"Mendocino County Line" is a song written by Matt Serletic and Bernie Taupin, and recorded as a duet 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, ...

artists

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

and

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack Liddell (; born August 19, 1966) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Her 2000 single, " I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top 15 ...

. It was released in January 2002 as the lead-off single from Nelson's album '' The Great Divide''. It was a Top 40 hit on the U.S. country chart, peaking at number 22. It was Nelson's first Top 40 hit on that chart since "

Ain't Necessarily So "Ain't Necessarily So" is a song written by Beth Nielsen Chapman, and recorded by American country music artist Willie Nelson. It was released in September 1990 as the first single from his album '' Born for Trouble''. The song reached number 17 ...

" in 1990. It won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration.

Content

The song is a ballad about a love that couldn't last. The song references

Mendocino County, California Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists whol ...

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of '' Billboard'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that when Womack sings the chorus, "there's a tender, almost epic feeling to her heartache." Regarding Nelson, she states that he "imbues each line with the kind of emotional integrity that has become his trademark." She concludes her review by calling the song "absolutely magical." Mario Tarradel of ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...

'' described the song and wrote, "They do sound good together; their voices complement each other like leather softened by lace."Tarradel, Mario. ''The Dallas Morning News'' Womack is going places, but she has packed carefully (July 28, 2002)

Music video

The

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was directed by Mark Seliger. It was not filmed anywhere near Mendocino County. Instead, it was filmed at Willie Nelson's Luck, Texas property.

Chart performance

"Mendocino County Line" debuted at number 53 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of January 26, 2002.

References

{{authority control 2002 singles 2002 songs Lee Ann Womack songs Willie Nelson songs Country ballads Songs written by Matt Serletic Song recordings produced by Matt Serletic Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Lost Highway Records singles Male–female vocal duets