Download Instrumental    “Trapped like a duck in a pen”.  That piece of lyric in the last verse pretty much sums up the premise of this song – country boy stuck in the city and hating it.  Been there – done that.   All the noise – the traffic – the crush of people – rush hour….. thanks but no thanks.  Although I’m by no means a country boy, I despised city life.  It’s been “Green Acres” for me for a very long time now.  Still looking for that mountaintop in Tennessee though.  Guess I’ll have to settle for a sand dune on the beach… and a Margarita.

This piece was written in a Gatlinburg hotel room by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant – the husband and wife song-writing team largely responsible for the success of The Everly Brothers.  They were working on a few slow tunes for the TV series Hee Haw and decided to take a break and work on something a little more up-tempo.   They wrote “Rocky Top” in ten minutes.  Guests at the Gatlinburg Inn can now stay in “The Rocky Top Suite” for the bargain price of $600 a night.  Think I’d rather go with the “Duck Pen Special” for 75.

This is a great semi-bluegrass tune you can suddenly spring on your audience in the middle of the third set.  It will surprise and delight, believe it.  A word to the wise, however.  We discovered that you don’t want to play this one if you have a room full of Alabama football fans.  Trust me…. the “Roll Tides” will overpower the music and you may not make it out of the club in one piece.