"Paint Me a Birmingham" is a song written by Buck Moore and Gary Duffy. It was concurrently released by American country music artists Ken Mellons and Tracy Lawrence, whose versions entered the country charts within one week of each other. Lawrence's was the more successful of the two, reaching #4 in May 2004 and becoming his first Top 5 country hit since "Lessons Learned" in April 2000.[1]
| "Paint Me a Birmingham" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Tracy Lawrence | ||||
| from the album Strong | ||||
| Released | October 13, 2003 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:47 | |||
| Label | DreamWorks Nashville 14205 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Buck Moore Gary Duffy | |||
| Producer(s) | Wesley Bolton | |||
| Tracy Lawrence singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Content edit
The narrator/singer describes an encounter with an artist who is painting ocean scenes. The singer asks the painter to paint a picture of the life the man had planned, or imagined, before losing the woman he loved. Specifically, he describes the house, a Birmingham-style house,[2] and a scene where he and his love are together again. The song is in the key of G-flat major, modulating up to A-flat major at the last chorus, with a vocal range from A♭3 to D♭5.[3]
Music video edit
The music video was filmed live in concert.
Chart positions edit
Ken Mellons edit
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] | 54 |
Tracy Lawrence edit
| Chart (2003-2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country (Radio & Records)[5] | 10 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[6] | 4 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[7] | 42 |
Year-end charts edit
| Chart (2004) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Country Songs (Billboard)[8] | 28 |
Parodies edit
On his 2004 album Bipolar and Proud, country music parodist Cledus T. Judd parodied the song as "Bake Me a Country Ham". Judd's parody reached #58 on the country music charts.
References edit
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ https://www.whiskeyriff.com/2020/11/24/i-just-found-out-that-tracy-lawrences-paint-me-a-birmingham-isnt-about-the-city-in-alabama/
- ^ "'Paint Me a Birmingham' sheet music". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ "Ken Mellons Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ Radio & Records: June 4, 2004, page 49 worldradiohistory.com
- ^ "Tracy Lawrence Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Tracy Lawrence Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Best of 2004: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2004. Retrieved July 11, 2012.