"Boondocks" is a song co-written and recorded by American

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, ...

group

Little Big Town Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbro ...

. It was released in May 2005 as the first single from their second studio album ''

The Road to Here ''The Road to Here'' is the second studio album by the American country music group Little Big Town. The album was released on October 4, 2005 on Equity Records and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album was nominated for Best Countr ...

''. It became their first Top 10 hit on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts. It was written by Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Roads, Phillip Sweet, Jimi Westbrook and

Wayne Kirkpatrick Wayne Kirkpatrick (born c. 1961) is an American songwriter and musician born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from Baton Rouge Magnet High School in 1979. His younger brother is American screenwriter ...

. The song is one of the band's most enduring and popular hits and they often perform it at the end of their concerts.

Background and writing

Originally, the song was titled "Waiting For the Sun to Go Down". According to Karen Fairchild, one of the group's members, "When we wrote it, it just wasn't there... We kind of set it aside for a few days and then Wayne irkpatrick, one of the song's co-writerscame back." The group later decided on turning the song into a Southern anthem, at which point Kirkpatrick suggested "I'm born and raised in the boondocks" (The line "waiting for the sun to go down" was transferred to "Bones", another song on the band's album).

Content

"Boondocks" is an up-tempo song whose main theme is of rural pride ("I feel no shame, I'm proud of where I came from / I was born and raised in the boondocks"). In the song, all four of the group's members trade off lead and harmony vocals, with all four members singing in various combinations throughout.

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. Career In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he has ...

plays

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

Music video

A music video, directed by Roger Pistole, was released for the song. The music video was filmed in

Watertown, Tennessee Watertown is a town located in Wilson County, Tennessee. The population was 1,477 at the 2010 census .The population then raised to 1,556 after the 2020 census. It is located southeast of Lebanon, and northwest of Smithville. History Prior to the ...

. The video topped CMT's ''Top Twenty Countdown'' for the week of January 26, 2006.

Other notable versions

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

recorded an R&B version for her 2011 album '' The Dreamer''. * Several characters from

Big Idea Entertainment Big Idea Entertainment, LLC (formerly known as Big Idea Productions, Inc. and Big Idea, Inc.; also simply as Big Idea) is an American Christian animation company, best known for its computer-animated ''VeggieTales'' series of Christian-themed ...

VeggieTales ''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, computer generated musical children's animation, and book franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retelling ...

series of media covered the song for the 2012 album ''Bob and Larry Go Country''. This version is 1 pitch lower. * Home Free, a country, a capella group, covered the song as a mashup with The

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constant ...

's '

Fishin' in the Dark "Fishin' in the Dark" is a song written by Wendy Waldman and Jim Photoglo, and recorded by American country music group Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, with Jimmy Ibbotson singing lead. It was released on June 7, 1987, as the second single from their alb ...

' for their 2015 album ''

Country Evolution ''Country Evolution'' is the seventh studio album by the American a cappella band Home Free and the last before their current lineup. It was released on September 18, 2015, with pre-orders being made available on August 21. The album includes fi ...

''.

Chart performance

"Boondocks" debuted at #59 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs for the week of June 4, 2005; it eventually peaked at #9. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the single peaked at #46, becoming their first single to appear on the chart.

Certifications

References

External links

Lyrics to ''Boondocks''
{{authority control 2005 singles Little Big Town songs Songs written by Karen Fairchild Songs written by Kimberly Schlapman Songs written by Phillip Sweet Songs written by Jimi Westbrook Songs written by Wayne Kirkpatrick Equity Music Group singles Etta James songs 2005 songs