Tim McGraw – “Southern Voice”

Songwriters: Bob DiPiero / Tom Douglas

Oh goodness! I just went and read the lyrics. I’m not a McGraw fan anyway and I sure dont want to hear this one after reading this lyric. With those two strikes against it I dont think even the most kickass melody of all time could interest me in this one. And I’m a fan of a lot of Bob’s writing. Not this one.

Oregon has birthed Tanya Harding, Bob Packwood, Gary Ridgeway…..never mind.

I’m southern and proud of it. And I like my Alabama football and I think Bear Bryant is/was/ and should be a legend. I’m also not opposed to the Confederate flag as a part of our history and heritage but unfortunately a portion of our population have tainted that over the years and it is seen as a symbol of hatred rather than history. None of the specific references in this song are what make me dislike this song.

It’s just a poorly written song. It’s even worse than the typical “list” song.

(And let me go ahead and say I’m not going to debate “southern heritage / redneck / confederate” anything and you cant taunt me into it.)

i’m speechless.

I’d have to agree with Brady on the confederate flag line; it always annoys me when people automatically associate the flag with racism.

Other than that the review is pretty accurate, though.

I relocated from CT and spent several years south of the M/D line and found a lot to love about southern folks. One thing that was quickly apparent was that they’re a helluva lot more friendly than we yankees.

The other thing I picked up on was the southern pride thing, which I suppose some could call a “superiority complex”. It amazed me how many intelligent people were still obsessed with re-fighting the civil war.

As for McGraw’s song… nothing for Depiero or anyone else to be proud of.

Jim,

We once again agree on something, at least that this song doesn’t say much and (hopefully) isn’t indacitive of what the rest of the Southern Voice album holds.

Can I just say one thing: It was the CONFEDERATE states of America because they were a loose CONFEDERATION of states, not a single united country. There was no single Confederate Flag.

If Tim had been involved in the songwriting he would have included Billy Bob Clinton, whom Tim considered “the greatest president of all time”, although that was before the reign of Obama began.

Ole Timbo just seems kind of fed up with and burned out on today’s mainstream country scene (well, I hope so anyway) and not just because of his hassles being stuck on the CURB label. Hopefully crappy singles like this will hasten his retirement from country music so he can go into politics full time. Faith Hill would make a great first lady of Tennessee!

Paula, I have to disagree with you about Bob DiPiero. After hearing him perform on the Opry and seeing short, painful segments of that “Hit Men of Music Row” series I found him insufferable. Although Sarah Buxton likes him, so he can’t be all bad (in a commercial country kind of way).

PS – I take exception to that jab at BOMSHEL! Well at least the original Buffy Lawson fronted version anyway…

Absolutely terrible. I’m starting to see why Curb kept releasing singles from his last album… because this one looks like crap so far.

And oh, as another University of Alabama grad, I have to ask how you leave out Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.

Oooooh, snap…

@ Rick — I said I was a fan of a lot of Bob’s writing. I never said Bob was a good singer.

Although Mel Tillis does say Bob is his favorite ex-son-in-law.

;-)

I like this song a lot.

Um, it’s not just “outsiders” to whom the Confederate flag stands as a symbol of racism. Unless you’re not counting southern African-Americans as Southerners – an approach that the song, whatever its faults are, doesn’t take. And maybe that’s at least part of the point of the song.

waynoe:
What Southern flag? My ancestor Stonewall Jackson wouldn’t want that Stars and Bars crap over his grave.

if one sentence had said it all – i’d have gone for the statement.

The South has a long-held inferiority complex that has lately turned into a superiority complex. Innate in the constant drum-beating about the greatness of the South is an assumption that people outside the region don’t believe it already.

“The South has a long-held inferiority complex that has lately turned into a superiority complex.”

I dunno, Chris. Seems to me that these are two sides of the same coin, and both have been around for a long time.

“I dunno, Chris. Seems to me that these are two sides of the same coin, and both have been around for a long time.”

That they are. Maybe it’s more accurate just to say that the South tends to operate from a defensive posture. I know that as a kid I always felt that in order to do anything that would impress anyone elsewhere I would first have to get past their preconceptions about Southerners. In retrospect that fear may have been exaggerated on my part, but again — a defensive posture.

