bboat11
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Pulse's Resident Martina McBride Expert
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Post by bboat11 on May 6, 2019 1:25:44 GMT -5
"What It Ain't" ain't bad, but it is far from being one of his more memorable singles. When I discovered it for the first time upon purchasing his debut album like a decade after it was supposedly a single, I was not shocked at all to learn that that one never made any real waves at radio. Again, "Jacksonville" is the one that got away from his debut album. Otherwise, that album was not well-designed to capture radio's attention once the acclaim of the title track died down. Oh no, I am sad to see "Hometown Girl" leave this early :'( I knew it wouldn't win or anything, but I thought it was a lock for the top 10. This song did strike me as a tad bland the first time I heard it, but after about 3 listens I was hooked. This song is such an earworm!!! And while it has the sort of mainstream production that we are not used to hearing from Josh, it has held up way better than most recent hits about worshiping a small-town girl have. The lyrics manage to capture the aura of a woman who finds value in herself rather than simply being a pretty pawn for a man to drive around in his truck, particularly lines like "When she gives her love, she knows what it's worth." This song has gone on to be one of my favorites from Josh. I could have ranked it at #1 just as easily as I put it at #6... My top 6 is very much interchangeable depending on the day. I may be the first person to lose my #1, but I am actually incredibly pleased to see "I Wouldn't Be A Man" make it this far! I knew my pick for #1 was a floppy one. I even said in my PM to indulge that I knew I would be the first person to lose their #1. I know this is a polarizing song, and I especially didn't expect it to be very well-received on a forum that is largely full of gay men... Lol I mean, these lyrics were obviously not intended to be homophobic, but I can absolutely see why they could be interpreted that way, or at the very least come across as antiquated as fuck But for me, what has always sold me about this song is Josh's vocal performance. I absolutely LIVE for the way he sings "no holding back" in the verses... Those instances alone are literally enough to make me a huge fan for life Plus I have always been a huge sucker for a nice love ballad. And as a straight male in high school this never challenged my worldview because of course a love song from a man towards a woman described the way I experienced love perfectly. Once I entered my adult years and started to wake up a little bit, I realized how problematic a song like this could be towards the gay community, and I had a "Well, shit" moment... Lol. With love songs, I pretty much always imagine a heterosexual couple in my head, but many of the most successful love songs are ambiguous enough that people could actually think of anybody that they want to. This song lacks that universality, and leaves nothing to the imagination. So it comes as no surprise to me to see this song have some strong dislike. I had to put it at #1 because of my own experiences with it, but had no delusions of it even making the top 10. This was way farther than I thought it would come! "All Over Me" is a song that I never think about. I literally do not remember its existence unless I am listening to the Haywire album and this song just happens to start playing. If I had to list the singles from Haywire, I can guarantee that I would forget this song at first and have to be like "Wait, wasn't there another one?" That being said, I actually enjoy this song a lot! The musical arrangement is very unique and artistic for a song that could be interpreted as fairly pedestrian and bro from a lyrical standpoint. And the melody is killer! I have no idea why I always forget that this song exists! "Me And God" - EWWWW. This garbage made it about 10 positions too far.... This song is an absolute disaster. The thing that makes it so bad? Freaking Ralph Stanley. The guy is a legend. I get that. But that one fish from Spongebob that is so old that she is basically just a brain stem sitting in a wheelchair could have literally turned in a better vocal performance than Ralph does... He sounds so terrible, Microsoft Sam could have done a better job of delivering this song. Ralph sounds SO feeble and weak, his voice is literally just a digital-sounding computerized wisp. It completely destroys the song. Religious songs like this often come across as campy and unnecessary, but tbh the melody is pretty strong, and Josh's vocals sound fantastic here. But as a duet, this is one of the most unnecessary, egregious wastes of studio resources I have ever heard... If it had just been Josh, I could see it making it this high in the rankdown, but in its current form, this should have made it nowhere near the top 20.
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sabre14
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Vince Gill & the Muppets make everything better
Joined: October 2013
Posts: 26,919
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Post by sabre14 on May 6, 2019 9:41:58 GMT -5
The Ralph Stanley version of “Me and God” was edited out of many station’s playlists while it was climbing. Our station played the version where Josh sings the entirety of the track.
