Ten Favorite Country City Names Songs: Bluefield (#5)

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Before I ring in 2017 I have to say farewell with the next song that's on my countdown of favorite country songs that have a city's name in the title. Let's take a trip to another city before we watch the big ball drop! #5: Bluefield - Stonewall Jackson Talk about controversy!!! If you put a city's name in a song it's almost a guarantee that it'll get some airplay in that city. Not with this song. The program director of the biggest country music station in Bluefield, West Virginia banned this song! Why? Well, it's not unflattering; however, by the same token, it's not exactly chamber of commerce subject matter. But, hey, it's a country song! What are you expecting? "In the West Virginia hills," the song begins, "there must be 10,000 stills, and they found the biggest one outside of Bluefield." Stonewall Jackson (yes, his real name, and yes, he claims a distant relation to the Civil War general) wrote this song not to insult the good folks, but to tell a story. And, gee, this would've been a good song for my "murder ballads" series. Here's the plot (and if this were a movie plot they probably would've cheered): a sheriff's deputy decides he needs a second job, so he becomes a moonshiner. Using his position in law enforcement, he knows when and where traps are set, so he becomes "Bluefield's slickest man." The next day, he runs to the still to cap 90 jars of 'shine, not thinking things were in place from the law. He hears someone and fires a shot, hoping it'll scare them off ("one loud shot might send them running back to Bluefield"), but instead his stray bullet finds "my friend, the sheriff of Bluefield." He gets what he deserves ("I sit on death row dreaming about Bluefield") in the end. Just another typical country song. Bluefield Written by. Stonewall Jackson Recorded by Stonewall Jackson From The Real Deal, 1970 Not a soul suspected me: