"Here in the Real World" 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, ...

artist

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

. It was released in January 1990 as the second single and title track from his debut album ''

Here in the Real World ''Here in the Real World'' is the debut studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on February 27, 1990, and produced five singles: "Blue Blooded Woman", "Here in the Real World", "Wanted", "Chasin' That Neon R ...

'', and in early 1990 it became his first Top 10 country hit. The song reached a peak of number 3 on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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, and number 1 on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Country Tracks charts. Jackson wrote the song with

Mark Irwin Mark Irwin (born August 7, 1950) is a Canadian cinematographer. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, and studied political science at the University of Waterloo and filmmaking at York University. He is widely known for his early collaborations ...

Content

The song is a mid-tempo piece, firmly in the neotraditional style, backed by

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

and steel-string acoustic guitar, in which the narrator observes the difference between an idealized movie situation and the real world, saying "If life were like the movies, I'd never be blue". In the chorus, he observes that "here in the real world, it's not that easy at all / 'Cause when hearts get broken, it's real tears that fall."

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song an A grade," calling the conceit "bloody well brilliant, what with the juxtaposition of reality and fiction, but none of its intelligence would matter without the heartbroke sincerity that gives it its simplicity." An uncredited review from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' magazine was also positive, praising the

neotraditionalist country Neotraditional country (also known as new traditional country and hardcore country) is a country music style that emphasizes the instrumental background and a traditional country vocal style. Neo-traditional country artists often dress in the fash ...

sound and saying that Jackson "gives us incredible lyrics with just the right hooks. This cut offers a strong sense of comfort and a vocal range that’s totally soothing."

Music video

The music video was directed by Jim May and premiered in early 1990. It begins with a retro-style title card, features mostly Jackson performing, and closes with a brief snippet of

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

singing "

Back in the Saddle Again "Back in the Saddle Again" was the signature song of American cowboy entertainer Gene Autry. It was co-written by Autry with Ray Whitley and first released in 1939. The song was associated with Autry throughout his career and was used as the n ...

Covers

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

recorded the song on his 1994 album '' Glen Campbell Live! His Greatest Hits'' *

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

recorded this song on his last solo album, '' Hits I Missed...And One I Didn't'' *

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Reco ...

recorded the song on his 1991 album ''Classics With Pride''

Chart positions

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1990 singles Alan Jackson songs Charley Pride songs Glen Campbell songs George Jones songs Songs written by Mark Irwin (songwriter) Songs written by Alan Jackson Song recordings produced by Scott Hendricks Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Arista Nashville singles 1990 songs