May 5, 2023 —– Chart #194
Hello Music Friends,
Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Feeling a bit country today so let’s see what we can come up with for a featured chart. “The Chair” is a song written by Hank Cochran and Dean Dillon and recorded by American country music artist George Strait. It was released in August 1985 as the first single from Strait’s album Something Special. The song reached number one on the country music charts in both the United States and Canada in 1985. The song was named by CMT as one of the Top 100 country songs of all time, posting at number 24 on that list. Something that sets “The Chair” apart for most other songs of any style – it has no refrain or chorus. Only the basic melody repeats throughout the song.
“The Chair” came at the end of a night-long songwriting binge by country music songwriters, Hank Cochran and Dean Dillon. The two had been writing songs all night long and as Dillon puts it, “were about written out” – when he strummed his guitar and sang the line “Excuse me but I think you’ve got my chair.” Twenty minutes later, “The Chair” was complete.
The lyrics represent a conversation between a man and a woman at a dance club, but only the man’s side of the conversation is revealed. At the beginning he says, “Well excuse me, but I think you’ve got my chair.” Over the course of the conversation, the talk grows more intimate, until the woman agrees to let the man drive her home. At the end he says, “Oh I like you too, and to tell you the truth, that wasn’t my chair after all.” Pretty simple, but isn’t it nice to listen to a simple song that is not trying to save the world or shame people for ruining the environment or pining about inequality. Just a chance encounter and simple story. Refreshing.
If George Strait saw this he would surely have Bud Light spewing from his nostrils: https://youtu.be/FxQmY95T6EA
Have a great Friday. Get out that guitar and strum this little tune, it will make you happy for a few minutes.
Keep Rockin’,
Stan Bradshaw