Nashville, Tennessee—A musical mecca for all things in the business other than country. It’s one of America’s largest entertainment cities and has seen every phase of American pop culture. That said, many artists, writers, filmmakers, and journalists have artistically documented the city’s life. Conclusions drawn on the matter include feelings of spite, admiration, and ambivalence. Nashville serves as a great artistic muse.
Per the vast amount of artistic analysis of the city, who else has a better opinion to voice than the country singers that make Nashville, Nashville. So many artists have used the city as inspiration for songs and many have them have musically articulated both their disgust and fondness of it. Given this abundant catalog, it seems a strict line has been drawn—musicians either love it or hate it. Here are three of the top songs fueling the rivaling opinions.
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Released in 2020 on Starting Over, “Nashville, TN” is a song about Stapleton’s complex love affair with the city. Both thanking Nashville for his success and spiting it for its hardships, the lyrics provide a type of catharsis for Stapleton as he prepares to depart from the city. Not only is personifying Nashville as a past lover clever, it also alludes that Stapleton does in fact have an unwavering affection for the place that created his musical career.
A convoluted testament of nostalgia and severance. Stapleton suggests that despite the pain Nashville inflicted upon him, he still has love for the city. A mature and wise outlook that makes for a gorgeous song riddled with rich layers of interpersonal turmoil.
The name speaks for itself. Released in 2002 on Lovesick, Broke and Driftin, Williams pulls no punches in criticizing the city. But all I see in Nashville / Is a bunch of backstabbers takin’ you and me / They don’t care about the music ya see—fair to say Williams is not a fan of the new Nashville. Where this distaste comes from is the past Williams holds onto. The past that made his grandfather Hank Williams, and his father Hank Williams Jr. so famous and respected.
To Williams, that Nashville no longer exists and he wants no part in the new one. Out of the many songs outlining the stages of Nashville, Williams’ tune is arguably the most overtly critical. However, does this come as a surprise from a member of the outspoken Williams family?
A loving story of a naive dreamer, Parton gives a personal memoir about her Nashville entrance. Listing off landmarks and recalling a time before her stardom, the song is a whimsical tale expressing the exciting possibilities Nashville has to offer. Parton delivers the song with a cheeriness that can not be mistaken for anything else other than an affinity for the city.
Released in 1973 on My Tennessee Mountain Home, Parton’s recollection of her younger years is a tale as old as time. Reminding folks that she was once a young dreamer hoping to reach the pinnacle of country music. It is a tune filled with optimism and an undying respect for the city that gave her a chance.
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