Friday Five: Songs About Change

This Friday we’re talking about change. No, not the buzzword that got so much attention during last November’s election, but those little metal discs under your sofa cushions and in your pockets. You can’t get much for under a buck these days; even downloading these tracks will set you back a few bills. But they’re worth it.

• 5. “26 Cents” – The Wilkinsons
  Remember this Canadian family band? Debut single “26 Cents” was also their most successful song in the U.S., reaching #3 in 1998. It told the story of a young girl striking out on her own, relying on the comfort of the two coins her mama gave her: “a penny for her thoughts and a quarter for the call.” Sorry, there’s something in my eye…
• 4. “Two Dimes and A Nickel” – David Davis & The Warrior River Boys
  Whiskey and gambling lead John Hardy to kill a man over 25 cents. What goes around comes around, though, in this bluegrass tune: the end of the song finds him on the gallows. Justice sure is speedy in country music!
• 3. “Nashville Penny” – The Gin Palace Jesters
  Chicago’s best (fronted by “Pennsylvania Dave” Sisson, natch) deliver some chin-up advice on this infectious honkytonker: “If one grain of sand started the Sahara/One penny’s the beginning of a million dollar dream.”
• 2. “Heartaches For A Dime” – Wynn Stewart
  One of the Bakersfield Sound’s pioneers shines on this Harlan Howard-penned tune. In Stewart’s day, a phone call only cost ten cents, leading to this heartbreaker: “I called you on the phone to say I love you/And that I’d stop by for you at nine/My heart broke when you said it’s all over/That someone else would take up all your time.” Wynn’s right: that IS an awful lot of heartaches for a dime.
• 1. “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)” – Travis Tritt
  If it were written today, this 1991 hit would probably be called “Twitter At Someone Who Gives A Crap.” Pay phones—when you can find them—no longer cost 25 cents a call, but this song is still one of Tritt’s best.