Sanger D. Shafer
Sanger D. Shafer (October 24, 1934 – January 12, 2019), - at country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
singer George Strait. It was released in April 1987 as the second single from Strait's album ''
Ocean Front Property
''Ocean Front Property'' is the seventh studio album by American country music artist George Strait, released on January 12, 1987, by MCA Records. It is certified 2× Multi-platinum by the RIAA. It is the first album to debut at #1 on the Billboar ...
''. "All My Ex's Live In Texas" was nominated for
Best Male Country Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance was awarded between 1965 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:
*From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Male
*In 1968 it was a ...
at the 1988 Grammy Awards.
A version of the song recorded by its co-author
Ash vs Evil Dead
Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
''. Rapper
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
mentions the song in his single "
HYFR
"HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right)", also known as just "HYFR", is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his second studio album '' Take Care'' (2011). The song features Lil Wayne and was released as the album's sixth official single. It was released to ...
".
The song "Tip Your Bartender" by New York post-hardcore band
Glassjaw
Glassjaw is an American post-hardcore band from Hempstead, New York. The band is fronted by vocalist Daryl Palumbo and guitarist Justin Beck, and was a major part of the Long Island music scene in the early 2000s. The band has been influential i ...
, contains the lyric:
"All my ex's live with hexes."
The format of the song is that of a
list song
A list song, also called a laundry list song or a catalog song, is a song based wholly or in part on a list. Unlike topical songs with a narrative and a cast of characters, list songs typically develop by working through a series of information, o ...
.
Content
The narrator explains that he had lived most of his life in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...
in his later performances), but that a string of failed relationships with women in that state that ended disastrously (such as going insane, sending the law after him and walking out before the honeymoon) prompted him to flee to
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
; he still relives his more pleasant times in Texas by way of
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes ...
each night. The song is known for its
Western Swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance ...
style rhythm.
Critical reception
"All My Ex's Live in Texas" is widely regarded as one of Strait's best songs. '' Billboard'' and ''
American Songwriter
''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
History
The ''American Songwri ...
'' ranked the song number two and number five, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest George Strait songs.
Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a B+ grade, saying that "you can almost hear the guy smirking as he sings this swinging hit, running down a list of jilted lovers from all over the Lone Star state."