George Strait Album Series

[bboat11]

Up next, kicking off the top 10, we have the first #1 loss of the rankdown!!!

SPOILER: Click to show

{I Thought I Heard My #1 Sing}
gonecountry -
cerulean -
castleoblivion26 -
Troublemaker -
bboat11 -
gardyfan -
LBTrocks -
Kanenrá:ke -
George Strait Junkie -
collinkottke -
Cody Wants Out... -
.indulgecountry -
g8erboi -
tim -
dub -

[bboat11]

So it must be a sad song

In three-quarter time,

That chills down to the bone

When the steel guitars cry.

But if it’s not the one

That brings you home to me,

Then it’s just a sad song

That’s too sad to sing.

10. "Blue Melodies"

Track #3
Runtime: 4:26
Songwriters: Keith Gattis, Wyatt Earp



Total: 129
Average: 8.60
Std Dev: 3.02


cerulean - 1
Troublemaker - 5
bboat11 - 5
Kanenrá:ke - 7
.indulgecountry - 8
gonecountry - 9
g8erboi - 9
dub - 9
gardyfan - 10
George Strait Junkie - 10
collinkottke - 10
castleoblivion26 - 11
tim - 11
LBTrocks - 12
Cody Wants Out... - 12


Following:
BackwoodsBarbie

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
Give It All We Got Tonight
I Got A Car
I Just Can’t Go On Dying Like This
Sittin’ On The Fence
That’s What Breaking Hearts Do
The Night Is Young
When Love Comes Around Again
When The Credits Roll
You Don’t Know What You’re Missing

[Kanenrá:ke]

Aww I may have only given it a middle rank but I was pulling for "Blue Melodies" to go a lot further

[bboat11]

Unfortunately for cerulean , it's time to write a sad song that's too sad to sing "Blue Melodies" is done so dirty here! This song is far and away the best ballad on the album. The premise of the song is so strong, and the lyrics are so unique and descriptive in how they describe someone writing a song in sadness after their lover leaves. Not to mention George turns in an impassioned vocal that can make your hair stand on end if you are in the right mood when you listen to this song. This one started out as a top 5 contender, when I singlehandedly put it there for my list, and unfortunately plummeted for the rest of the submission process :'( Thank goodness cerulean saved it from missing the top 10 at the last minute...

[Troublemaker]

So far this rankdown isn't going as planned...

[cerulean]

Welp, now I'm glad I submitted just to get Blue Melodies into the top 10. I just adore that track.

[bboat11]

It has been an incredibly busy week trying to finish things up before winter break, but now I am officially FREE!!!!!!! I will post a few reveals right now, before my dad/sister/I run off to a movie in about a half hour.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tractors Believe}
cerulean -
Troublemaker -
bboat11 -
Kanenrá:ke -
.indulgecountry -
gonecountry -
g8erboi -
dub -
gardyfan -
George Strait Junkie -
collinkottke -
castleoblivion26 -
tim -
LBTrocks -
Cody Wants Out... -

[bboat11]

Let’s throw ourselves a night to remember

‘Til there’s nothin’ left of this place but burnin’ embers.

The night is young,

But the sun’s been down a long time.

9. "The Night Is Young"

Track #8
Runtime: 3:33
Songwriters: Dean Dillon, Bubba Strait, George Strait

Total: 126
Average: 8.33
Std Dev: 1.88 (Smallest!!!)


gonecountry - 5
cerulean - 6
castleoblivion26 - 6
Troublemaker - 7
bboat11 - 7
gardyfan - 8
LBTrocks - 8
Kanenrá:ke - 9
George Strait Junkie - 9
collinkottke - 9
Cody Wants Out... - 9
.indulgecountry - 10
g8erboi - 10
tim - 10
dub - 12

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
Give It All We Got Tonight
I Got A Car
I Just Can’t Go On Dying Like This
Sittin’ On The Fence
That’s What Breaking Hearts Do
When Love Comes Around Again
When The Credits Roll
You Don’t Know What You’re Missing

[bboat11]

With an extremely low standard deviation, "The Night Is Young" proves to be the least polarizing song on the album, and was a super consistent performer that was basically always on pace to finish in the 7-9 range. This song has an odd structure because it takes so long to get to a chorus, and then pretty much ends, but the melody is really strong, and the tasteful horn section makes this song burst with energy. I wanted to see it make it a little higher, but this is still a pretty good placement considering how strong the album is!

