Northern Girl: The Terri Clark Rankdown (Revealing)

[.indulgecountry]

I love this song so much.

[SHOOTER]

[Kanenrá:ke]

We've been married seven years now
Some days it feels like twenty-one
I'm still mad at you this mornin'
Coffee's ready if you want some

2. I Just Wanna Be Mad

Points: 171



Writers: Kelley Lovelace & Lee Thomas Miller
Release Date: August 26, 2002
Album: Paint To Kill

Released in August 2002 as the first single released from Clark's album Pain to Kill. It peaked at number 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and reached number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Clark's performance of the song was nominated for a 2003 Juno Award for Country Recording of the Year.

The song was originally to be recorded by John Michael Montgomery.

There's been sooo many times in my life where this song perfectly captured how I was feeling! 

Individual Ranks:


fearlessarrow - 1
cerulean - 2
codyj100 - 2
sabre14 - 3
someguy - 4
dub - 5
bboat11 - 8
Kanenrá:ke - 8
castleoblivion26 - 10
George Strait Junkie - 11
sunburn - 11
Tim - 11
.indulgecountry - 14
rgreen0625 - 17
SHOOTER - 17
Cody Wants Out... - 22
LBTrocks - 25



Trajectory:

[Kanenrá:ke]

Well, I'd love to talk to you, but then, I'd miss Donahue
That's right, I got better things to do
1. Better Things To Do

Points: 128



Writers: Terri Clark, Tom Shapiro, & Chris Waters
Release Date: July 10, 1995
Album: Terri Clark


Released in July 1995 as her debut single and served as the lead-off single to her self-titled debut album. It was a Top 10 hit on both the U.S. and Canadian country charts, where it peaked at number 3 on both.

The song that started it all and set a template for her signature sound! In many ways this is the perfect song to win here as it perfectly captures the energy and fun she brings to her music!

Individual Ranks:


SHOOTER - 1
dub - 2
LBTrocks - 2
castleoblivion26 - 5
codyj100 - 5
George Strait Junkie - 5
sunburn - 5
fearlessarrow - 8
sabre14 - 8
Tim - 8
Cody Wants Out... - 9
cerulean - 10
Kanenrá:ke - 10
someguy - 10
bboat11 - 12
.indulgecountry - 13
rgreen0625 - 15



Trajectory:

[Kanenrá:ke]

Thank you all for the patience it required to live through me hosting a rankdown!

Now if anybody's interested to do it again! I'll be quicker next time!

LeAnn Rimes Rankdown

[.indulgecountry]

I called it. This song is iconic af. Love it despite *only* ranking it at #13 and being only the second lowest rank for it (damn @ it getting all top 15s like wow!).

"I Just Wanna Be Mad" making it all the way to runner-up definitely surprised me. I was not expecting near the fanfare that one received, but it is a jam as well! I love these both about equally as evidenced by them being ranked side-by-side on my list.

Thanks for finally finishing this one up, Kanenrá:ke!

[bboat11]

Jun 11, 2019 21:50:35 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

Jun 11, 2019 21:20:43 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Nooooooo so close to top 10. Ugh. This song is incredible </3


LBTrocks you are garbage. Our friendship is cancelled.

The lyric that Kanenrá:ke quoted is literally one of the main reasons why I hate the song so much, lol.

Her "not having time" is not the reason why she didn't lie about being a mother... she didn't lie because unless she's planning to ditch the kid, lying about that is futile    the guy's gonna find out anyway if anything were to happen between them. I don't care if you had all the time in the world, common sense alone tells you it's not a good idea to lie about something like that, if only for the fact that it's not a lie that is feasible to perpetuate.

So stupid. I hate it when songs try to force a lyric to fit the overall narrative... drives me crazy. Just like Jordy with "I Wanna Do It All" this was an easy bottom choice for me tbh.

Yeah, we’re not going to accept this slander. She has had trouble finding a man who wouldn’t immediately run away when he finds out she has a child. Being a single mother is incredibly difficult and scary when trying to date, because you need to simultaneously let somebody else in while also protecting your child. The lyrics obviously portray a woman who is incredibly guarded because of how she has been hurt in the past, therefore it totally makes sense that having a child would be like the closest and most well-protected part of her, and she might have otherwise been tempted to lie about her child out of desperation and fear when she first meets somebody new. But for whatever reason the chemistry between them was so intense that she didn’t have time to even consider lying before she blurted out the truth, putting all her secrets on the table despite her usual desire to be cautious. And then she was immediately rewarded by his admission that he loved kids, as well as his saying that he had observed the car seat, which means he would have known she was lying if she had said no. In other words, if she had followed her usual fear-based instincts, she would have messed up with him right off the bat. The fact that she was able reveal her biggest secret to him so naturally without fear, and have him accept it so immediately and warmly, speaks to the long term viability of their relationship.