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 6, 2019 10:07:24 GMT -5
The Ralph Stanley version of “Me and God” was edited out of many station’s playlists while it was climbing. Our station played the version where Josh sings the entirety of the track. I've never even heard a solo version of this song. I'm guessing then that it was something the label shipped to radio when it was a single as an alternative? "Me and God" is hands down the worst single decision of his career imo. After the 1-2 punch of "Your Man" and "Would You Go with Me," I think Josh could've had another big smash with several of the songs on the album... and "Me and God" was one of the only things that didn't fit that criteria. The fact it made it into the top 20 is a testament to the kind of momentum he had after those two hits, because from any other era of his it probably would've performed far worse. I think he would've become a bigger star without that derailing some of his attention immediately after his breakthrough. It's just such a nothing of a song and like bboat11 said, the duet vocals are... not ideal. I'm still surprised this got so many high ranks.
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sabre14
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Vince Gill & the Muppets make everything better
Joined: October 2013
Posts: 26,919
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Post by sabre14 on May 6, 2019 14:29:10 GMT -5
^ Yes, the Josh Turner solo version of “Me and God” was released as a single edit version to radio stations.
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mamasaid
New Member
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 432
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Post by mamasaid on May 12, 2019 14:47:02 GMT -5
He sounds like an asexual in I Wouldn't Be a Man, which ruins the song for me I totally disagree. As a woman, if the right man shared this me with I'd be a puddle on the floor...and I've been there. This isn't the blatant superficial sexuality and casual relationships that are so prevalent in our society. This is a godly man finding his soulmate.
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bboat11
Moderator
Pulse's Resident Martina McBride Expert
Joined: February 2013
Posts: 27,283
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Staff
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Post by bboat11 on May 13, 2019 20:31:19 GMT -5
He sounds like an asexual in I Wouldn't Be a Man, which ruins the song for me I totally disagree. As a woman, if the right man shared this me with I'd be a puddle on the floor...and I've been there. This isn't the blatant superficial sexuality and casual relationships that are so prevalent in our society. This is a godly man finding his soulmate. The presence of Josh's voice alone makes any random sound have potential to become a sexual experience, tbh... Like, this song IS extra sexual to me just because he is singing it... Those low "no holding back"s just have such a powerful oomph to them I like to imagine just about any woman would get weak in the knees at the thought of a man who can do that! Lol
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 21, 2019 19:56:08 GMT -5
After impressively sneaking into the top 10 as an album track, Josh Turner's final non-single standing in "As Fast as I Could" is the first casualty inside of it. A charming love song that musically sounded like a sequel to "Would You Go with Me," it was a fan favorite when Haywire dropped and I recall many wanted it as a single from the record, and the enjoyment of this track seems to have held up over time given its performance here! It racked up a total of nine top 10 placements and only three slotted it among their bottom 5. "I've ended up on at least a hundred dead-end roads Where my heart and I just wound up broke"
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 21, 2019 20:05:36 GMT -5
Much to my sadness, "Everything Is Fine" bows out at number nine, taking with it our second #1 rank of the game thus far... which happened to be my own. I've always loved everything about this one from the production to the way his voice sounds on it to the really enjoyable melody (especially the with respect to how the chorus goes), but I knew full well going into this it wouldn't be one of the most popular choices, sadly. It's so sunny and positivity-inducing for me. It did manage to get ahead of several of his much bigger hits (this one only narrowly made the top 20 during its run on the charts), and seven other posters do experience a top 10 loss from their list as well. One poster, however, does lose a bottom 5, though LBTrocks still has one more of those in the running yet. "My old dog does a little singing Late at night when the moon gets bright Sunday morning hear the church bells ringing Let us go and see who's getting baptized We gonna take us a Sunday drive Cause everything is fine"
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LBTrocks
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Joined: September 2012
Posts: 17,179
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Post by LBTrocks on May 21, 2019 20:07:31 GMT -5
"Everything Is Fine" is totally un-listenable to me... Josh Turner has a great voice, but I think he sounds really bad on this track. I blame the vocal arrangement... it's dreadful.
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 21, 2019 20:27:23 GMT -5
"Firecracker" fizzles out next, bringing us back-to-back losses from the trio of hits from Everything Is Fine. This sizzling uptempo barn burner of a love song with as many fireworks-related innuendos as one could possibly cram into one country song is our first reveal thus far to not have a single bottom 5 rank, indicating its general favorability with Josh Turner fans. Despite the lack of any adamant dislike for the song, it did not receive quite as much fanfare on the other end either to pull it into the top 5 in the end. Ultimately, over half of y'all found a place in the top 10 of your lists for this one, making it a heavy loss for most. "She goes off with a great big bang Boys I tell ya its a beautiful thing She takes off you better hang on tight She's a blonde bottle rocket In the middle of the night When she makes love, she's a heart attacker My little darlin' is a firecracker"
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LBTrocks
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Joined: September 2012
Posts: 17,179
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Post by LBTrocks on May 21, 2019 20:29:47 GMT -5
Don't care for "Firecracker" either lol. It just isn't a pleasant listen for me... I don't find it fun or catchy.
