It’d been a while since I’d heard it, but as I was going through some of my old music, I stumbled upon a collection of Alan Jackson’s best. Now, I didn’t grow up listening to a lot of country. I’ve mentioned before though that I’d heard a lot of Roy Clark and the “whole Hee-Haw gang.” But c’mon. You grow up in the 70s and you’re going to be a rocker, right?
But I wasn’t really. I was all over the place. A huge fan of some classical pieces for sure, but I couldn’t sit down and talk to you like a snob about it. And sure, I liked a few of the standards, but I never got into Kiss or Iron Maiden like maybe my younger brother and his friends.
I actually liked Barry Manilow, and maybe the Carpenters (I mean, who doesn’t?).
And I’m still like that. I’ll listen to just about anything. Unless it’s obviously autotuned. Autotune literally makes me want to cry. I’m serious.
So, back to Alan Jackson.
Alan Jackson did a song that absolutely floors me just about every time I hear it. I think it’s one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. And maybe it’s because I’ve been married for 35 years that it’s even better.
Tonight, as I was sitting down to write, I remembered a silly little piece I started a few days ago called “If I had it to do all over again…” So I brought it out again and started polishing it up a bit, and as I was closing I thought, “hey, I’ll tack on that Alan Jackson song I listened to a few days ago as a bonus” (and it’s obvious why I thought of it). But as I tried to work it in, I thought, “this song needs a day all for itself.”
So here it is. And I hope you enjoy it.