These 5 John Anderson Songs Will Always Remind Me of My Childhood

It has been a rough year to be a country music fan. First, we lost Dolly Parton. Now, John Anderson is gone. While he wasn’t a Dolly-level star, Anderson left his mark on the lives of generations of listeners. No matter how long it has been or how far I get away from the place where I grew up, his voice will always take me back.

“She Just Started Liking Cheatin’ Songs”

John Anderson released this one in 1980 as the third single from his self-titled debut album. I can’t remember when I heard it the first time, but I’m going to guess it was in the ’90s after his then-current radio hits hooked me. I can almost smell the stale smoke and fresh coffee in my grandma’s kitchen every time this song comes on.

“I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal (But I’m Gonna Be a Diamond Someday)”

I will forever owe John Anderson a debt of gratitude for introducing me to the songwriting of Billy Joe Shaver with this song. He released it as a single in 1981 and it went to No. 4 on the country charts. More than a decade later, I heard it in the passenger seat of my cousin’s truck. I was trying to act like the wintergreen Skoal in my lip wasn’t about to make me lose my lunch all over his dash. Then, this anthem of self-improvement struck me and has stuck with me since then.

“Would You Catch a Falling Star”

To be fair, the first time I heard “Would You Catch a Falling Star,” John Anderson wasn’t singing it. Instead, it was my grandpa with an acoustic guitar on his front porch. He sang with a lit Camel in the corner of his mouth and the conviction of a man who had been a touring musician for years but never made the big time. Now, every time I hear Anderson sing it, I go back to those summertime porch jams.

“Seminole Wind”

I was just shy of six years old when I heard “Seminole Wind” for the first time. Anderson painted such a vivid picture that it captured my mind and imagination. There was a time when I was obsessed with this song. Seminole Wind wasn’t the first album I bought with my own money. It was, however, the cassette my parents were constantly getting back from me after I “borrowed” it from the drawer full of tapes under the stereo. I still crank up the volume when this one comes on.

“I Wish I Could Have Been There”

When this song came out in 1994, I didn’t get it. Now, as a middle-aged guy who has missed some important moments with important people for one reason or another, I can relate to it better than I’d like. Today, it doesn’t just remind me of those missed moments. It makes me long for a time when it didn’t make the corners of my eyes sting every time it came on.

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