There may not be a more emotional figure in country music than Garth Brooks. The man who knows how to fill a stadium with fans is also one who knows how to fill a tune with passion or tears. For the Tulsa, Oklahoma-born songwriter and performer who grew up a big James Taylor fan, it’s all of the energy and verve that he puts into his music that’s made him one of the biggest draws not only in country but music in general for the past several decades.
Indeed, the multi-Platinum-selling Brooks has made millions of memories for his fans. And along the way, he’s also recorded some stellar songs that have since stood the test of time. Here below, we wanted to explore there of those tunes. A trio of tracks that will live on for generations to come. These are three eternal country songs from Garth Brooks.
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“The Dance” from Garth Brooks (1989)
The song that made Garth Brooks into a music star, this track was released on the artist’s 1989 self-titled debut LP. With a pensive piano opening that blends into acoustic strumming, Brooks’ voice finds the listener, full-throated. He sings about a loving embrace and, yes, a dance. But lovers must part and Brooks forlornly sings about that reality. But at least they had that moment. On the tune, he croons,
Looking back
On the memory of
‘Neath the stars above
For a moment
All the world was right
But how could I have known
That you’d ever say goodbye
And now I’m glad I didn’t know
The way it all would end
The way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I’d have had to miss the dance
“Friends in Low Places” from No Fences (1990)
Not only is this likely Brooks’ most famous song, it’s one of the most famous songs in country music, itself. Released just a year after “The Dance,” this song cemented Brooks as a force in the genre. We know he knows love but now we know he knows the people. It’s the perfect bar song, the perfect track for a saloon, combining suds and shoulder-swaying lyrics best for chanting in unison. On the rollicking offering, Brooks sings, bending his twangy voice,
Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots
And ruined your black tie affair
The last one to know, the last one to show
I was the last one you thought you’d see there
And I saw the surprise and the fear in his eyes
When I took his glass of champagne
And I toasted you, said, “Honey, we may be through
But you’ll never hear me complain”
‘Cause I’ve got friends in low places
Where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases my blues away
And I’ll be OK
Yeah, I’m not big on social graces
Think I’ll slip on down to the oasis
Oh, I’ve got friends in low places
“The Thunder Rolls” from No Fences (1990)
Another from the singer’s 1990 LP No Fences, this track, which was also cut by Tanya Tucker, showcases urgency and worry. It’s about turbulent times internally and externally, swirling around a man’s life. A storm is coming and his marriage is falling apart thanks to his disrespectful actions toward his wife. Sings Brooks over a picked acoustic,
Three thirty in the morning
Not a soul in sight
The city’s lookin’ like a ghost town
On a moonless summer night
Raindrops on the windshield
There’s a storm movin’ in
He’s headin’ back from somewhere
That he never should have been
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
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