"(We're Not) The Jet Set" is a song recorded by country music duo
George Jones
George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
and
Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a ...
. It was written by country songwriter
Bobby Braddock
Robert Valentine Braddock (born August 5, 1940) is an American country music, country songwriter and record producer. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Braddock has contributed numerous hit s ...
.
Background
Epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale
Epic(s) ...
released the song as a single in 1974 and it climbed to #15 on the ''Billboard'' country charts. In July 2013 ''
Uncut'' singled out the performance as a "grand romance."
John Prine
John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humoro ...
covered the song with
Iris Dement
Iris Luella DeMent (born January 5, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. DeMent's musical style includes elements of folk, country and gospel. She has been nominated for a Grammy Award twice.
Early life
DeMent was born in Parag ...
and it became the opening track on his 1999 LP ''
In Spite of Ourselves
''In Spite of Ourselves'' is the 13th studio album of John Prine, featuring duets of classic country songs with various well-known female folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk h ...
''.
The song itself was about a couple who is content with living with simpler, less-extravagant things in life. Cities noted in the introductory verse included
Rome, Georgia
Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statist ...
,
Athens, Texas
Athens is a city and the county seat of Henderson County, Texas, Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 12,857. The city has called itself the "black-eyed pea, Bla ...
and
Paris, Tennessee
Paris is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,316.
A replica of the Eiffel Tower stands in the southern part of Paris.
History
The present site of Par ...
; the couple also notes happiness with driving Chevrolets, eating and drinking draft beer and
weenies
A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter (Frankfurter Würstchen, ...
(instead of "steak and martini"), and listening to the music of "
Haggard
Haggard may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Haggard (band), a German symphonic metal group
* ''Haggard'' (TV series), a British comedy television series
* '' Haggard: The Movie'', a 2003 film by Bam Margera
* King Haggard, a fictiona ...
and
Husky
Husky is a general term for a type of dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies ...
" (in lieu of Bach and Tchaikovsky).
Chart performance
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:We're Not the Jet Set
1974 songs
Songs written by Bobby Braddock
Song recordings produced by Billy Sherrill
George Jones songs
Tammy Wynette songs
Epic Records singles
Male–female vocal duets