Count Me In for a Deana Carter Rankdown (Revealing)

[.indulgecountry]

In a touch of irony, the song that "That's Just Me" tied with in total points received just so happened to be... the other single from the same album! "Do or Die" is sent to the grave just shy of a bottom 5 finish thanks to a higher top 10 placement courtesy of Cody Wants Out..., which narrowly gave it the edge. All that remains from Southern Way of Life is an album cut I selected (which I believed to be better than both its singles, and evidently y'all agreed with me as it beat both of them in the rankdown). This simplistic song about not taking life for granted and rolling with the ups and downs was the first new music from Deana in nearly six years when it was released, and it didn't exactly drum up much passion with several bottom 5 ranks holding it back from reaching the top 20, including being austin's #27.

"I’m sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor
Wondering how I’m gonna make it to the store
Trying to make it through another week I didn’t get paid
I feel a little hand rest on my sleeve
My little boy’s voice so soft and sweet
Says, "Momma, we got all we need. We’re gonna be ok."
How we learn to live without is when we learn to live"

22. "Do or Die"




Total Points: 268

Cody Wants Out... : 8
tim : 10
Kanenrá:ke : 12
zaclord 🌈 : 13
bboat11 : 16
Zeebz : 16
SHOOTER : 17
.indulgecountry : 19
LBTrocks : 19
someguy : 19
d3vin44 : 21
castleoblivion26 : 23
George Strait Junkie : 24
wavey. : 24
austin : 27


g8erboi

[LBTrocks]

"Do Or Die" is nice. Reasonably placed tho.

[bboat11]

Oddly enough, I have found myself returning to "Do or Die" more than most other songs in this list since I submitted it... I think I underranked it! Something about that chorus is oddly catchy, despite the song itself being very relaxed and low-key. And of course, there are some awesome lyrical moments like the one pointed out above! "How we learn to live without is when we learn to live"... So deep!

[austin]

Do or Die is so bland and boring and I’m shocked she didn’t go with the title cut or You Cant Stay as the single, since it was co-written with Kimberly Perry who was hot at the time. My favorite on the record is I Know Better though.

Sad to see Sunny Day ranked so hard, I’ve always loved that opening verse. Is the line actually “still in tears”? I thought it was “stealing tears” since that album was released LOL.

[Kanenrá:ke]

"Do Or Die" is for some reason always randomly playing in my head whenever I think of Deana. I always think it's boring until that melody comes back to my head then I have to play it. It was hard to rank because of that but I ended up putting it higher because it's undeniable that my brain likes it lol

[tim]

I absolutely fell in love with “Do or Die” and as bboat11 also mentioned this is one of the songs that I kept finding myself coming back around to the most. I’m not sure where I originally had it ranked but the more I listened to it the closer it got to my top 10.

No other real surprises a I expected both of the songs from The Chain to be eliminated near the bottom. I probably overranked “On the Road Again” by a few spots but I do live in Austin and Willie is a legend here so I hold him in high regard no matter how he sounds lol.

[SHOOTER]

Her cover of "Crying" was awesome! wavey. knows wassup!

[.indulgecountry]

Sorry for the lack of reveals the past few days as I've been sick. Hoping to get back into this maybe tomorrow if I feel better.

[.indulgecountry]

The final song to miss the top 20 of the Deana Carter rankdown is one of the two one-off non-album selections in the running. Several of y'all predicted this one would muscle its way into the top 20 due to it being a duet with Sara Evans, but it ultimately fell short by a single point over the track that finished at #20. A cover recorded between the two in 2002 for a Waylon Jennings tribute record (the song is most famously a hit duet between him & Willie Nelson from the 1970s), "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" didn't get a whole lot of fanfare with only three top 10s, though two of those were top 5s. It doesn't surprise me that this one landed on the lower end of the rankdown given that its an old-fashioned cover song, even with it being a perfectly strong duet effort between two great country females. There also used to be a video of them performing this live on some awards show or tv special that seems to have disappeared from the Internet, sadly.

