2000 Great Songs #1238: Rode Hard
Further confirmation that Amy Rigby remains one of our most under-appreciated songwriters. "Rode Hard," off her third solo album, 2000's The Sugar Tree , is what I imagine country-pop music would sound like in a rational universe, coupling jangly country-rock licks with almost embarrassingly clever lyrics about that kind of woman, hanging on the outside trying to find her way back in. "A person could get their hand blown off for reaching, there's some things you really shouldn't touch. A guy told me that I was asking for trouble; had to kick his ass, I didn't like it much." Honestly, why isn't every country singer in America begging to cover her songs? Live cover:
