George Strait released 11 albums during the 90s in total, and we still can’t get enough of him today. Pretty much anything with Strait’s voice on it feels classic. But here are some of the standout tracks from the projects he put out during that decade.
“Blue Clear Sky”
If this title sounds a little familiar, you might be able to recognize it from a line in the movie Forrest Gump. Apparently, one of the writers on this song, Bob DiPiero, was inspired by Forrest’s line, ‘And out of the blue clear sky, Jenny came back.’
Videos by American Songwriter
“I said, ‘I have this idea: blue clear sky,’” he told The Boot of that writing session. “And they said, ‘Well, that’s backwards!’ I said, ‘I know that’ … and we wrote it anyway!”
At first, Strait wasn’t totally on board with changing the phrase. However, after DiPiero explained his thought process behind the song, the country star understood what he was getting at.
“Check Yes Or No”
“Check Yes Or No” starts with a story we all probably know a little too well. In the first verse, Strait tells the story of a little boy passing a note to his elementary school crush. As the song progresses, it’s revealed that the boy has married the little girl from the first verse. The message of this song is simple and sweet: love isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot less complicated than we make it out to be.
“I think this is how love goes / Check yes or no.”
“You Haven’t Left Me Yet”
This song, off of Strait’s 1996 album, One Night At A Time, sings about struggling to move on from an old lover. While the title suggests the song might have a happier outcome, Strait proves this theory wrong by the time you get to the end of the chorus.
I wake up alone
Knowin’ I’m on my own again
Got it all straight in my head
Must be somethin’ I missed
As I went down the list
Of the things that I need to forget
Everything’s gone
But you haven’t left me yet.
Photo by: DOUG COLLIER / AFP via Getty Images