"Small Town USA" 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, ...

singer

Justin Moore Justin Cole Moore (born March 30, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Big Machine Records imprint Valory Music Group. For that label, he has released six studio albums: his Justin Moore (album), self titled debut ...

. It was released in February 2009 as the second single of his career and the second one from his self-titled debut album. On the charts dated for October 3, 2009, the song became Moore's first Number One hit. In addition, the song fared well as a crossover hit. Just missing the Top 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, it peaked at number 44.

Content

Co-written by Moore with Brian Dean Maher and

Jeremy Stover Jeremy Stover (born August 20, 1972) is an American country music songwriter and record producer. Stover is an alumnus of Belmont University. Stover has written singles for Tim McGraw, Jon Pardi, Wynonna, Martina McBride, and others. His fir ...

, the song is a mid-tempo backed primarily by

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

, with

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

flourishes. In it, the narrator lists off the various things in his hometown, and says that he proud of his roots. According to Moore, "Small Town USA" was the "first or second" song he wrote upon moving to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

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 ...

. The song was inspired by his feeling homesick for

Poyen, Arkansas Poyen is a town in Grant County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 290 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Central Arkansas region. Geography Poyen is located in western Grant County at (34.323459, -92.640487). U.S. Route 270 passes ...

. The second line changes with every chorus (

Hank Williams, Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

in the first chorus,

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly i ...

in the second chorus hich has been altered by some radio stations with their own call letters and

Sweet Home Alabama "Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on the band's second album ''Second Helping'' (1974). It was written in response to Neil Young's 1970 song "Southern Man", which the band felt blamed the e ...

after the bridge).

Critical reception

Dan Milliken of ''Country Universe'' gave the song a D+ grade, saying that it was "written solely to appeal to a demographic of people who also live in small towns and can relate to surface-level ideas ��Without further development, the ideas just sound really, really clichéd." Karlie Justus of ''Engine 145'' gave it a "thumbs down" review, criticizing the lyrics for lacking details that were specific to a rural lifestyle. Justus also said that the song "finds Moore a much stronger singer than a songwriter," comparing his vocals to those of

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...

and

Ronnie Dunn Ronald Gene Dunn (born June 1, 1953) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record executive. Starting in 2011, Dunn has worked as a solo artist following the temporary dissolution of Brooks & Dunn. He released his self-titled debu ...

, and saying that his delivery has a “sense of authenticity.”

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was filmed for the song in February 2009, and aired on

CMT Pure Country Country Music Television (CMT) is an American pay TV network owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched on March 5, 1983, as Country Music Television, CMT was the first nationally available channel devoted to coun ...

and GAC that same month. Directed by Chris Hicky, it portrays Moore singing and playing guitar in various parts of his hometown of

. The promo features several generations of Moore's family.

Chart performance

"Small Town USA" debuted at number 55 on the ''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 ...

chart for the chart week of February 21, 2009. The song then entered the Top 40 of the country charts in its eleventh chart week for the chart week of May 2, 2009. It has since become Moore's first Number One hit.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Justin Moore 2009 singles Justin Moore songs Big Machine Records singles Music videos directed by Chris Hicky Songs written by Justin Moore Songs written by Jeremy Stover 2009 songs Song recordings produced by Jeremy Stover