Given that the SEC has won three of the last 4 national championships, I would say the South has a right to feel superior.

Southern Voice is a great song! WHY do people always try to bring up negative group enthic, whether its- south, north, etc. Foe GOD sakes!

It’s hi yall, Did ya eat — come on in, sure glad to know ya ( you ). If that aint SOUTHERN i’ll kiss your ass !!!

TIM MCGRAW — THE BOSS — ROCKS !!!

Isn’t Chuck Berry from St Louis? What definition of the “south” are we using here? Just curious. Would Oklahoma count? Delaware? Or are we drawing a line through the country and half is and half isn’t? What about southern Indiana? Kentucky? New Brunswick?

Everyone on here cracks me up. I was only looking up info on his new cd when i stumbled on this craphole of a comment site…. I am not saying that Tim is the best artist of all time, and I really don’t like that he doesn’t write songs much if ever, even if I do like his music and willingness to be different from the “average” country singer… but to dissect every word an artist says on a song you claim to not even like seems silly to me. And to sit there and start talking about geographic errors and specifics is even more rediculous. All these sorry rappers sit and brag about being from queens and brooklyn and probably are from upstate somewhere but they are considered heroes of their city, but when someone talks about pride in the south they are inbred or rednecks or have a “superiority” complex or anything else people want to call them. I live in Florida which oddly enough is the southernmost state in the US (counting the Keys) and we are not even considered the South… So I don’t even consider myself linked to this song, but I think it is just talking about some great people who either were born in the “south” or made there fame there… God you people really have nothing good to do or say… every artist out there has songs that don’t match up perfectly with what they are meaning to say, but people come in droves to buy the crap they put out as “music”.
And the confederate flag…. just because a select group of hateful biggots claim that as their flag, now everyone who flies it is a racist??? I am a christian and I know for a fact that there are people who have raped and murdered in the “name of God” but I don’t consider them in my same belief group… I’m saying you can’t just generalize a group of people because of a state flag and what a group of idiots incorrectly used it for….. use your brains people… don’t be a sheep

Got to remember “this craphole of a comment site.”

“You Had To Be There” alone is worth buying this CD,,,

“As for the confederate flag line, yes–I think it is. Because the people who fly those flags are exactly the people this song is aimed at.”

Jim Malec shows his usual idiocy with this line. Yes, the song is aimed at Confederate flag fliers while praising MLK.

Good job Jim, you’ve just climbed even higher on the “stupid meter.”

Well this article just goes to show everyone’s opinion is different. As a songwriter myself, I can tell you a great song DOES NOT have to tell you everything…a strong hook and imagination is what makes music so relatable. A great song does not have to spell it out for you, it creates a feeling that explains it all. I’d bet money, that Mr.Malec is not even from the south and probably doesn’t even like country music. You take a great hook and a great melody and a singer that can carry it all and you got gold my friend. I’ve heard the entire album…and other tracks like “Still,” and “I Didn’t Know It at the Time,” are absolutely great little tunes. Those of us who can appreciate talent, the trials and tribulations of life and the relatability of a song might enjoy those. However, Mr. Article writer…that might not include you.

Tim’s new album- Southern Voice is – AWESOME!! So many songs on this album is GREAT. Southern Voice is a down country to fooyball field- tapping dancing song, giving us a little bit of history. I saw Tim in concert at The M Resort in Las Vegas- it was awesome. Tim put his heart and soul into it for his fans. The Coyote Country Radio put a pre-party on for Tim and the DJ’s were great, Tim came out on stage in the Ravello Lounge to talk with them and his fans, he presented his autograph guitar to a lucky woman. I love to watch Tim’s interaction with his Dance Hall Doctors- it’s so geniune. I’m still reliving the whole day in my head. THANK YOU and COYOTE COUNTRY. FOREVER A FAN.

Why do all songs have to be over-analyzed for the “correct” story in the lyrics?

How about just enjoying the song because it’s fun to sing along to?