[bboat11]

Can I see you tonight?

Baby, I’ll act just like you want me to.

Or is that just exactly what I’m not supposed to do?

Well, I’ll just stop in here, have a glass of beer.

I’m just a fool I guess,

But I just can’t go on dyin’ like this.

8. "I Just Can't Go On Dying Like This"

Track #3
Runtime: 3:58
Songwriters: George Strait



Total: 121
Average: 8.07
Std Dev: 3.39


cerulean - 2
gardyfan - 4
g8erboi - 4
LBTrocks - 5
gonecountry - 6
collinkottke - 6
George Strait Junkie - 8
.indulgecountry - 9
tim - 9
castleoblivion26 - 10
Troublemaker - 10
dub - 11
bboat11 - 12
Kanenrá:ke - 12
Cody Wants Out... - 13

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
Give It All We Got Tonight
I Got A Car
Sittin’ On The Fence
That’s What Breaking Hearts Do
When Love Comes Around Again
When The Credits Roll
You Don’t Know What You’re Missing

[bboat11]

There's no way around it; "I Just Can't Go On Dying Like This" overstayed. This is an awesome song, but has a tendency to plod when you are not in the mood for it, which automatically should put it towards the bottom of this album... However, this ended up being one of those rare instances where a song that starts out pretty low ends up climbing for the entire submission process! It was enough to put it ahead of "The Night Is Young", which had performed better for basically the entire submission process until the final two lists!

[bboat11]

The first guy kept on talkin’

For what seemed like forever.

Said, “I never have money or time

Like I used to.”

He went on and on,

‘Til the second guy finally sat down his whiskey,

Looked him straight in the eye,

And said, “Lucky you."

7. "You Don't Know What You're Missing"

Track #12
Runtime: 3:44
Songwriters: Al Anderson, Chris Stapleton



Total: 109
Average: 7.27
Std Dev: 2.87


gonecountry - 2
LBTrocks - 3
cerulean - 4
George Strait Junkie - 6
dub - 6
.indulgecountry - 7
castleoblivion26 - 7
Cody Wants Out... - 7
g8erboi - 8
tim - 8
Kanenrá:ke - 8
Troublemaker - 9
collinkottke - 11
bboat11 - 11
gardyfan - 12

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
Give It All We Got Tonight
I Got A Car
Sittin’ On The Fence
That’s What Breaking Hearts Do
When Love Comes Around Again
When The Credits Roll

[bboat11]

"You Don't Know What You're Missing" is a song that got a surprising amount of love in the prediction answers for this album, and that shocked me. This has always been one of the more forgettable tracks on the album for me! The whole concept of a conversation in a bar between two men who are drinking, one because his wife and family is stressing him out and the other because his wife and family is completely gone, has been done way better through the years. Especially by George himself! Songs like "I Hate Everything" make this song seem more than a little weak. Constantly referring to the characters as "the first guy" and "the second guy" is pretty awkward, and takes away all the impact that comes from hearing the conversation play out in real-time like it does with "I Hate Everything". It's a good song, but on an album this great, it has always been one of the less-fantastic moments for me.

[bboat11]

I'm gonna stop right there, as it's time for me to leave for that movie! But real quick before I go, here's our top 6. OMG I can't even remember the last time I saw a top 6 that was THIS strong!!!!!! I personally didn't want any of these songs to miss the top 5! Unfortunately one of them has to... Any predictions for which one it will be???

Give It All We Got Tonight
I Got A Car
Sittin’ On The Fence
That’s What Breaking Hearts Do
When Love Comes Around Again
When The Credits Roll


I'll finish this tomorrow!!!! In the meantime, if you have any updated predictions for how this will play out, I'd love to hear them!

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tractor Just Cant Go On Dying Like This...}
gonecountry -
LBTrocks -
cerulean -
George Strait Junkie -
dub -
.indulgecountry -
castleoblivion26 -
Cody Wants Out... -
g8erboi -
tim -
Kanenrá:ke -
Troublemaker -
collinkottke -
bboat11 -
gardyfan -

[LBTrocks]

I would LOVE for "Give It All We Got Tonight" to win but it's for sure gonna be "I Got a Car" -_-

[Cody Wants Out...]

Honestly, I'd like to see "That's What Breaking Hearts Do" miss the top five; it's a good enough song, but a little too repetitive for my liking unfortunately.

[bboat11]

Alright, let's finish this up!!!! Every song that is left has #1 ranks, by the way.

Song #6 beat "You Don't Know What You're Missing" by a whopping 23 points, but is less than 10 points behind the #2 song!!!! In fact, song #6 only missed the top 5 by ONE POINT...

SPOILER: Click to show

{When The Tractors Roll}
.indulgecountry -
George Strait Junkie -
Cody Wants Out... -
g8erboi -
LBTrocks -
tim -
Kanenrá:ke -
bboat11 -
collinkottke -
gonecountry -
dub -
Troublemaker -
cerulean -
castleoblivion26 -
gardyfan -

[bboat11]

Oh, you tell yourself you’ve had enough,

But that’ll all change, my friend,

When love comes around again.

6. "When Love Comes Around Again"

Track #7
Runtime: 3:33
Songwriters: Monty Holmes, Donny Kees, Jeff Silvey




Total: 86
Average: 5.73
Std Dev: 3.24


.indulgecountry - 1
George Strait Junkie - 3
Cody Wants Out... - 3
g8erboi - 3
LBTrocks - 4
tim - 4
Kanenrá:ke - 4
bboat11 - 4
collinkottke - 5
gonecountry - 8
dub - 8
Troublemaker - 8
cerulean - 9
castleoblivion26 - 9
gardyfan - 13

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
Give It All We Got Tonight
I Got A Car
Sittin’ On The Fence
That’s What Breaking Hearts Do
When The Credits Roll

[bboat11]

As I mentioned earlier, the top 6 was incredibly close! "When Love Comes Again" was the most consistent song bringing up the rear in the top 6, which I was disappointed by at first... But like I mentioned earlier, this song fell less than 10 points behind the #2 song!!!! So this entire top 6 is almost equally-well-loved, and the majority of the upcoming results changed with every new submission... This song is catchy as hell. The melody is so unique yet comfortable. This sounds like it would have been a huge hit for George back in the day. This one comes at the expense of .indulgecountry's #1, and yet for some inexplicable reason gardyfan also ranked it in last place, which undoubtedly was detrimental to its ability to make the top 5...

[.indulgecountry]

Of course my #1 is the one to barely miss the Top 5. This being my #1 on the album was one of the easiest choices I've made for one of his albums yet, as nothing on the record even comes close to touching this one for me, which is saying a lot because this is also the best album of his we've ranked so far!

[bboat11]

Sittin’ on a stool

Sittin’ on the fence,

Tryin’ to play it cool.

Tryin’ to talk some sense

Into this crazy heart.

Lookin’ for a sign;

Do I let her go,

Or do I make her mine while there’s still a chance?

Sittin’ on a stool

Sittin’ on the fence.

