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Top Ten Tuesday: Classic Country Songs I Wish Were Books


Happy Tuesday everyone and welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's theme is a freebie all about music and books, for example you could do books that should have soundtracks or songs that you wish were books, or something else altogether.  I've decided to go with Songs That I Wish Were Books, specially Classic Country.  For each song, I will include a music video, the genre I'd like the book to be, and my reasoning behind my choice.  Here we go, in alphabetical order by song title:



"Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean (1961) - Magical Realism
Every time I hear this song I can't help but to compare Big John to legendary characters like John Henry and Paul Bunyan.  That is a huge part as to why I'd love to see a book that explores John having some sort of fantastical or supernatural ability.



"A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash (1969) - YA Contemporary
I can totally imagine this as a edgy, gritty, and intense YA Contemporary novel narrated by Sue's detailing his rough life as he's growing up and deciding to look for his scumbag father.



"Convoy" by C.W. McCall (1975) - Action/ Adventure/ Humor
So, there was a movie that was made about this song in 1978 starring Kris Kristofferson as Rubber Duck, the narrator of the song.  Just my opinion, but skip the movie and just listen to the original song instead (a movie version was recorded to fit in with some of it's changed details).  Seriously, the movie manages to have almost zero plot.  Though, personally, I do think it would be fun to see a fast-paced, action-packed, and downright hilarious book!  I'd like it to be from multiple POVs from the perspective of the drivers in the convoy, but with Rubber Duck and Pig Pen taking more prominent parts.  And, it would also be interesting to directly know what's going on with the Bears (aka the highway patrol officers).  Lots of highway maps and a CB slang glossary should be included for reference.



"The Devil Went Down To Georgia" by The Charlie Daniels Band (1979) - Horror Fantasy
I know, the video that goes along with this song is pretty crazy, but can't you just see this as an awesome horror fantasy novel?  Because I sure can!  Personally, I'd like to know more about Johnny - he's quite the bad-ass!  I mean, doesn't seem fazed at all when the devil challenges him and he manages to easily beat the devil at his own game.  Who exactly is Johnny, how did he get so good, has he come across other supernatural/ demonic beings, and what does he do with the devil's golden fiddle after he wins it?  I'd say that's a pretty good place to start for the novel, wouldn't you?



"Harper Valley PTA" by Jeannie C. Riley (1968) - YA Contemporary
There was a movie adaptation of this song released in 1978, again like with Convoy the song manages to be much better than the movie.  Anyway, I would really like to see a YA Contemporary novel adapted from this song and set at the time of the song's release.  One that's told from the perspective of the younger high school aged daughter (I'm not sure how old she's supposed to be in the song) and focuses on her relationship with her mother who's forced to challenge the stodgy social conventions of Harper Valley.



"Phantom 309" by Red Sovine (1967) - Paranormal/ Urban Fantasy
This song is pretty creepy and I think it could work as a Paranormal novel.  I'd definitely like to know more about Big Joe's past, the people he's given rides to, and the locals who all know the story.  Maybe throw in a ghost hunter or two, and then we'd really have something!



"Saginaw, Michigan" by Lefty Frizzell (1964) - Family Epic/ Romance
Okay, I'm partly in this one for the Alaskan gold mining.  You don't really see that in fiction very much these days and adaptation of this song as a Family Epic/ Romance could really bring it back!  When I say epic, I want more details on his dad, growing up in Saginaw, his relationship with his future wife and her family on top of all that gold mining stuff and the numerous obstacles in their way, and of course their happily ever after.  It'll be a real brick, but worth every page!


"A Week In A Country Jail" by Tom T. Hall (1969) - Older YA/ New Adult  Action/ Adventure Comedy
Just listen to the song, I'd say this one's pretty self-explanatory - the cast and their situations just need fleshed out a bit to really make it work as a novel!




"When It's Springtime In Alaska" by Johnny Horton (1959) - Historical Fiction
Johnny Horton is awesome - I especially enjoy his historical songs.  He has so many great ones, but again this one features Alaska and prospecting for gold!  Like I said before, I'd really like to see more of that in fiction.



"Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs" by Tom T. Hall (1971) - Medical Thriller/ Humor
This song is great, but honestly it leaves me with so many questions that maybe a medical thriller novel with a sense of humor could really help out.  For example, some of my questions include the following: What happened to the hog farmer to land him in the hospital?, How did the narrator get in the hospital and what was wrong with him?, What was going on at the farm while all of this was going on?, and What does the waitress think of everything she's just heard?, etc.