"Cowboys ain't easy to love and they're harder to hold
They'd rather give you a song then diamonds or gold"

21. "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" w/ Sara Evans




Total Points: 266

d3vin44 : 5
wavey. : 5
zaclord 🌈 : 7
bboat11 : 15
Kanenrá:ke : 15
SHOOTER : 18
LBTrocks : 18
.indulgecountry : 18
austin : 21
someguy : 21
George Strait Junkie : 22
castleoblivion26 : 24
tim : 25
Cody Wants Out... : 25
Zeebz : 27


g8erboi

[LBTrocks]

I really liked that one! However, I couldn't justify ranking it any higher. I don't feel that bad tho considering it features Sara and .indulgecountry ranked it the same as I did lol.

[.indulgecountry]

Sliding its way into the top 20 by a 1-point margin over her duet with Sara Evans, "I'm Just a Girl" is our first casualty of the rankdown that actually charted for Deana Carter. The second and final single from her "comeback" album of the same title, it managed to scrape the top 40 of the country charts in 2003, becoming her last release to do so, as she would only chart one more time in her career (and not inside the top 40). "I'm Just a Girl" is a simple and sunny ode to being a well-traveled girl who gets her ultimate kicks from the comforts of home. While incredibly cliche, the song is a catchy and inoffensive ditty, but ultimately it is the first thing resembling a hit single to be kicked out of the rankdown, aided by two #27 rankings. It wasn't without some high marks though, as it received three top 10s.

"I've strolled down Paris streets, been lost in London fog
But all I really need are the fields of Arkansas"

20. "I'm Just a Girl"



Total Points: 265

LBTrocks : 7
wavey. : 7
bboat11 : 9
Zeebz : 14
d3vin44 : 14
Cody Wants Out... : 15
tim : 16
George Strait Junkie : 19
.indulgecountry : 20
zaclord 🌈 : 21
austin : 22
SHOOTER : 23
Kanenrá:ke : 24
someguy : 27
castleoblivion26 : 27


g8erboi

[LBTrocks]

"I'm Just A Girl" is fantastic! LOVE that melody and production. Her voice is really great on this one too. Glad it made the top 20 but still deserved higher.

[austin]

Dec 18, 2018 21:01:33 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

21. "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" w/ Sara Evans

This was exactly where I predicted it would land in the pre-game predictions LOL. Hell yes! I finally got something right haha

[Kanenrá:ke]

Not surprised at all that "I'm Just A Girl" was the first charting single to leave, it's always been a good song but amongst her releases it's one of the obvious weaker links.

[bboat11]

The first time I listened to "I'm Just A Girl", I just about hit the skip button when she dropped that random-ass "I'm a Chevy girl" line at the end of the first chorus. I was like, "What kind of awkwardly unnecessary brand-name-dropping bulls**t is this..." But then I decided that the song is incredibly catchy, and very solid in every way other than the over-specificity of that isolated lyric. I love how the chorus is expanded for the second and third iterations, and the fact that she changes what type of girl she is at the end of every chorus at least makes the "Chevy girl" part redeemable. Now that I have heard this song, I can't get it out of my head! So it ended up doing very well on my list!

"Mama's Don't Let Your Babies..." was a nice listen, because of the novelty factor of it including Sara Evans... But otherwise it really didn't need to be any higher than it ended up finishing. They both sound great, but the musical arrangement is unfortunately uninspired, and basically starts to plod after only about a half minute. It needed some kind of life breathed into it, the way that Sara did so masterfully on her cover of Loretta Lynn's "One's On The Way" for the Desperate Housewives soundtrack.

