Dave Fenley’s “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days)” is just all we need right now that the “world has gone a little bit crazy.”
Originally released by the country music duo – The Judds – in 1986, the nostalgic country ballad sings about the downfall and neglect of traditional values, today’s frantic lifestyle, and how progress does not always come with a positive result.
The narrator expressed sorrowful uncertainty and disgruntlement of how she could no longer experience in her lifetime the past occurrences of traditional values – such as promises being kept rather than the absence of personal integrity or how what’s right were once well-defined and followed rather than what’s wrong.
Thirty-five years later, the song’s theme is still absolutely as poignant as ever, making us consider what really matters and who we really are as individuals.
Written by Nashville singer-songwriter Jamie O’Hara, Fenley remembered The Judd’s “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days)” being huge when he was only a kid.
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It reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and on Canadian RPM Country Tracks after it was released as the second single from The Judd’s album Rockin’ with the Rhythm. The song also helped the country duo take home the Grammy Awards in the Country Duo/ Vocal Group category, while O’Hara won the Grammy Awards for Country Songwriting Category.
Fenley first learned the song from his father, who would sing it along and teach him the harmony part. The Voice’s former contestant couldn’t be prouder that he got to be in this video after all these years.
He is filmed singing on a gorgeous front porch, reminiscing about his own family. The short clip is such a moving reminder that great times are not too far gone. Undeniably, Fenley is right when he said that the “song’s message is even more powerful now.”
You can listen to “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days)” by Dave Fenley in the video below.