I am from the South. Grew up here. Yes we do have an inferiority/superiority thing going on. We feel that we are better because we think our food and our way of life are better. i.e. using words like y’all, foods, manners, etc etc. AND we also know that everyone else seems to look down on us, so we tend to turn that around into bragging rights. And as far as I could see in my 40 plus years it has been that way. Now, with all that said, I think it is a bit of a corny song, but nevertheless, the target audience/goal is to make Southerners feel emotional about being proud of being from the South. And it does achieve that goal. If you aren’t from the South, then you won’t get it. I have to hand it to him for actually caring enough to include African American folks because many people wouldn’t even have cared enough to do that. But again, as others have said, it wasn’t the most well written song in the world. But probably will accomplish it’s goal. In case y’all haven’t noticed, many “national air play country songs” don’t have the quality you would find with such gems as DBT or Todd Snider as mentioned above. (He may have been born in Portland, but he was pretty young when he moved to TX and then Memphis, so I think we can take credit for some of what is Todd Snider today.) And by the way, most people do consider TX part of the South and don’t consider Florida to be. Not so sure about the logic of all of that, but just my observations…(And when I say we- just referring to the observations of life, not to say I always agree 100%)

And… I have lived all over and the South is the best by far, the people the friendliest, most interesting, the culture is awesome and neighbors and activities and a feeling you can’t even begin to describe. Just thinking about back east yankees RUDE and midwest sensibility BLUNTNESS and west coast DETACHMENT all makes me happy to be part of something anybody outside of cannot possibly understand and the fact that y’all sneer at it only confirms it. The South. Yes.

I hate to read too much into a song and certainly the depth of the lyrics don’t necessarily translate into popularity.

After hearing this song many times, because it has become popular, I think southern voice was a perfect phrase. For some there tends to be a tendency to pre-judge the intelligence and capability of a person by the way they speak. They may otherwise seem like “everyone else” until they speak and demonstrate that southern drawl too often associated with a dull wit.
The song points out the number of people at the top of their profession who have a “southern voice”.

P.S. Malec’s reference to the confederate flag seems to be nothing more than a controversial bomb to add flavor to a strained over-analysis of… yes Jim, a darned popular song even here in the North. This review belongs in a college newspaper not a website for country music.

A) Just because one has a superiority complex (Southerners) doesn’t mean that they are NOT superior!

B) Just because one has an inferiority complex (Mr. Malec and his fellow non-Southerners) does not mean that they are NOT inferior!

Methinks thou dost protest too much, Mr. Malec.

Mr. Malec.

This is a song not a book about southern heritage. There is only so much one can say in a song.
Most of us who like this song do not even own a Confederate flag. We also do not think we are superior to the north or anyone else but that doesn’t mean we can’t be proud of who we are. I have seen a lot of proud New Yorkers, Wisconsin cheese heads, etc. Pride is something people in this country could use a little more of instead of focusing on all that is bad.
I do know it’s hard to understand a culture that you are not a part of but it doesn’t mean you have to put it down.
Once again this is just s song !

I just saw the video again, and I’ve got to say that I like it more and more. And I GET IT!
Maybe ’cause I’m a Son of the South, but I like it and, moreover, understand it. And agree with it. Mainly, that we refuse to be stereotyped any longer, for the modern Southern Man is proud of a great variety of things Southern. Something the haters refuse to see.
Maybe it’s a Southern thang. Maybe we “get it” for the same reason that we treasure tradition and culture and manners and our military heritage — (from the heroes of the Revolution (mostly Southerners) to the heroes in Western Asia today.)
As for the lyrics, I guess the fact that dumb hillbillies like me can hear abstract strings of words and understand the meaning behind them in their poetic context sorta’ gives the lie to the myth that we down here are just a bunch of concrete-thinking, Neanderthal, inbred Cretins.
I just can’t believe that all those smart intellectuals elsewhere have such a hard time unless it’s spelled out in subject-predicate syntax. Guess that Haiku would be out of the question for them.
That said, don’t disparage the ones (including Mr. McGraw and the songwriters)that do “get it” just because the message is over your head, intellectually.

WOW,the comments I’ve read sure are “deep.” Really everyone, it’s just a song. Enjoy it, take whatever you will from it, but I really doubt it was intended as a political statment. Raised in the South, there are things I am proud of and things I’m not, just as with anyone from another place, but in the end, there are things it reminded me of from my youth that made me smile.

I re-read the lyrics 5 times and I can’t see any reference to the Confederate flag. Can somebody point me in the right direction? I think it’s a cool song, regardless of the goofy lyrics. I turn the radio up when it comes on.