"Heads Carolina, Tails California" is a song written by

Tim Nichols Tim Nichols (born in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since the late 1980s, Nichols has written for several country music singers including Keith Whitley, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina, ...

and Mark D. Sanders and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Jo Dee Messina Jo Dee Marie Messina (born August 25, 1970) is an American country music artist. She has charted six number-one singles on the ''Billboard charts, Billboard'' country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association and the ...

. The song was released in January 1996 as her debut single and served as the lead-off single for her self-titled debut album. The song reached the Top 10 on both the U.S. and Canadian country charts.

American Aquarium American Aquarium is an American alternative country band from Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Background Formed in 2006, the band derived its name from the Wilco song, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” and is led by band founder an ...

covered the song on their 2021 album ''Slappers, Bangers, and Certified Twangers: Vol 1.'' The song enjoyed a revival in 2022 when it was used as the basis for

Cole Swindell Colden Rainey Swindell (born June 30, 1983) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has written singles for Craig Campbell (singer), Craig Campbell, Thomas Rhett, Scotty McCreery, and Luke Bryan, and has released four albums for W ...

's number one hit " She Had Me at Heads Carolina", eventually propelling the original song to a platinum certification by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Content

"Heads Carolina, Tails California" is an up-tempo song about a narrator who wants to just take her love and run off together somewhere, but anywhere will do as long as her love comes with her.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "rollicking country ode to flipping a coin and hitting the road in search of a better life 'somewhere greener, somewhere warmer.' She also said that "passion and energy permeate Messina's strong vocal attacks on this infectious tune." In 2022,

Ashley Gorley Ashley Gorley (born April 29, 1977) is an American songwriter, publisher, and producer from Danville, Kentucky, who is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Gorley has written 81 number 1 songs and has over 400 songs recorded by artists including Luke ...

Jesse Frasure Jesse Vernon Frasure (born September 18, 1981), also known as DJ Telemitry, is an American music publisher, record producer, songwriter, and DJ. He has written 22 number one songs and has cuts with various artists including Chris Stapleton, M ...

, and

Thomas Rhett Thomas Rhett Akins Jr. (born March 30, 1990) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. He is the oldest son of singer Rhett Akins. Rhett has released seven studio albums for Big Machine Records' Valory Music imprint: ''It Goes ...

re-wrote the song as " She Had Me at Heads Carolina", which heavily references "Heads Carolina, Tails California" and incorporates its melody. Additional co-writers' credit was also given to Sanders and Nichols. This song appears on Swindell's 2022 album ''

Stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

'', from which it was released as the third single. On November 7, 2022, Swindell released a remixed version of the song which featured new vocals by Messina. In 2024, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked the song at #172 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.

Music video

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

was released for the song directed by Roger Pistole and filmed in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

. Messina is shown performing with an old-fashioned

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic (), or mike, is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publi ...

in a run-down wooden shack in the desert and leaning against the counter of a diner, dressed as a waitress. Throughout the video are scenes of men traveling on an old dirt road pushing tires with them. They are seen sitting in the diner that Messina is seen in, and outside of a rural gas station in which the diner is located.

Chart performance

"Heads Carolina, Tails California" debuted at number 70 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of January 27, 1996. It would soon reach number 2 on that chart, behind "

My Maria "My Maria" is a song co-written by B. W. Stevenson and Daniel Moore. Lindy Blaskey, a music publisher at ABC/Dunhill Records, thought Moore had a possible hit with his verse and chorus, but couldn't get him to finish the song, so Blaskey took wh ...

" by

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1988 through the suggestion of songwriter and record producer, Tim DuBois. Before thei ...

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1996 debut singles 1996 songs Jo Dee Messina songs Songs written by Tim Nichols Songs written by Mark D. Sanders Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Song recordings produced by Tim McGraw Curb Records singles Songs about California