Top 10 country and western songs of all time

MERLE HAGGARD, MAMA TRIED

Just now, I was watching a YouTube list of the top 10 country and western songs of all time. I agree with many of them. But not all.

Their list started at No. 10 with Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks, and followed it with Always On My Mind by Willie Nelson. Good start. Two of my favorites, although I probably like Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain as much as Always...

Their No. 8 was Kenny Rogers' The Gambler, a good choice. No. 7? Amarillo By Morning by George Strait. One of my all-time favorites. We're cooking with gas.

Here's where we part ways a bit. They have Hank Williams' Your Cheatin' Heart at No. 6, and they mention Williams' I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry as another tearjerker. Personally, I think I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry should be No. 1, with Your Cheatin' Heart falling out of the top 10. I wouldn't have Williams sing Lonesome, though; I'd go with B.J. Thomas' version.

Their No. 5, Stand by Your Man by Tammy Wynette, a notable song, but I wouldn't put it my top 20.

Next on their list is Mama Tried by Merle Haggard. To me, this one vies with Lonesome for No. 1. They might be 1A and 1B.

Their No. 3 was Crazy, written by Willie and sung by Patsy Cline. I'd go along with that.

Their top two are He Stopped Loving Her Today by George Jones and Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash. I never cared for George Jones, and I'm uncertain which Johnny Cash song should be on the list. I love Ghost Riders in the Sky and I Still Miss Someone.

Instead of Stand By Your Man and He Stopped Loving Her Today, I'd insert El Paso by Marty Robbins. You can't beat a song about the West Texas town of El Paso. I'd sneak one of their honorable mentions, The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels, into my top 10.

And I'd have to put Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys (Waylon and Willie) and Pancho and Lefty (Willie and Merle) in my top 10.

One other song I'd put in there: Me and Bobby McGee by Kris Kristofferson and Janis Joplin. I don't know if her version is the best, but it's one of the best.

Oops, I forgot another of my all-time favorites: The Highwayman, which includes Willie, Waylon, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. Can't beat that.

Yes, I'm using Willie and Merle a lot, but they deserve it.

(P.S.: Is there room for Johnny Cash's Sunday Morning Coming Down in there?)

MARTY ROBBINS' EL PASO

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A designated injured player

For years, football teams have faked injuries to get a free timeout.

The funniest fake timeout I've seen came in the early 1980s. I was taking photos at a junior high school game, and apparently a specific player had been designated for the free timeout. He forgot, though; when the coach waved his arms forward and reminded him to get down -- he was standing with his teammates -- he went down like he'd been shot.

The referees stopped the game, and a coach and other folks for the home team trotted out to look after the "injured" player. He was down a few minutes before he jumped up and ran off the field, looking relieved that he'd fulfilled his mission.

Even the refs had to know THAT was faked.

I have no idea which team won. I don't remember anything about the game but the fake injury.

The other  day, I was watching the video of a college football game, and TWO designated injured players went down within a second of each other. No word on whether that just ties the all-time record for DIPs on a given play.

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE

MORE BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing