CMT Blog: Archive

"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."That famous quote from Sigmund Freud cautions against forcing meaning into events or objects where there is none.

Most of the time, when recording artists put out positive uptempo songs, the point is to not think too deeply, just to simply breeze through the moment and try to embrace some bit of energy or happiness. That is pretty much the point of Alan Jackson's new single, "Good Time," in which a working man celebrates his weekend away from the grind.

Jackson drew a comparison a week ago between that song and some of his earlier uptempo numbers, including "Chattahoochee," which was released as a single 15 years ago this week (May 10). Jackson didn't expect much with the song, figuring it was about a river that was personal to him but unfamiliar to most people outside his home state of Georgia. Instead, the thing took off and became one of several signposts in his career.

"Chattahoochee" is pretty special as those uptempo songs go. One phrase alone, "pyramid of cans in the pale moonlight," sets it apart as visual and poetic, but it also helps understand why the song continues to stand out. The action of stacking those cans was part of a teenage bonding ritual in which Jackson and his friends did rather meaningless stuff while they talked about dreams and relationships, which are to a great degree what life is really about.

It's the beauty of "Chattahoochee" and many other uptempo songs that play well on the radio. You can love it for its wordplay, its backbeat or its signature guitar lick. Or you can use it to recall your innocent past and maybe even recognize your own normalcy.

Sometimes a song is just a song. And sometimes it can be so much more.