously as Bubba Wray, is an American country music singer. He initially recorded as a member of the band The Wrays between 1983 and 1987. He made his solo debut ...

. It was released in March 1994 as the second single from his CD, '' Extremes''. The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. ''

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 chart and number 7 on the Canadian ''RPM'' Country Tracks.

Content

"Little Rock" centers around a man, who is a recovering

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

trying to rebuild his life in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, which also serves as a metaphor for the faltering relationship he left behind. He explains to his significant other that since leaving home to start over, he has taken a job selling VCR's at a

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

, that he hasn't had a drink in nineteen days, and that he has found religion ("I like the preacher from the Church of Christ"). The narrator repeats the phrase "I think I'm on a roll here in Little Rock" but later explains that his only problem is that his significant other is not with him.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of ''

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably saying that the "cinematic" production and "Raye's on-the-money delivery are the perfect vehicles for this moving song about a guy who's hit bottom and is climbing back up one step at a time.''

'', March 26, 1994

Music video

The music video was directed and produced by Sherman Halsey and premiered in mid-1994. The video follows the song storyline by depicting a recovering alcoholic. In this case he has bought a bottle of liquor and pours himself a shot, and is clearly tempted to "fall off the wagon" after those nineteen days, but at the very end he is shown pouring the shot into the sink, having apparently resisted the temptation. The video also shows flashback scenes of him as a child witnessing his parents involved in a domestic confrontation as a result of his father's alcohol abuse, which leaves him visibly shaken and flash forwarding to him as an adult involved in a similar situation with his wife, as his son witnesses the confrontation unfold. Unlike his father, he stops and consoles his son after realizing the trauma he put him through as a result of his own alcohol abuse.

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 63 on the ''

Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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. ...

chart dated April 9, 1994. It charted for 20 weeks on that chart, and peaked at number 2 on the chart dated July 2, 1994 (having been blocked from number 1 by

Neal McCoy Hubert Neal McGaughey Jr. (born July 30, 1958), known professionally as Neal McCoy and previously as Neal McGoy, is an American country music singer. He has released 10 studio albums on various labels, and has released 34 singles to country radio ...

's "

Wink A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. A wink is an informal mode of non-verbal communication usually signaling shared hidden knowledge or intent. However, it is ambiguous by itself and highly dependent upon additional c ...

").

Charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1994 singles 1994 songs Collin Raye songs Song recordings produced by Paul Worley Songs written by Tom Douglas (songwriter) Epic Records singles Music videos directed by Sherman Halsey Songs about Arkansas