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 21, 2019 20:49:43 GMT -5
Up next we see if any of y'all were right on your predictions for which album era will lose all its songs first! Only the Your Man era is safe seeing as it still has two songs still in the running.
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 21, 2019 21:03:49 GMT -5
Only tim and recordyear actually did my questionnaire at the beginning (and Kanenrá:ke co-signed Tim's predictions), but both of y'all correctly called this one. In a perfect 1-2-3 punch we see the swift execution of the Everything Is Fine era as despite being the only era to have 100% of its singles make the top 10, it also has the unfortunate distinction of being the first album to lose all of them. "Another Try," a somber dobro and fiddle-driven weeper with ethereal harmony vocals from the lovely Trisha Yearwood, this ode to wanting another chance to make things right in a relationship trended as a consistent top 5 contender for the first 1/3 or so of the submissions process -- even briefly spending some time at #1 -- before the back half of lists came in and tanked it out of the running completely. It failed to score any pinnacle ranks but impressively four of y'all put it just under with a #2 placement. On the other hand, both gardyfan and LBTrocks lose their final bottom 5s here. Another random note, but I think this is one of his best music videos to date. I love the way it is shot in reverse. "The reasons I'm alone, I know by heart But I don't wanna spend forever in the dark I swear next time I'll hang on for dear life If love ever gives me another try"
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LBTrocks
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Joined: September 2012
Posts: 17,179
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Post by LBTrocks on May 21, 2019 21:09:28 GMT -5
Finally lol.
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recordyear
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album listener
Joined: January 2017
Posts: 14,810
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Post by recordyear on May 21, 2019 23:05:59 GMT -5
"My old dog does a little singing Late at night when the moon gets bright Sunday morning hear the church bells ringing Let us go and see who's getting baptized We gonna take us a Sunday drive Cause everything is fine" 8. "Firecracker" Forget to change this one? Also love the vocals in Another Try. It's very moving in the final chorus.
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 26, 2019 21:50:25 GMT -5
Since we lost the entirety of the Everything Is Fine album, let's look at some album cut highlights from the few of you who submitted feedback on those:
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 26, 2019 22:00:07 GMT -5
The final song to bow out prior to the top 5 for the Josh Turner rankdown is his most recent lead single, "Lay Low" from Deep South, which experienced a slow climb to the mid-20s on the country charts and failed to get the album released on the back of it. Despite it stumbling on the charts, it was decidedly Pulse's favorite song from the album era as it bested all the other tunes from Deep South by a clear country mile. This 'get away from it all' jam that is customary of the country genre is delivered with a soaring chorus vocal and a full-bodied contemporary production. We see the loss of our third #1, this time with bigfan101 experiencing the misfortune. Everyone but George Strait Junkie found a place in their top 15 for this one, and half of those were top 10 ranks (with an unusually high number of #11s). "I wanna hear raindrops fallin' down on an old tin roof I wanna find a front porch rail and prop up my travelin' boots See your silhouette in that firelight Feel your body lyin' next to mine Spend a few days together alone And just lay low"
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 26, 2019 22:02:18 GMT -5
Recap!**Please feel free to make top 5 predictions!** Top 5Long Black Train Your Man Would You Go with Me Why Don't We Just Dance Time Is Love Eliminated06. Lay Low 07. Another Try [with Trisha Yearwood]08. Firecracker 09. Everything Is Fine 10. As Fast as I Could 11. Me and God 12. All Over Me 13. I Wouldn't Be a Man 14. Hometown Girl 15. What It Ain't 16. Loretta Lynn's Lincoln 17. She'll Go on You 18. One Woman Man 19. I Was There 20. Where the Girls Are 21. All About You 22. You Don't Mess Around with Jim 23. I Serve a Savior 24. Find Me a Baby 25. Alligator Stroll
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LBTrocks
Diamond Member
Joined: September 2012
Posts: 17,179
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Post by LBTrocks on May 26, 2019 22:02:34 GMT -5
"Why Don't We Just Dance" ftw plz
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LBTrocks
Diamond Member
Joined: September 2012
Posts: 17,179
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Post by LBTrocks on May 26, 2019 22:02:59 GMT -5
"Lay Low" is great tho :( why did it have to miss the top 5, ugh.