The degree to which you have had to over-simplify this entire song to take issue with the lyrics is horrifying. Like, obviously it wouldn’t be logical to lie about your child, but you are not going to be operating on logic when you are put on the spot about your deepest and most well kept secrets by a complete stranger who may or may not turn out to be a jerk if you say the wrong thing. But I guess perhaps you haven’t had time to come up with a valid reason to hate this song

[LBTrocks]

Jun 12, 2019 6:12:30 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Jun 11, 2019 21:50:35 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

The lyric that Kanenrá:ke quoted is literally one of the main reasons why I hate the song so much, lol.

Her "not having time" is not the reason why she didn't lie about being a mother... she didn't lie because unless she's planning to ditch the kid, lying about that is futile    the guy's gonna find out anyway if anything were to happen between them. I don't care if you had all the time in the world, common sense alone tells you it's not a good idea to lie about something like that, if only for the fact that it's not a lie that is feasible to perpetuate.

So stupid. I hate it when songs try to force a lyric to fit the overall narrative... drives me crazy. Just like Jordy with "I Wanna Do It All" this was an easy bottom choice for me tbh.

Yeah, we’re not going to accept this slander. She has had trouble finding a man who wouldn’t immediately run away when he finds out she has a child. Being a single mother is incredibly difficult and scary when trying to date, because you need to simultaneously let somebody else in while also protecting your child. The lyrics obviously portray a woman who is incredibly guarded because of how she has been hurt in the past, therefore it totally makes sense that having a child would be like the closest and most well-protected part of her, and she might have otherwise been tempted to lie about her child out of desperation and fear when she first meets somebody new. But for whatever reason the chemistry between them was so intense that she didn’t have time to even consider lying before she blurted out the truth, putting all her secrets on the table despite her usual desire to be cautious. And then she was immediately rewarded by his admission that he loved kids, as well as his saying that he had observed the car seat, which means he would have known she was lying if she had said no. In other words, if she had followed her usual fear-based instincts, she would have messed up with him right off the bat. The fact that she was able reveal her biggest secret to him so naturally without fear, and have him accept it so immediately and warmly, speaks to the long term viability of their relationship.

The degree to which you have had to over-simplify this entire song to take issue with the lyrics is horrifying. Like, obviously it wouldn’t be logical to lie about your child, but you are not going to be operating on logic when you are put on the spot about your deepest and most well kept secrets by a complete stranger who may or may not turn out to be a jerk if you say the wrong thing. But I guess perhaps you haven’t had time to come up with a valid reason to hate this song

Agree to disagree. I cringe hard every time I hear that lyric... lying. was. not. an. option. As you said, he already saw the car seat. I get that trying to find someone when you're a single mother is difficult, but if a mother's response is 'no' to the 'do you have a child' question if she would have "had time" to think about lying about that isn't going to nominate her for any mother of the year awards, nor is it a practical or sensible thing do to. Again, sounds really try-hard to my ears. Glad you love it, but it's a no for me. 

And don't get me wrong, it's not just the lyrics... musically it's a dud for me too. Melody doesn't work for me at all.

[Cody Wants Out...]

Mixed feelings about the winner here since it's the only song I hear from Terri these days on the radio. I did think about tanking it (putting it outside my top 20), but I just couldn't; the attitude and spunky performance won me over, which made it a little too irresistible to me, despite me starting to get a little burnt out on it.

Also a smidgen disappointed that I was the one to push it to #1 as I was personally hoping to have pushed something like "A Little Gasoline" or "You're Easy on the Eyes" up there.

[LBTrocks]

PHENOMENAL winner! "Better Things To Do" is the epitome of a great 90s country jam!

Thanks for hosting Kanenrá:ke and thanks for giving us 2 years worth of entertainment during the reveal process!

[SHOOTER]

Can’t believe I’m the only one that ranked the rightful winner correctly.

