Country Bumpkin

"Country Bumpkin" is a song written by Don Wayne,[3] and recorded by American country music artist Cal Smith.[4] It was released in February 1974 as the first single and title track from the album Country Bumpkin. The song was Smith's second number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of ten weeks on the country chart.[5]

For the general stereotype of rural people, see Yokel
"Country Bumpkin"
Single by Cal Smith
from the album Country Bumpkin
B-side"It's Not the Miles You've Traveled"
ReleasedFebruary 1974[1]
RecordedDecember 21, 1973
Bradley's Barn,
Mount Juliet, Tennessee
GenreCountry
Length3:39
LabelMCA Records 40191
Songwriter(s)Don Wayne[2]
Producer(s)Walter Haynes
Cal Smith singles chronology
"Bleep You" / "An Hour and a Six Pack"
(1973)		 "Country Bumpkin"
(1974)		 "Between Lust and Watching TV"
(1974)

In 1974, "Country Bumpkin" received Song of the Year Awards from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.

Content

The song has three verses:

  • In the first a rural gentleman walks into a bar, where one of the barroom girls refers to him as a "country bumpkin" (a common nickname for a person from a rural area[6]) as she talks to him.
  • The second verse discusses the woman (now married to the man) giving birth to her (only) son a year later.
  • The third verse discusses her impending death 40 years later, with her husband and son present at her bedside.

Chart performance

Weekly charts
Chart (1974/75) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 23
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[8] 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 2

Year-end charts
Chart (1975) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 90

References
  1. Grein, Paul (7 July 2020). "What's the Most Honored Country Recording of All Time? Let's Figure It Out". Billboard.
  2. Staff. "Don Wayne, "Country Bumpkin" Songwriter, Dies at 78". CMT News.
  3. CMT
  4. Cooper, Peter. "Cal Smith, voice of 'Country Bumpkin,' dies at age 81". USA TODAY.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 317.
  6. "Country-bumpkin Meaning | Best 1 Definitions of Country-bumpkin".
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 278. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. "Cal Smith Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  9. "National Top 100 Singles for 1975". Kent Music Report. December 29, 1975. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.


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