[.indulgecountry]

As we dig back into reveals, we see the over stand-alone track eliminated, not far from the Sara Evans duet (besting it by 6 points here). "Once Upon a December" is the centerpiece song from the 90s animated tale Anastasia, which is one of my favorite childhood movies, and thus holds a great deal of nostalgia for me. Deana recorded her take on it for the soundtrack and it even featured a music video that got regular rotation on CMT. The instrumentation is just gorgeous on this one and her delicate voice is a perfect fit for the song. This one proved to be very divisive as almost everyone who submitted a list either had this in their top 10 or their bottom 10: it only received middle ranks from two posters. Kanenrá:ke suffers a top 5 loss, while five others lose a top 10. However, two last place ranks are sent packing and an additional five bottom 5s.

"Dancing bears, painted wings
Things I almost remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December"

19. "Once Upon a December"



Total Points: 260

Kanenrá:ke : 3
.indulgecountry : 9
LBTrocks : 9
d3vin44 : 9
someguy : 10
castleoblivion26 : 10
Cody Wants Out... : 14
bboat11 : 18
Zeebz : 23
tim : 24
zaclord 🌈 : 26
austin : 25
SHOOTER : 26
George Strait Junkie : 27
wavey. : 27


g8erboi

[castleoblivion26]

so happy to see "Once Upon A December" make the Top 20 at the very least. I love this song, and I also LOVE the Anastacia movie (wait until my 1997 Journey Rankdown because this song and "Journey to the Past" will both likely be included).

[.indulgecountry]

As we move through the top 20, we finally touch Deana Carter's sophomore album, Everything's Gonna Be Alright, with the elimination of its fourth single, "Ruby Brown." Her first outright flop on the charts (it failed to chart entirely, following a string of eight Top 40 hits). It's a quirky song that manages to be presented with a rather cheerful sing-song melody, despite the lyrics detailing a free-spirited woman who runs away from her abusive husband. The first verse has always felt a little random to me lyrically, though I've grown to appreciate this song much more over time, and the bridge is chilling, particularly the final line (quoted below). This one received almost an even split between top half and bottom half ranks. It wipes out three top 10s, but it also clears d3vin44's #27 and a handful of bottom 5s.

"Some say he beat her bad
'Til she just went plain mad
But I say she went where he could never go"

18. "Ruby Brown"



Total Points: 245

wavey. : 4
George Strait Junkie : 6
Kanenrá:ke : 6
someguy : 12
Cody Wants Out... : 13
tim : 13
austin : 14
SHOOTER : 14
castleoblivion26 : 19
.indulgecountry : 21
LBTrocks : 23
bboat11 : 24
zaclord 🌈 : 24
Zeebz : 25
d3vin44 : 27


g8erboi

[.indulgecountry]

We fast forward back to the mid-2000s to take another hit out of The Story of My Life, coming in just two points ahead of our last reveal. "The Girl You Left Me For," a rousing rocker with snarling guitars and poppy "yeah yeahs" thrown in for melodic pleasure, was a one of the most noticeable sonic departures from her three major label records that preceded this one. In fact, it was sent to Hot AC radio upon release, though with Deana being on an independent label and with her star-power having faded, she failed to get any further traction at radio after briefly scraping the lower region of the country charts with the album's lead single. Still, it had some fans here as another four lose a top 10. On the other side, two bottom 5s are lost (including mine), but the lower ranks are starting to shift higher as we approach the top 15.

"I'm gonna treat you more like a king
Make me a puppet without any strings
I want your perfume on my pillowcase
She's gonna turn you inside out and I
I'm gonna love you anyway"

17. "The Girl You Left Me For"



Total Points: 243

austin : 4
Kanenrá:ke : 5
someguy : 8
zaclord 🌈 : 10
LBTrocks : 13
George Strait Junkie : 15
wavey. : 16
d3vin44 : 17
castleoblivion26 : 18
Cody Wants Out... : 21
SHOOTER : 22
bboat11 : 22
Zeebz : 22
.indulgecountry : 24
tim : 26


g8erboi

[bboat11]

"Once Upon A December" is a song with a very specific appeal to it, and within that vein it does a very good job! The melody is pretty good, and the overall sound of the song is very somber yet relaxing. But I could also see where people might dislike it. I'm surprised it managed to last this long, as I figured it would be tanked immediately cause of the whole people thinking it's "Christmas" thing.

