T for Texas, T for Tennessee. This is a reference to a Jimmie Rogers song that was covered by several artists, including Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The version I first heard, segueing into another song, was by the Everly Brothers.
The states are separated by Arkansas, where I have never been, though my wife’s best friend moved there several years ago.
Tennessee Waltz
I’ve been to Tennessee twice. the first time was in 1970. A bunch of us high school kids raised money to visit Fayette County, which was described to us as the poorest county in the country. It was certainly very rural.
On that trip, we traveled rather quickly to Memphis, where we saw the Lorraine Motel. That was the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. It would subsequently be turned into a civil rights museum.
Memphis Blues – Duke Ellington
The other was c 2002 when I attended the Association of Small Business Development Centers conference in the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, which was part mall, part amusement park.
Crazy Town – Jason Aldean
TN Tennessee, a state in the southeast US, historically abbreviated Tenn. Capital and largest city: Nashville.
Tennessee Waltz – Connie Francis
The Six Flags of Texas
If you’re not from the United States, you may or may not realize that Texas has an oversized presence in the American narrative. It has a unique history. It was controlled by Spain for three centuries, interrupted by a five-year rule by France. From 1821 to 1836, it was under Mexican control; remember the Alamo.
Then in 1836, it was a republic until 1845, when it became a US state. It’s been that ever since. Well, except for that period between 1861 and 1865.
Everything is bigger in Texas. It was the largest state by area until Alaska supplanted it in 1959. Now Texas is the second-largest state in terms of population. It has the biggest state fair.
TX Texas, a state in the south-central US, abbreviated Tex. Largest city: Houston, the fourth largest in the US, while San Antonio is seventh. “Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, respectively.” Capital: Austin, the second-most populous state capital in the US, after Phoenix, AZ.
I went to a Texas state conference of Small Business Development Centers in 1996. It was held in Galveston, on the Gulf Coast. I woke up at 6 a.m. Eastern time, which was 5 in the Central Time Zone. I walked out on a jetty, and I stood there as the tide came in; it was glorious. Later, I saw a Houston Astros game in the Astrodome, which was not a great place to see baseball.
There are tons of songs about Texas. My favorite is That’s Right, You’re Not from Texas by Lyle Lovett.
Oh, that Lyle Lovett song! Right up there with “you can have my girl, but don’t touch my hat.”
Lex and I visited friends in San Antonio. I made him take a picture of me giving the finger to the Alamo plaque. I wanted to go on the tour, hosted by the Daughters of the Confederacy or some other crackerass women, but Lex wouldn’t let me, one of the few times he ever put his foot down.
He told me he was afraid I would get arrested for general rudeness. Well, he was probably right about that scenario! A
I never thought much about songs about these states–the things I learn on the internet!! Great post.
My Corner of the World