Do you ever wish you were born a decade earlier?
Cause damn I do.
The ‘90s looked like a rowdy time down in the south. The “business in the front, party in the back” mullet was at its peak. Big billed trucker hats were the headwear of choice. People were cutting the sleeves off their flannels. Everybody was pounding PBR and Bud Heavys like they were going out of style (they weren’t). Line dancing at your local honky tonk was the move on the weekends, and it was actually cool to be a fan of the Atlanta Braves and Dallas Cowboys.
Being country in the South in the ‘90s was not only encouraged, it was cool, so lets take a look back at 10 of the most legendary redneck country songs of the ‘90s.
“Queen Of My Double Wide Trailer” -Sammy Kershaw
I mean the title of the song speaks for itself. In the song, Sammy sings about meeting the love of his life at Murphy’s Restaurant over a sloe gin fizz (whatever the hell that is) and chicken fried steaks. She moves into his double wide trailer, and Sammy is in a competition for his woman’s heart with a mechanic named Earl who’s the “Charlie Daniels of the “torque-wrench.”
“Some Girls Do” – Sawyer Brown
Speaking of cutoff flannels and the big billed trucker hat, the man Sawyer Brown pulled it off as well as anybody. In the song he sings about how he ain’t first class and he ain’t white trash, but he’s gotta redneck side that not all the girls like… but some girls do.
“Time Marches On” – Tracy Lawrence
This hit song from Tracy has arguably the realist chorus I’ve ever heard in my life… “The only thing that stays the same is everything changes.” The song is about a family of four, and how their lives progressively change as time marches on. Tracy kills it with the storytelling in this song, and it’s no wonder why it hit number one on the Billboard Charts in 1996.
“The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” – Reba McEntire
Talk about a LEGENDARY murder ballad. Reba was a queen of ‘90s country, and this is the ultimate redneck cheating song… with quite the twist at the end. It was also a defining song for Reba to help solidify her name in country music fame.
“John Deere Green” – Joe Diffie
What’s a ‘90s country list without paying a tribute to the late Joe Diffie? Also, nobody defined ‘90s redneck country more than the man himself, especially with this song. The songs about a young love in a small town, where the main character paints “Billy Bob loves Charlene” in good ol John Deere Green on the water tower.
“Watermelon Crawl” – Tracy Byrd
You heard it here first folks, if you ever catch yourself in a tiny town in the south, don’t drink and drive, do the watermelon crawl (being from a small town in the south, they’re all speed traps for cops anyways). In the song, Byrd sings about stopping in a small town for the “Rhine County Watermelon Festival,” and the event that transpire after.
“She’s In Love With The Boy” – Trisha Yearwood
Trisha brought the heat with this one. In this country love song, Yearwood sings about a small town love between characters Katie and Tommy, and Tommy has a wild side that Katie’s dad doesn’t like. Eventually Katie’s dad realizes Tommy is just like him when he was a kid, and all is well.
“Wink” – Neal McCoy
“And slam bam I’m feelin’ alright,” talk about the ultimate ‘90s slang. This uptempo, energetic song makes you wanna grab your boots and cowboy hat and take it back to ’94 and go Honkey Tonkin’ with your significant other.
“Boot Scootin’ Boogie” – Brooks & Dunn
Y’all didn’t really think I was gonna make a ‘90s country list without the most iconic country duo of the ‘90s did y’all? This good ol boot stomping song is the ultimate ‘90s honky tonk jam, along with several others the group released during this time period.
“Chattahoochee” – Alan Jackson
I mean you cannot find a song that describes the perfect ‘90s summer in the south than this song right here. Grape snow cones, learnin’ how to love and how to live in that muddy water, pyramids of cans in the pale moonlight, and hotter than a hoochie coochie, the songs got it all.
Also, the music video is incredible in itself.
And the Perfect “remix.”