George Strait is an absolute icon, isn’t he?
I mean, he has put out hit after hit after hit, for decades, well deserving of his title of the King of Country Music.
So, it totally makes sense that he would be honored with an ACM Artist of the Decade All-Star Concert back in 2009.
The concert featured big name artists like Taylor Swift, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, and even Jamie Foxx (who absolutely killed “You Look So Good in Love”).
But, one of my personal favorite George Strait songs is “Give It Away.” It’s such a unique song about the way that things in our lives come to hold sentimental meaning.
If you’ve never heard the song, the singer’s wife is getting ready to leave him but stops to tell him to just give away everything that they own together because there’s no use in fighting over it:
“Just give it away
There ain’t nothing in this house worth fighting over
Oh, and we’re both tired of fighting anyway
Just give it away…”
Of course, in true country music fashion, the last chorus and verse have a twist. The singer reveals that even though this woman is gone, he can’t give away these things like their bed, her ring, and a picture from their honeymoon. Even his heart is stuck with him.
Well, this is definitely one of Strait’s more popular songs, and it began his 41st No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot Country chart, causing him to break Conway Twitty’s previous record.
Written by a powerhouse trio of Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon, Jamey Johnson (which is why Jamey is performing it), Lee Ann Womack is just a welcome addition to any song.
The pair bring a whole new vibe to the song with Johnson’s deep voice and stoic delivery giving the song a darker, more ominous feel. Womack chimes in any time the soon-to-be ex-wife begins to speak, changing the lyrics to first person, which humanizes the woman in the song more.
At the end of the song, the two even seem to be conversation with each other. Womack tells Johnson to give something away, and each time, he responds that he can’t.
It’s more heartbreaking because we are able to see and hear the pain as these two almost reenact the couple’s fight on stage.
It’s awesome, and you gotta check it out.