What do you think of my list this week?  Have any of my picks piqued your interest?  Do you have any recommendations or additions?  What songs do you wish were books?

Comments

  1. Love your classic picks!

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  2. Finally someone who has songs on their list that I recognize. I am so out of my league this week.

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  3. You have some really interesting, classic choices! :-)

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    1. Dad and grandpa are huge fans of this kind of music, so I grew up with this stuff. :)

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  4. Great list! I'll second Johnny Cash, cause that would be pretty gritty I agree with you there. And Saginaw, Michigan- I like that one because I'm from Saginaw originally. I don't think I've heard that song before although I've heard OF it. I was just there this past weekend in fact, although I live across the state now. Kinda neat to see it on a list. :)

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    1. I've actually been through Saginaw before. :) Thanks for visiting! :)

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  5. I love the country-spin you put on the week's topic. I must confess, I don't know much about the genre (pretty much just the bare basics) but I don't dislike it, and after listening to a couple of these songs I can say that they definitely are worth a re-listen :)

    I mostly went all pop for my TTT response this week - it's so cool to see everyone's differing music tastes, and picking up new styles :)

    ~ TT @introtoblurb.wordpress.com

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    1. I'm glad you're liking some of these - the genre isn't for everyone. :D

      Thanks for sharing!

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  6. This is an amazing twist on the theme. I would love the see The Devil Went Down to Georgia as a novel. I would totally read it.
    Thanks for sharing and I hope you have a great rest of the week.
    Amanda

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  7. I'm looking forward to listening to these after work! Country isn't my go-to genre, but since I'm trying to "read harder" this year, might as well "listen harder" too!

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  8. I absolutely LOVE your picks this week and now I'm dying to read The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Although, I would probably read almost all of these.

    Mel @ Reviews In A Pinch

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    1. Yay! You must have good taste! :)

      Thanks for sharing.

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  9. I love your list! Classic country is some of my fave music to listen to. The Harper Valley PTA song would be such a good book! :) Great list!

    Valerie @ He Said Books Or Me

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    1. Thanks! It's one of my favorites - and it's a half way decent as a cross over song, too. :)

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  10. Wonderfully inventive list! And I've surprised myself by knowing half of them. I thought I'd know much less! Anyway, I especially love your ideas for Convoy (love that song!) and The Devil Went Down to Georgia - especially if we can have a lot of fiddle in the book, too.

    My TTT

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    1. Thanks! I could listen to both of those all day long! We'd have to have all kinds of fiddle! :)

      Thanks for sharing.

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  11. Awesome list! I don't usually listen to country so I don't know most of these.
    Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

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  12. Someone else -- SciFi and Scary? -- had The Devil Went Down To Georgia on her list, as well. Here’s my TTT.

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  13. I love that you picked some classics! Some of these I had never heard before, so it is fun to go over them.:)

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  14. I completely agree with your choice of Johnny Cash. I love all of your picks though. Great twist on the topic. Love it.

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  15. I completely agree with your choice of Johnny Cash. I love all of your picks though. Great twist on the topic. Love it.

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  16. i haven't heard of any of these but i recognize the names of a majority of the musicians! great topic choice for this week's TTT!
    Emily @ www.rabbitholereviews.com

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  17. Classic country is so fun - so many entertaining stories! Great spin on the TTT. -Laila @ Big Reading Life

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    1. Thanks! They have some of the best storytellers, don't they? :)

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  18. The Devil Went Down to Georgia would make an awesome novel! Also, you can't go wrong with Johnny Cash. Great list!

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  19. I love your suggestions for what kind of book to go with each song! My TTT

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    1. I tried to come up with what I would want to see. :) Thanks for sharing!

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  20. Love that you went with classics, I was so close to doing a list of classics songs to pair with books. Great list this week!

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    1. Thanks! And I was so close to going your route....:)

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  21. First of all, I love the fact you were able to pull some amazing classics. I think my disconnect between music and books really hindered my ability to look too hard. I used Top 40 songs that I hear all the time. Great choices!

    Thanks for stopping by earlier this week!

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  22. I don't listen to oldie music much, but Johnny Cash did have some great songs! :)

    Thanks so much for visiting Dreaming Under the Same Moon's Top Ten Tuesday last week, Lauren. I appreciate it. :)

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  23. An old and very good piece of music. The video was recorded in a fairly low quality. I also want to share my old music store.
    https://ringtone123.net/popular-ringtones
    If you like it, you can download it for free. This is my best music collection. My friends often take it as a ringtone for the phone.

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