I'm from the Country (song)

"I'm from the Country" is a song written by Marty Brown, Stan Webb and Richard Young, who is the rhythm guitarist for the band The Kentucky Headhunters, and recorded by American country music artist Tracy Byrd. It was released in February 1998 as the first single and title track from his album I'm from the Country.

"I'm from the Country"
Single by Tracy Byrd
from the album I'm from the Country
B-side"For Me It's You"[1]
ReleasedFebruary 3, 1998[2]
RecordedDecember 30, 1997
GenreCountry
Length3:30
LabelMCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)Marty Brown
Stan Webb
Richard Young
Producer(s)Tony Brown
Tracy Byrd singles chronology
"Good Ol' Fashioned Love"
(1997)		 "I'm from the Country"
(1998)		 "I Wanna Feel That Way Again"
(1998)

Content

"I'm from the Country" is an up-tempo twelve-bar blues, backed by electric guitar and fiddle, with some Hammond organ flourishes. In it, the narrator describes the rural lifestyle that he and his peers live, saying "We know how to work and we know how to play / We're from the country and we like it that way". On the final chorus, Byrd is joined by a crowd of backing singers, many of whom begin cheering over the final guitar solo.

The song was co-written by Marty Brown, along with The Kentucky Headhunters' rhythm guitarist Richard Young, and Stan Webb. Brown and The Kentucky Headhunters recorded the song's demo.[3]

Music video

The song's music video debuted on the television network CMT on February 3, 1998, and was directed by Michael Merriman. The song's music video consisted of Byrd singing the song at a lodge with all of his friends. Stock footage from "Watermelon Crawl" is also used in the video. Scenes also included Byrd sitting on the stereo, in the kitchen with two women, and some guys cooking on the grill. The last scene of the video shows Byrd sitting in a hot tub, and blowing out his candle.

Critical reception

Thom Owens, who reviewed I'm from the Country for Allmusic, said of the song, "the key to the record's success is that he takes pains in proving the title true — and by the end of the record, you have no question that he is indeed from the country."[4] Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song with general favor by saying that the song is "buoyed by lots of fiddle and steel guitar riffs as well as a fun sing-along chorus." She also calls it a "festive, uptempo little romp, but with his deep, resonant voice, it would be nice to hear Byrd deliver songs with a little more meat to them."[5]

Stan Webb received the SESAC Country Song of the Year award in 1998 for co-writing the song.[6]

Chart performance

"I'm from the Country" debuted on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts at number 57 on the week of February 14, 1998. It charted for twenty-eight weeks, peaking at number 3. The song also spent seventeen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 (his first entry on that chart since "Walkin' to Jerusalem" in 1995), peaking at number 63. It was a Number One on the RPM country charts in Canada.

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[7] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 63
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] 3

Year-end charts
Chart (1998) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[10] 62
US Country Songs (Billboard)[11] 6
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References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 73. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
  2. I'm from the Country [Single] by Tracy Byrd | CMT
  3. Overall, Rick (1998-06-11). "Byrd watching: Tracy Byrd continues his hit-making ways". Canoe — Jam! Showbiz Music. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  4. Owens, Thom. "I'm from the Country review". Allmusic. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
  5. Billboard, January 31, 1998
  6. "SESAC Awards Country Music Honors". PR Newswire. 1998-12-25. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
  7. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 3579." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. June 8, 1998. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  8. "Tracy Byrd Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  9. "Tracy Byrd Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  10. "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1998". RPM. December 14, 1998. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  11. "Best of 1998: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1998. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
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