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 26, 2019 22:13:10 GMT -5
A couple highlights to bid our farewell to Deep South:
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recordyear
Diamond Member
album listener
Joined: January 2017
Posts: 14,810
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Post by recordyear on May 26, 2019 22:30:27 GMT -5
1, 3, 4, 7, 9. All five are deserving winners. Prediction: 5. Time Is Love 4. Would You Go with Me 3. Why Don't We Just Dance 2. Long Black Train 1. Your Man
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 26, 2019 22:36:33 GMT -5
"Time Is Love," the final song standing from Punching Bag, gets K.O.'d just inside the top 5 (it bested "Lay Low" by less than 10 points in the final tally). While it consistently ranked close to or inside the top 5, it never contended for any higher than this as it falls roughly 60 points shy of the song that ultimately came in fourth place. Still, this simple banjo-driven love tune about rushing home to spend the extra minutes of the day with your significant other with its warm and sunny disposition was a popular choice among participants in the rankdown for a top 10 spot. It came up shy of getting any #1 ranks, but bboat11 and #d3vin44 lose their runner-up and only one poster loses a bottom 5 rank. "I only get so many minutes, Don't wanna spend 'em all on the clock In the time that we spent talkin' How many kisses have I lost?"
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 26, 2019 22:40:12 GMT -5
And now that we've seen the knockout of Punching Bag from the rankdown, let's visit a few of its popular album cuts:
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LBTrocks
Diamond Member
Joined: September 2012
Posts: 17,179
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Post by LBTrocks on May 26, 2019 22:40:33 GMT -5
Good song I'm actually ok with the remaining songs tho Hope that "Long Black Train" doesn't win but it probably will, lol, which is fine. I don't hate it by any means. "Why Don't We Just Dance" is hands down the best song on this list tho, but I don't think it stands a chance
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Post by castleoblivion26 on May 26, 2019 22:48:24 GMT -5
"Long Black Train" really is the only correct #1 imo. I would not be angry to see "Your Man" or "Would You Go With Me" be #1 if it isn't the #1 but hopefully it is not "Why Don't We Just Dance", which I do love and it is in my Top 10, I've always felt a little underwhelmed by that one so it just feels wrong for it to be #1.
I do like "Time Is Love" but am a little shocked by the love for it.
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 26, 2019 22:53:16 GMT -5
Now is where things start to get truly interesting with his 4 most iconic hits vying for the coveted crown in the Josh Turner rankdown. It is "Your Man," the titular track to his sophomore record and first #1 hit of his career, that is the first to bow out of the running. A sex jam sung in his signature seductive low voice with sparse production, this soulful signature smash has been a bit overplayed over the years by nature of being one of his few monumental chart successes. Despite racking up four #1 ranks courtesy of gardyfan, mamasaid, ClevelandRox, and Cody Wants Out..., it was actually never a serious contender for the win. Ultimately, it had only three ranks below the top 10 though, so the fanfare was still there for this one overall. "Baby, lock the doors and turn the lights down low Put some music on that's soft and slow Baby, we ain't got no place to go I hope you understand"
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recordyear
Diamond Member
album listener
Joined: January 2017
Posts: 14,810
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Post by recordyear on May 26, 2019 22:55:33 GMT -5
Talk about unexpected perfect ranking! Yeah this is good but he has better songs.
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LBTrocks
Diamond Member
Joined: September 2012
Posts: 17,179
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Post by LBTrocks on May 26, 2019 23:26:29 GMT -5
Good lol, it's a good song but not winner material IMO
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on May 26, 2019 23:31:29 GMT -5
The locomotive runs out of steam shy of the final top 2 showdown. "Long Black Train," one of Josh Turner's most unabashedly Christian tunes about a metaphorical train ride to the place down below, was his first taste of success at country radio when it made the top 15 back in 2003. Despite not being the biggest hit on the charts, it has become a signature hit for the artist all the same and still enjoys airplay as a popular recurrent hit to this day. It came up short of the top 2 but a mere two points, and with its derailment another set of four #1 ranks go up in smoke here. Only four posters slotted it outside the top 10 of their lists, but the overwhelming majority of participants found a spot in the top 5 for this one. "Well I can hear the whistle from a mile away It sounds so good But I must stay away That train is a beauty making everybody stare But its only destination is the middle of nowhere"
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