Thanks for hosting Kanenrá:ke will have LeAnn in by Halloween.

[LBTrocks]

Jun 12, 2019 10:54:15 GMT -5 SHOOTER said:

Can’t believe I’m the only one that ranked the rightful winner correctly.

Thanks for hosting Kanenrá:ke will have LeAnn in by Halloween.

Of 2020! ☺️

[.indulgecountry]

LBTrocks I understand your gripe with the lyric but I gotta agree with bboat11 on his assessment. It's not that she *wanted* or was even planning to lie to him because it's pretty obvious that wouldn't have worked, but it was a way of detailing having her guard up because saying you have a kid runs off a lot of potential dates. I think it works just fine in the song.

[Kanenrá:ke]

Jun 12, 2019 10:11:19 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

PHENOMENAL winner! "Better Things To Do" is the epitome of a great 90s country jam!

Thanks for hosting Kanenrá:ke and thanks for giving us 2 years worth of entertainment during the reveal process!

See that was the goal 2 years of non stop adrenaline inducing entertainment! Glad you and everyone else was satisfied!

[bboat11]

I just have to say how shooketh I was to glance at Pulse late last night and see that this had been finished! Like, how'd I miss it?! This top 15 was a whole damn mess tho, so it's probably for the best that I wasn't here. "If I Were You" and "She Didn't Have Time" were the two songs I was about 99% sure were going to be top 5 contenders, and it is going to take me many months to get over the fact that they were not even close to the top 10... Like, to be one of the people who tanked those songs legitimately makes me think less of you as a person. And I know rankdowns aren't THAT serious, but that level of horrid taste is just plain unfit for a civil society.

On the positive side, however, I am THRILLED that "Three Mississippi" managed to make it as high as #7! I had been expecting it to be leaving next for literally the entire top 25, so to see it be as loved as it is just feels so incredibly rewarding! I have high hopes to see how well that song would get in a Pain To Kill album rankdown...

"Better Things To Do" is a predictable and fitting winner, but I agree with Cody about being a tiny bit tired of it. The song is iconic as fuq, but I have overplayed it to the point where I don't look forward to hearing it the way that I used to. I do very much actively enjoy it when I am listening to it though

[LBTrocks]

Jun 12, 2019 22:31:55 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

I just have to say how shooketh I was to glance at Pulse late last night and see that this had been finished! Like, how'd I miss it?! This top 15 was a whole damn mess tho, so it's probably for the best that I wasn't here. "If I Were You" and "She Didn't Have Time" were the two songs I was about 99% sure were going to be top 5 contenders, and it is going to take me many months to get over the fact that they were not even close to the top 10... Like, to be one of the people who tanked those songs legitimately makes me think less of you as a person. And I know rankdowns aren't THAT serious, but that level of horrid taste is just plain unfit for a civil society.

On the positive side, however, I am THRILLED that "Three Mississippi" managed to make it as high as #7! I had been expecting it to be leaving next for literally the entire top 25, so to see it be as loved as it is just feels so incredibly rewarding! I have high hopes to see how well that song would get in a Pain To Kill album rankdown...

"Better Things To Do" is a predictable and fitting winner, but I agree with Cody about being a tiny bit tired of it. The song is iconic as fuq, but I have overplayed it to the point where I don't look forward to hearing it the way that I used to. I do very much actively enjoy it when I am listening to it though

[Tim]

Not all that surprised to see “Better Things To Do” come out on top as the winner as it really is one of her all-time greats and signature songs. While my personal favorite “When Boy Meets Girl” had a couple detractors I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who loves it. There’s a bit of nostalgia that always hits me because I remember falling in love with Terri’s music when I first heard that song and it remains one of my favorites to this day.

I never would’ve guessed that “Three Mississippi” would make it all the way to the top 10 and I just don’t get the overall hype it receives here on Pulse. It was an easy bottom 10 placement as the song has always had little replay value for me.

I’ll be jamming out to more of Terri’s music again later this summer as I’ll be seeing her out on tour with Clint Black and Trace Adkins at a venue just north of Austin...this’ll be my third show although I haven’t seen her since probably 1998 when she was with Reba and Brooks & Dunn.

Thanks for taking us along on the extended road trip Kanenrá:ke !

[someguy]

Terri is so awesome live! Glad you get to see her again. I've seen her (albiet it on her own) three times now, and I've always been impressed.