Songoftheday 8/21/22 - I can hear the neighbors they're arguin' again, and there hasn't been peace on our street since who knows when...

 

 

"But For The Grace Of God" - Keith Urban

from the album Keith Urban (1999)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #37 (three weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 3

 

Today's song comes from singer/songwriter/guitarist Keith Urban, who was born in New Zealand but grew up in Australia. Playing guitar since he was a teen, Keith eventually signed with EMI Records, where he released his self-titled debut album in 1991. The album didn't get much notice, though a track from it, the new wave-ish "Only You", came a notch from reaching the Australian singles chart.  Urban then relocated to Nashville, writing songs for bigger artists and playing in the studio. Later in the 90's, he formed a band called the Ranch with bass player Jerry Flowers and drummer Peter Clarke, releasing Keith Urban In The Ranch on Capitol Records in 1997. Two songs from the record made Billboard magazine's Country Singles chart, with "Walkin' The Country" making it to #50. With the record not doing well, Urban dissolved the trio, though Flowers would continue to play on Keith's 2nd eponymous set (and first in the States), released in 1999. The lead single from the set, the uptempo "It's A Love Thing", scored his first top-40 country radio hit at #18, while "bubbling under" Billboard's pop Hot 100 list at #105. That was followed by the adult contemporary love ballad "Your Everything", which did even better, climbing to #4 on the Country Singles chart and popping on to the Hot 100 at #51.

For the third release from the album, Keith put out "But For The Grace Of God", which he wrote with Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffrey from the 80's pop band the Go-Go's. But instead of the perky post-punk those two women are famous for, the track was Urban's most "country" single yet. Despite the easy-going production and chord changes, the lyrics are quite bleak, starting out with Keith observing a lovers' quarrel, going on to a wealthy man with no friends. The chorus comes in with the titular "well, thank God that's not me", which is a little bizarre paired to he's just happy to be in love. 

"But For The Grace Of God" rose all the way to #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart, and made the crossover "pop" Hot 100 top-40 in February of 2001. The Keith Urban album on Capitol, released back in October of 1999, peaked at #145 on the Billboard 200 sales tally in April of 2001, as well as #17 on the Country Albums list. At the Grammy Awards in 2001, a track from the album, "Rollercoaster", was nominated for the Best Country Instrumental Performance category, losing out to "Leaving Cottondale" by jazz/bluegrass banjo players Alison Brown and Bela Fleck. But no worries, Keith and the album will be back to the series.

(5/10)

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Here's Keith performing the song on an acoustic radio gig as the single was released...

Next up, live at an awards show...

This is Urban on his Livin' Right Now tour (his first headliner) in 2004..

And finally for a show for the TIDAL streaming service in 2017...

Up tomorrow: this numerical group is through with you.