For me, one song and video stands out above all country music creations of 2009. The song lyrics touched my heart the first time I heard them and brought tears to my eyes. The video actually made me cry. I’m talking about John Rich’s song Shuttin Detroit Down.
The song touched me even harder after I heard about the rumors at my husband’s work about the upper management getting big bonus’s while employees, like my husband, took pay cuts and weeks and weeks off. We were struggling while the few increased their bank account.
The video for Shuttin Detroit Down was extremely moving. The first time I saw it, Kris Kristofferson’s performance took the lyrics to a whole new level. Kristofferson is an amazing actor and singer. His portrayal of an aging employee that is let go after over 30 years of working for the same employer was reflective of what was and is going on in America now. Then, at the end, you see him getting evicted from his home and having a heart attack. Not surprisingly, his main concern was how it would affect his wife.
I think that John Rich deserves recognition for giving us the song of the year. A song that we all can relate to. He also deserves recognition for taking this song and producing a video worthy of the lyrics. If you haven’t listened to this song yet (where have you been?), then you can click on the lyric video below. John has a great voice and is one of the best male singers of our era.
