I think Runaway June is an insanely underrated girl-group in country music.
Their only full-length studio album, Blue Roses, was released in 2019 and it was fantastic. They have two other EPs, the self-titled Runaway June from 2018 and a Christmas EP, When I Think About Christmas, which came out in December of 2020.
And, just last year, Natalie Stovall took former vocalist Hannah Mulholland’s place in the band, so I’m hoping they’re going to be putting out another new full-length album soon.
They’re also the first all-female trio in 14 years to have a top 10 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with their song “Buy My Own Drinks” in 2019.
But, there’s one song from them in particular that I find myself constantly going back to, and it’s called “We Were Rich.” It was written by Ashley Gorley, Ross Copperman and Nicolle Galyon.
It’s one of those songs you forget about, and every now and then it comes up on your playlist and you become obsessed all over again.
I love it so much because it tells the story of my childhood, and I think a lot of people can relate to it. The essence of the song is that, while they didn’t grow up rich in money or material items, they had love and a family that cared about them. Which is the only kinda rich I really wanna be.
It’s so beautiful how they turned mundane, everyday memories from their childhood into a story of nostalgia:
“One bathroom sink, we’d all take turns
Once a week, go out to eat for pizza after church
And that old church, red carpet floors
Same old navy paisley tie daddy always wore
And we’d sing hymns
They’d pass a plate when it was time to give
They’d put in a twenty, I thought we were rich”
These are the kinds of songs that mean something. Those verses alone make me think of a million different memories that I’d forgotten about or just don’t think about on a daily basis.
The music video was even shot in band-member Natalie’s actual hometown of Columbia, Tennessee:
“It opens on the house I grew up in, features my parents and sweeps through intensely nostalgic moments, people & places from my childhood and hometown.”
Especially in this day and age, it’s easy to get caught up in everything that’s going on, but I know I can always turn this song and be reminded of the good old days, even if it’s just for three and a half minutes:
