"Wrong Side of Memphis" is a song written by

Matraca Berg Matraca Maria Berg Hanna (; born February 3, 1964, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and ...

and

Gary Harrison Gary Steven Harrison is an American songwriter. Harrison began his career in the 1970s, and has written over 300 major-label recorded songs, including several number one hits. His songwriting credits include: " Hey Cinderella" (recorded by Suzy ...

. First recorded by John Berry on his 1990 independent album ''Saddle the Wind'', it was later released 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,

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...

in August 1992. It was the first single released off her second studio album, ''

Hearts in Armor ''Hearts in Armor'' is the second studio album by American country music singer Trisha Yearwood. It was released on September 1, 1992, by MCA Nashville. Four of its tracks found spots in the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart in 1992 and 1 ...

''.

Content

The song tells the story of a woman who lives south of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

and has decided to take her chances and move to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, where she can fulfill her dream of becoming a country music singer. Because Nashville (where the song's subject is destined) is to the northeast of Memphis, the area south of Memphis (where the song's subject begins) is considered the "wrong" side.

Background

As revealed on an episode of ''Live From The Bluebird Cafe'', the song is a semi-autobiographical account of a period when the song's writer, Matraca Berg, lived in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and became homesick for Nashville shortly thereafter.

said that "that song broke every one of those hard-and-fast rules that Nashville was still adhering to at the time. It had a

drop D tuning Drop D tuning is an alternative form of guitar tuning in which the lowest (sixth) string is tuned down from the usual E of standard tuning by one whole step to D. So where standard tuning is E2A2D3G3B3E4 (EADGBe), drop D is D2A2D3G3B3E4 (DADGBe ...

, it just sort of drones, there's really no chorus to it �� never really thought there was a song there to begin with." Although Yearwood is mainly known for her pop-styled ballads, "Wrong Side of Memphis" is one of the few songs she has released that is considered up-tempo and twangy. The music video for "Wrong Side of Memphis" was released following the single's release and debuted on CMT in 1992. In the mid-nineties, Yearwood and her band heavily re-arranged the song to create a more soulful, bluesy feel. This revised version has now become a staple at Yearwood's concerts.

Critical reception

"Wrong Side of Memphis" was given positive reviews by many music critics and reviewers.

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 ...

reviewed Yearwood's album ''Hearts in Armor,'' and called the song a, "a tough, near spitting rocker tempered by honky tonk fiddles was written by Matraca Berg and Gary Harrison, opened the disc and may have thrown fans of her ballad style." ''

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

'' also reviewed her second studio album and critiqued all of the songs, including "Wrong Side of Memphis." The reviewer called the song "bluesy," and the only exception on the album that is not an emotional diary.

Chart performance

"Wrong Side of Memphis" was released in 1992, and became a Top 10 hit, peaking at number 5 on the

Billboard Country Chart 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 ...

by the end of the year. It was the most successful solo single from Yearwood's ''Hearts in Armor''.

Year-end charts

References

{{Trisha Yearwood singles 1992 singles John Berry (country singer) songs Trisha Yearwood songs Songs written by Matraca Berg Songs written by Gary Harrison Song recordings produced by Garth Fundis MCA Records singles 1990 songs Songs about Memphis, Tennessee