For the life of me, I have no idea why the Zac Brown band weren't voted best new group at the CMTs this year, if only on the strength of their single "Chicken Fried."
The best thing about this song is how it continues the mold of one of today's most popular country song forms: it's pretty much just a list of shit the singer likes. If a country singer is struggling, you can pretty much guarantee he can draw lyrics looking at some stuff that he finds enjoyable.
Unlike rap, which will add a boast in there, or rock, which is usually about struggle or dissatisfaction, country singers are content to straight up lay out stuff they like. In "Chicken Fried," Zac Brown talks about beer, sweet tea, sunrises, trees in Georgia, and fitted pants. Damn right, fitted pants.
It's a format that's pretty much everywhere once you notice it: Craig Morgan's "That's What I Love About Sunday" and Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar", for example.
That said, Zac Brown did it best, including an amazing post-9/11 America-loving bridge that breaks it down emotionally before launching back into the chorus. He really takes it to the next level when he relates American struggles abroad as protection of "a little bit o' chicken fried". I couldn't agree more.
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