Alan Jackson is my favorite singer in the world. I know every word to all his songs, I’ve seen him in concert three times, my wife loves AJ, I own almost all his records, I’ve dressed up as him for Halloween several times, and I listen to a song of his at least once a day. The point is I’m a HUGE fan of his.
I’ve decided I’m going to write a series of blogs highlighting different Alan Jackson songs, the series will start today and continue on for many weeks to come!
The first song I’m going to highlight in this series is Chasin That Neon Rainbow, written by Alan Jackson and Jim McBride. The song was originally released in September of 1990 as the fourth single on Jackson’s album Here In The Real World. The song is catchy, country, and just a great story all in one.
Chasin' That Neon Rainbow starts off with:
Daddy won a radio,
He tuned it to a country show.
I was rockin' in the cradle
To the cryin' of a steel guitar.
Mama used to sing to me.
She taught me that sweet harmony.
Now she worries cause never thought
I'd ever really take it this far.
Singin in the Bars and
Once you listen to that first verse your foot will be tapping. The radio Alan mentions in the first line is now in the Country Music Hall of Fame! Alan then bursts into the chorus:
Chasin' That Neon Rainbow
Livin' that honky-tonk dream,
Cause all I've ever wanted is to
Pick this guitar and sing.
Just tryin' to be somebody
Just wanna be heard and seen.
A Chasin' That Neon Rainbow
Livin' that honky-tonk dream.
The chorus is really what makes the song. It gives us a glimpse of what the early years were like for Alan. It’s crazy to think there was a time when Alan was “just wanting to be heard and seen.” He became famous in 1990 when this album came out, he’s been heard and seen for over 30 years now!
The next verse goes like this:
An atlas and a coffee cup,
5 pickers in an old Dodge truck,
Headin' down to Houston for a show
On Saturday night.
This overhead is killin' me,
Half the time I sing for free,
But when the crowd's in to it Lord
It makes this thing I'm doin' seem right.
Standin' in the spotlight.
The second time I saw Alan in concert he talked about the line, “But when the crowd’s into it Lord It make this thing I’m doin’ seem right.” He told the packed out arena that even if he’d never gotten a record deal he’d still have spent the last 30 years playing shows wherever he could. He described the feeling of singing to a crowd that's into his music as, “One of the best feelings in the world.”
The song finishes off with this:
Daddy's got a radio
He won it 30 years ago.
He said "Son I just know we're gonna
Hear you sing on it some day".
I made it up to Music Row
Lordy don't the wheels turn slow.
Still I wouldn't trade a minute,
I wouldn't have it any other way.
Just show me to the stage, I'm
Chasin' That Neon Rainbow,
I'm a livin' that honky-tonk dream,
Cause all I've ever wanted,
Is to pick this guitar and sing.
Just tryin' to be somebody
That's wanna be heard and seen.
Chasin' That Neon Rainbow,
Livin' that honky-tonk dream.
Oh I'm Chasin' That Neon Rainbow,
The song wraps up perfectly, Alan describes his father telling him he would hear him singing on the radio one day, we all know this prediction came true. Alan then references that he “made it down to music row”. Alan had no idea when he was writing this song that he would become a country music superstar!
Give this song a listen and let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading,
Jack Wilkinson