5. "Sittin' On The Fence"

Track #9
Runtime: 3:27
Songwriters: Keith Gattis, Roger Creager




Total: 85
Average: 5.67
Std Dev: 2.21


George Strait Junkie - 1
Kanenrá:ke - 2
bboat11 - 3
dub - 3
.indulgecountry - 4
collinkottke - 4
Cody Wants Out... - 5
g8erboi - 5
castleoblivion26 - 5
LBTrocks - 6
tim - 7
gonecountry - 7
gardyfan - 9
Troublemaker - 11
cerulean - 13

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
Give It All We Got Tonight
I Got A Car
That’s What Breaking Hearts Do
When The Credits Roll

[bboat11]

"Sittin' On The Fence" is one that I was not sure how would fare in this rankdown... I have loved it from the moment I heard it! In fact, it probably would have been my #1 when the album first came out. The chorus melody is pure ear candy, and the "sittin' on a stool, sittin' on the fence" hook reminds me so much of the quirky word play that made many of George's big '90s hits so memorable But for whatever reason I was worried some people might miss the charm in the song. I'm so glad I was mostly proven wrong! This song is a worthy addition to the top 5, and I am even more thrilled that it was never even not in the top 5!!!

This time the person to lose their #1 is George Strait Junkie, while cerulean ranked it in last place....

[.indulgecountry]

Not sure how any of these songs from the Top 6 are managing to get last place rankings when songs like "I Believe" and "I Thought I Heard My Heart Sing" were options. Like, how?

[bboat11]

Dec 22, 2018 14:28:29 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Not sure how any of these songs from the Top 6 are managing to get last place rankings when songs like "I Believe" and "I Thought I Heard My Heart Sing" were options. Like, how?

RIGHT?! I was inputting cerulean's list like



I was so relieved when I finished and I realized that this song was able to survive and barely keep its top 5 placement

[bboat11]

Coming up at #4, we lose our first #1 contender... This song couldn't hang onto the top, but it WAS comfortably in the top 3 for the rest of the submission process...until a floppy #13 rank knocked it out of the top 5 at almost the very end of the submission process... Fortunately it managed to bounce back to #4, but that is frankly not good enough... I'm so displeased!!!!


Edit: Actually, the one that knocked it out was the #12... Still, intolerable.

[bboat11]

When the credits roll,

And the show is over,

And I see all the parts I played.

Get a glimpse of my soul

Up on that screen.

I only hope I can say

I was a little less villain

And a little more hero,

When the credits roll.

4. "When The Credits Roll"

Track #13
Runtime: 3:21
Songwriters: Steve Bogard, Kyle Jacobs, Randy Montana



Total: 82
Average: 5.47
Std Dev: 3.66 (3rd largest!!!)


bboat11 - 1
castleoblivion26 - 2
LBTrocks - 2
Kanenrá:ke - 3
collinkottke - 3
gardyfan - 3
dub - 4
George Strait Junkie - 5
tim - 5
.indulgecountry - 6
Cody Wants Out... - 6
cerulean - 7
gonecountry - 10
g8erboi - 12
Troublemaker - 13

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
Give It All We Got Tonight
I Got A Car
That’s What Breaking Hearts Do

[LBTrocks]

"When The Credits Roll" is amazing! It should in no way be someone's 13 lol

[bboat11]

"When The Credits Roll" has over time become my favorite song on this album. It is so unique and almost a bit odd-sounding in George's catalog, and yet it also sounds like a piece that I didn't even know I was missing in his usual sound! The introspective lyrics are phrased in such a fascinating manner, and the production and instrumentation hit HARD from the moment that ascending steel guitar riff kicks off the song with a bang. Seriously, I love everything about this song I'm so glad it managed to cling to the top 3 for the majority of the submission process, and ended up being one of the highest album tracks on the album.


With that being said, here is your top 3!!!!! One album track remains, as well as George's 60th #1 hit, and the single that unfortunately faltered under the weight of "I Believe"'s failure.

Give It All We Got Tonight
I Got A Car
That’s What Breaking Hearts Do

[bboat11]

Every time you try to walk,

In circles you walk.