"Ruby Brown" honestly did nothing for me. I'm all for graphic lyrics (I mean, look who I stan for!!) but "Ruby Brown" was a total miss from a production and melodic standpoint. I honestly was so distracted by disliking the melody that I didn't even notice what the lyrics are about... Looking at the lyrics .indulgecountry highlighted, I might need to give it another chance!

"The Girl You Left Me For" is one that I overranked. I listened to it again the other day, and didn't make it all the way through. I think it is one you might need to be in a specific mood to enjoy it.

[.indulgecountry]

Just shy of the top 15, we see the loss of a second top 40 hit from Deana Carter's catalog. The second single and second loss from Everything's Gonna Be Alright, "You Still Shake Me" is a goofy toe-tapping uptempo country ditty that quickly killed the momentum for her sophomore album campaign at country radio; I'm sure many would agree that this is a fun song, but it was definitely a bit out there in terms of its lyrics and her delivery of them. Further proving its polarity: it received two #27 ranks in this rankdown, though it had three top 10s and the majority slotted this one inside their top 15, though it ultimately fell short of reaching that milestone thanks to the low ranks weighing it down.

"I ain't upset, I ain't a wreck
'Cause I forgive and I forget
And I ain't bitter, I ain't sore
And I ain't cryin' anymore
But baby, you still shake me"

16. "You Still Shake Me"



Total Points: 242

LBTrocks : 3
wavey. : 9
austin : 9
Zeebz : 11
SHOOTER : 12
George Strait Junkie : 12
someguy : 14
d3vin44 : 15
.indulgecountry : 15
castleoblivion26 : 15
zaclord 🌈 : 23
Cody Wants Out... : 24
Kanenrá:ke : 26
bboat11 : 27
tim : 27


g8erboi

[LBTrocks]

I absolutely ADORE everything about "You Still Shake Me" !!!! So glad it didn't totally get tanked here lol.

[.indulgecountry]

Recap time!

Top 15
Strawberry Wine
We Danced Anyway
Count Me In
How Do I Get There
Did I Shave My Legs for This?
I've Loved Enough to Know
Angel Without a Prayer
Absence of the Heart
Angels Working Overtime
People Miss Planes
There's No Limit
You and Tequila
One Day at a Time
In a Heartbeat
Before You Left

What We've Lost
16. You Still Shake Me
17. The Girl You Left Me For
18. Ruby Brown
19. Once Upon a December
20. I'm Just a Girl
21. Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys (with Sara Evans)
22. Do or Die
23. That's Just Me
24. Crying
25. Sunny Day
26. Johnny's Snowman
27. On the Road Again (with Willie Nelson)

Album Eras
Did I Shave My Legs for This? 6/6
Everything's Gonna Be Alright 3/5
The Deana Carter Collection 1/1
Father Christmas 0/1
I'm Just a Girl 2/3
The Story of My Life 2/4
The Chain 0/2
Southern Way of Life 1/3

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}LBTrocks
wavey.
austin
Zeebz
SHOOTER
George Strait Junkie
someguy
d3vin44
.indulgecountry
castleoblivion26
zaclord 🌈
Cody Wants Out...
Kanenrá:ke
bboat11
tim
g8erboi

[Kanenrá:ke]

I never even thought of "Ruby Brown" having an odd melody lol I just love it!

"Once Upon A December" is also one I don't think I can understand someone hating, for me it's darn near perfect!

[.indulgecountry]

We kick off the top 15 reveals by saying goodbye to the final remaining song from Deana's latest album, Southern Way of Life. "Before You Left" was selected by me as an album cut to help pad out the list and because I felt it was better than both of its "singles," and it seems y'all agreed since it lasted far longer than either of those did! A simple song about hindsight being 20/20 after someone walked out of her life that she didn't appreciate while he was there, the melody, particularly on the chorus, is one of the more enjoyable ones on the record, and her vocal is spot-on. The spread in ranks for this one ended up being pretty small as most opted to stick it right in the middle in the teens; only 1 poster loses a top 10 here (sorry bboat11!) and just 2 lose a sub-top 20 rank.

