In 2001, Alan Jackson released “Where I Come From” as the third single from his album When Somebody Loves You. It became Jackson’s another No. 1 hit on the Billboard country charts.
It was his only No. 1 from that album, and it received favorable reviews – especially from Thom Jurek of Allmusic, who described “Where I Come From” as a “redneck anthem” which “rocks a little harder with a ZZ Top-styled guitar.”
One of The Best Redneck Songs You’ll Hear
Written by Alan Jackson, “Where I Come From” tells the tale of a truck driver. While traveling across the United States, he found himself in several different situations that made him ponder how different his Southern lifestyle is to life in other places.
It begins while he was driving in New Jersey, and a police officer pulled him over; when he talked, the officer told him: “I don’t know about that accent, son.” In the second verse, the man in the song stopped by to grabbed some barbecue near Detroit for his dinner, which he claimed: “it ain’t like mama fixed it.”
The man stopped by Ventura in the third verse after losing his universal joint; then a tall lady asked him if he has any plans for dinner, to which he answered, “no thanks ma’am, back home we like the girls that sing soprano.”
The man then drove through Kentucky in the fourth and final verse. Someone asked him on the CB radio if he’s from Tulsa, to which he said he’s not, but he’s been in the area dropping a load of salsa. After each verse, the man explains in the chorus how different road life is. It goes:
“I said where I come from; it’s cornbread and chicken. Where I come from, a lotta front porch sitin’. Where I come from tryin’ to make a livin’ and workin’ hard to get to heaven. Where I come from.”
Indeed, the country superstar knows how to appreciate men and women capable of living off the land, fixing their trucks, and speaking their minds. Jackson wrote and recorded some of the best redneck songs in country music, like “It’s Alright to Be a Redneck” in 2001 and “Country Boy” in 2009, which also went to No. 1 on the country charts. But “Where I Come From” stands above the rest.
Tune in and watch Alan Jackson’s incredible performance of “Where I Come From” in the video below.
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Alan Jackson