I will listen to most of these songs, really I will, but this one gets switched off every single time. I mean it. This one is bad because it sneaks up on you; it pretends to be something it’s not:

And she said:

I’ll wait for you

Like I did last year

At Christmas time with your family here

And your truck broke down out in San Antone

And the gifts stayed wrapped until you got home

Oh, this ain’t nothin’ new

Sweetheart, I’ll wait for you

That sounds kind of cute, doesn’t it? Your basic usual country song, about separation and longing and whatnot. But listen close; Joe Nichols sounds like his dog just died, for no particular reason. He’s setting us up for the ending, where the poor patient wife dies in the hospital, and it’s just awful, really it is. I change the station every time this one comes on if I’m driving, because it’s that bad. Almost Top 40 quality, but it’s on the same album as “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off”, and that’s a mark against it.