Back to Tennessee (song)
"Back to Tennessee" is a country rock song by American singer-songwriter and actor Billy Ray Cyrus. It released as the second single from Cyrus' eleventh studio album of the same name on February 2, 2009 by Lyric Street Records. Cyrus drafted the song after learning that Hannah Montana: The Movie, a film he would star in, would be set in Tennessee. The song, developed with the aid of co-songwriters Tamara Dunn and Matthew Wilder, includes country rock elements while describing Cyrus' longing to return to the South, where he grew up, after spending several years in Los Angeles. "Back to Tennessee" was featured in both Hannah Montana: The Movie and its soundtrack.
"Back to Tennessee"
"Back to Tennessee" was well received by critics, though some felt it took the album's message too literally. It was a moderate commercial achievement for Cyrus and charted within the top fifty of the Billboard magazine chart Hot Country Songs. The song's music video was directed by Declan Whitebloom and features scenes of Cyrus at a beach inter cut with clips of Hannah Montana: The Movie. The song was performed in several venues.
Composition[edit]
"Back to Tennessee" is one of the more rock music influenced tracks on Back to Tennessee.[6] It is set in common time with a country rock tempo of 120 beats per minute.[7] The song is written in the key of C major.[7] The song has the following chord progression, C—C7—C.[7]
Cyrus said of the lyrics, "If you download "Back to Tennessee" and listen to the whole song, you'll hear exactly how I felt after four years of Hannah Montana, and living in Los Angeles and giving up my previous life and existence and who I am and where I come from. You'll hear a guy who's immersed in music, and my love and desire and need to go back home."[5] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times interpreted the song as an apology "both to [Cyrus's] teenage self and, by extension, to the daughter under his wing."[8] Both Caramanica and Alison Stewart of The Washington Post took interest in the lines, "Great big town/So full of users".[8][9] Caramanica said the line recognized that "fame is illusory" and "talk[ed] about some of his daughter’s famous friends", while Stewart interpreted the line as a description of Hollywood life in general.[8][9]
Critical reception[edit]
The song received generally positive reviews from critics. Shelly Fabian of About.com said, "There's a special quality to this single that might be able to help people get past 'that one song' from Billy Ray Cyrus's past and realize there's so much more to the man than something from two decades ago."[1] While reviewing the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack, Heather Phares of Allmusic said the song "fits in smoothly with an acoustic version of Rascal Flatts' witty 'Backwards'".[10] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said, "His hard-won insight is the next best thing to a good swaddle."[8] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post described "Back to Tennessee" as a "fusillade of strident twang rock track".[9] She added that the song was "eager" and that it explained "Country as Country Can Be".[9] Yahoo! Music thought the song was followed Back to Tennessee's message "too literally".[11] The song was included on the short list for Best Original Song at the 82nd Academy Awards,[12] but failed to achieve a nomination.[13]
Live performances[edit]
Cyrus performed "Back to Tennessee" as part of the AOL Sessions on April 13, 2009.[20] He also performed the song and several others in a London Apple Store on April 24, 2009.[21] The set, along with some songs by Miley, were recorded and sold exclusively by the United Kingdom iTunes Store as an extended play titled iTunes Live from London.[21] On August 1, 2009, Cyrus performed the song at the 2009 Hannity Freedom Concert, a concert supporting the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund.[22]