"These Are My People" is a song written by Dave Berg and

Rivers Rutherford Melvern Rivers Rutherford II (born June 17, 1967) is an American country music songwriter. Has been writing country songs since the mid-1990s as a songwriter, he has written several number one country hits, including "Ain't Nothing 'bout You" by B ...

, 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

Rodney Atkins Rodney Allan Atkins (born March 28, 1969) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Curb Records in 1996, he charted his first single on the ''Billboard'' country chart in 1997, but did not release an album until 2003's '' ...

. It was released in March 2007 as the third single from his

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

album '' If You're Going Through Hell'', as well as the third straight Number One single from that album.

Content

The song is an up-tempo which is introduced by a

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 ...

solo, with

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

also accompanying. The lyrics are the narrator's description of his rural lifestyle: specifically, the friends with whom he plays church league softball and drinks beer at a bar. The first verse references three

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

songs: "

Gimme Three Steps "Gimme Three Steps" is a song by American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released from the band's debut album, ''(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)'' (1973). It was written by bandmates Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant. The single rele ...

", "Simple Man", and "

The Ballad of Curtis Loew "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" is a song written by Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant and recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The song was first released on the band's 1974 album, ''Second Helping'' and again on their compilation, ''The Essential Lynyrd Sky ...

". "Lovin' and laughin' and bustin' our asses", a line from the first verse, was changed to "…bustin' our backs" in the radio edit.

Critical reception

J. Poet of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the song favorably, saying that "It's a string of clichés, the kind of song that can sink under its own sentimental weight, but Atkins delivers it with a sly humor that makes it believable."

Music video

The music video was directed by Eric Welch and premiered in early 2007.

Chart performance

"These Are My People" debuted at number 57 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs for the week of March 24, 2007.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Rodney Atkins 2007 singles 2006 songs Rodney Atkins songs Songs written by Rivers Rutherford Songs written by Dave Berg (songwriter) Curb Records singles