"What have I done?
I let something so beautiful slip through my hands
Now all I've got is all of this regret
I thought I wanted you to leave me
But that was before you left"

15. "Before You Left"



Total Points: 233

bboat11 : 4
LBTrocks : 11
SHOOTER : 11
zaclord 🌈 : 12
.indulgecountry : 14
castleoblivion26 : 14
wavey. : 14
tim : 17
Kanenrá:ke : 18
George Strait Junkie : 18
Zeebz : 18
someguy : 18
austin : 19
d3vin44 : 22
Cody Wants Out... : 23


g8erboi

[Kanenrá:ke]

The 'Southern Way Of Life' album is one I wish she had some kind of label backing because I would've been interested to see how some of the material could've performed. It's a shame it was such an under the radar release.

[tim]

I feel like I might've underranked "Once Upon a December" by a few spots, but overall I've never been able to really get into this one. I'll always consider this a Christmas-y song though

"Ruby Brown" was one of my favorite discoveries from this rankdown and I really wanted to find room in my top 10 for it, but alas it was a few spots shy. Deana's voice works really well on a song like this and the chorus always finds a way to get stuck in my head.

"You Still Shake Me" is a mess of a song and it was an easy last place for me. I've always disliked it and it being chosen as the second single from her sophomore album all but derailed any momentum she had. The entire release of the Everything's Gonna Be Alright album was perplexing and I forget the backstory behind it but I believe her label at the time Capitol Nashville wasn't all that happy with what she had turned in and therefore did little to promote it.

[bboat11]

"Before You Left" is awesome! I loved how it pushed her range in the 3rd chorus more than most of her other material seemed to She sounded so good on those higher notes!

[.indulgecountry]

Dec 27, 2018 17:45:30 GMT -5 tim said:

"You Still Shake Me" is a mess of a song and it was an easy last place for me. I've always disliked it and it being chosen as the second single from her sophomore album all but derailed any momentum she had. The entire release of the Everything's Gonna Be Alright album was perplexing and I forget the backstory behind it but I believe her label at the time Capitol Nashville wasn't all that happy with what she had turned in and therefore did little to promote it.

Yeah I think Deana always wanted to be more of a rootsy alternative act but her debut album wound up being a bit more polished and mainstream than she wanted, so after its success she tried to make a follow-up that felt more her style, and it unfortunately wasn't destined to be the proper successor to such a pivotal breakthrough album. The label didn't like the album she gave them and she fought with them from there on out for several years, as her momentum/career totally torpedoed. :/

[.indulgecountry]

Planned to do a few more yesterday but got distracted and the PMAs happened, but I'm back with more!

We eliminate the first of two 'angel' songs in the rankdown: "Angel Without a Prayer." This one has an interesting backstory in that it was released as a single in the UK a year before "Strawberry Wine" happened and included on a different version of Did I Shave My Legs for This? that was issued there via Patriot Records. Only a couple tracks from the first record transferred over to the version that went on to be released in 1996 via Capitol Nashville stateside, and "Angel Without a Prayer" was one that missed the cut, but it eventually wound up on The Deana Carter Collection, a farewell compilation that came out after Deana had left the label. A trio of top 10 losses are seen here, but ultimately most slotted this one in the mid teens, so this wound up being a pretty fitting finish for it. austin does lose another bottom 5 here though.

"She's got wings that shine so bright.
They keep her up most every night"

14. "Angel Without a Prayer"



Total Points: 232

bboat11 : 7
tim : 8
George Strait Junkie : 10
someguy : 13
SHOOTER : 13
LBTrocks : 14
zaclord 🌈 : 14
Zeebz : 17
.indulgecountry : 17
Kanenrá:ke : 17
Cody Wants Out... : 17
wavey. : 18
d3vin44 : 20
castleoblivion26 : 21
austin : 26


g8erboi