For the fourth installment of my Brad Paisley theme week, I’m using one song to illustrate two different points: Brad Paisley has great taste in covers, and Brad Paisley is a terrific singer. This song could also have been used on the first day to support the ‘Brad Paisley is funny’ point, but because he didn’t write it, I didn’t find that appropriate.
Apparently it’s pretty commonplace in country music to perform other people’s songs… not in the Britney Spears sense where you have professional songwriters who churn out product for pretty faces to sing but in a friendly ‘pass the guitar around the room’ sort of way. It’s the spirit behind Lyle Lovett’s two albums of cover songs and the reason a wonderful songwriter like Brad Paisley still fits in a few covers on each of his albums.
‘Famous People’ sure feels like a Brad Paisley song, but it was written by Chris DuBois (a frequent collaborator of Paisley’s) and Chris Wallin. It depicts a meeting between a Hollywood movie star and a gas station attendant… both of whom are among the “most famous people in the country,” presuming you read “country” in two different ways.
Paisley’s delivery of this song is priceless. My favorite touch is his reading of the line “sign, um, here.” But start to finish it’s like a comic monologue set to music. The man is a natural entertainer.
I’m glad you stopped in, it’s sure been slow around here today
Just like every day
Well, I couldn’t help but notice your California plates
And I thought I recognized that name on your credit card
You’re a movie star
I can’t wait to get back home and tell all my buddies
That I met one of the most famous people in the country
Well, I only go to movies when I’m down in Bowling Green
And cable don’t come out this far so I never watch TV
I know you played in something but I’m gonna need some help
Hey wait, weren’t you in Cannonball Run? No? Oh well.
Allow me to introduce myself
My name ain’t John, this is somebody else’s greasy shirt. My name’s Kurt.
This is the town that I grew up in
I’ve never seen L.A., the closest I’ve been to Hollywood is Dollywood
But when you get back to Beverly Hills, you can tell all your buddies
That you met one of the most famous people in the country
‘Cause I caught the record small-mouth out on Kentucky Lake
And I threw the winning touchdown pass the night that we won state
And I’m still signing autographs after all these years
Oh, yeah I guess I’m gonna need yours… sign, um, here
I’ve been thinking about doing some acting someday
If I ever do make it out to L.A., can I give you a shout?
Maybe crash on your couch?
If you hear of any roles that are floating around
That would put me and Ashley Judd making out in a steamy love scene
I’d work pretty cheap
If the phones are down, just ask around, you’ll get a hold of me
‘Cause I’m one of the most famous people in the country
You’re talkin’ to one of the most famous people in the country
Six Pack? It was, wasn’t it? You were in that movie Six Pack.
You look a lot thinner and younger on TV.
You gaining weight for a role or something?
And I’m serious about that Ashley Judd thing.
I would work for free.
You ever met Dolly Parton?
Them are some famous people… you know what I mean?
Meet Me In Montauk 
🙂 What I like about this song is how cleverly and simply it captures the reality behind the whole dismissal of the “Hollywood elite” bankrolling liberal politicians from their compounds in Hollywood. This guy is wholly unimpressed. What makes Paisley’s delivery effective is that he doesn’t find his character laughable in the least. The laughs would likely be found when Kurt goes back to his buddies and tells the story of this crazy Hollywood “star” who stopped by the station today.
As I was listening, I also thought about those celebrities, such as Bruce Willis or Harrison Ford, who choose to make a home in places like these (Hailey, Idaho; Jackson Hole, Wyoming). I bet their motivation is in large part conversations just like that one.
I don’t see where this song particularly shows off singing chops, but it’s a very clever song nonetheless.
When Lyle’s last album came out, I know you and I both were a bit annoyed that it contained so many covers in lieu of original material. And when you have a songwriter as talented as Lyle, that disappointment is understandable. Still, when we went to the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, we heard so many fine original songs by artists who have yet to make it. Amy and I both commented how truly noble a thing it was for artists like Lyle who have “made it” to highlight these talented songwriters. Indeed, some of the songs from Lyle’s new album that he didn’t write stand out as arguably better than the songs he did write.
So, all this to say that I will try to be more open minded the next time one of my favorite artists like Lyle eschews recording his own originals to feature covers of others toiling away in relative anonymity in the cafes of Nashville (or wherever else)
Thats a very cute song 🙂 I think Everybodys Here shows off his singng voice very nicely… Atleast the higher end of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk7n3SR0eE8
Yeah, I love that one.
For the record, I didn’t mean a great singer in the American Idol vocal chops sense… I mean that he’s a great performer who really sells his songs vocally. This one feels to me as much like an acting performance as a song.
Oh ya i figured that, just thought I would add that he is a great singer in that too
That being the American Idol type singer