Every time you try to talk,

In circles you talk.

You can’t think straight.

Your mind starts to spin.

You can try to fight it,

But you know you can’t win.

3. "That's What Breaking Hearts Do" (Tied with #2)

Track #6
Runtime: 3:31
Songwriters: George Strait, Bubba Strait





Total: 77 (**Tied for #2)
Average: 5.13
Std Dev: 3.31


Kanenrá:ke - 1
bboat11 - 2
gardyfan - 2
George Strait Junkie - 2
tim - 3
gonecountry - 3
castleoblivion26 - 4
Troublemaker - 4
dub - 5
.indulgecountry - 5
collinkottke - 7
cerulean - 8
LBTrocks - 9
Cody Wants Out... - 11
g8erboi - 11

---

We both know when that seat lays back
Anything can happen.
So imagine it’ll never end.
Just close your eyes and you can see
That we are where we’re meant to be.

2. "Give It All We Got Tonight" (Tied with #3)

Track #2
Runtime: 4:11
Songwriters: Mark Bright, Tim James, Phil O’Donnell

Placement in the Singles Rankdown: #61





Total: 77 (**Tied for #3)
Average: 5.13
Std Dev: 4.27 (Largest!!!)


collinkottke - 1
LBTrocks - 1
g8erboi - 1
tim - 2
Troublemaker - 2
dub - 2
Cody Wants Out... - 2
castleoblivion26 - 3
.indulgecountry - 3
gardyfan - 7
Kanenrá:ke - 10
bboat11 - 10
cerulean - 10
gonecountry - 11
George Strait Junkie - 12

---

And we found ourselves in a little white house.
One Sunday mornin’, rain pourin’ down,
She said, “I think it’s time, but all the lines are out.”

And her eyes teared up
As she said, “What are we gonna do now?”

And I said, “Well, I got a car.”

She said, “There’s somethin’.
You think it’ll start?”

I said, “It’s already runnin’.
Got your things in the back, and I’m ready when you are.”
She said, “Are you sure it’ll get us where we’re goin’?”

I said, “If there’s one thing I know, girl,
It’s gotten us this far.
And I don’t mean to hurry, but I’m ready when you are.”

1. "I Got A Car"

Track #1
Runtime: 4:32
Songwriters: Tom Douglas, Keith Gattis

Placement in the Singles Rankdown: #16





Total: 43
Average: 2.87
Std Dev: 2.64 (2nd smallest!!)


tim - 1
Troublemaker - 1
dub - 1
Cody Wants Out... - 1
castleoblivion26 - 1
gardyfan - 1
gonecountry - 1
collinkottke - 2
g8erboi - 2
.indulgecountry - 2
George Strait Junkie - 4
Kanenrá:ke - 5
cerulean - 5
bboat11 - 6
LBTrocks - 10

[bboat11]

There you have it!!!! After an epic battle resulting in a super close top 6, "That's What Breaking Hearts Do" and "Give It All We Got Tonight" managed to lock horns at the end for a tie in the runner-up position. I gave the winner of the tie to GIAWGT because it had 3 #1 ranks compared to TWBHD only having 1.

However, TWBHD was the clear #2 contender for the majority of the submission process... "Give It All We Got Tonight" was barely even on pace to make the top 5, until all those random tankers for the rest of the top 6 happened, allowing this song to jump past almost all of them at the last minute  I must say I am not entirely pleased with that result, as it doesn't really reflect what was actually happening throughout the submission process... Ideally THIS would have been the song to barely miss out at #6, allowing "When Love Comes Around Again" to compete with the other album tracks and IGAC in the top 5!

"I Got A Car", as most of you predicted, was the uncontested winner, winning easily with almost a 35-point lead! Everybody put this song in their top 5 except for me and LBTrocks , so it is definitely the most deserving winner! I love IGAC, but the whole album is so strong that I couldn't put it any higher than I did. I still consider it among my favorites from the album though!