Before 2023, if you asked me my opinion on country artist Chase Rice, I would probably rank him a solid 4 out of 10. He had released four albums, and all of them had songs that were a little catchy, but played into the stereotypes that country music gets hate for, simply because that was what got played on the radio. None of his songs told meaningful stories or had deep lyrics, and they all seemed to follow the same format. However, when he released his fifth album, I Hate Cowboys and All Dogs Go to Hell, it seems like he took a complete 180 in the kind of music he was releasing. Instead of the usual overproduced party songs I was expecting, I heard songs that exposed an intimate and vulnerable side of Chase that had never really been shown in his music before.

On September 20th, Chase released Go Down Singing, the sister album to I Hate Cowboys and All Dogs Go to Hell. After listening to the album three times on the day it was released, I decided that it deserved an entire article. In this album, I was worried that Chase would revert back to his old style of music, but Go Down Singin’ is filled with deeply personal songs that are extremely different from anything you hear on country radio. 

One heavy topic that Chase covers in, not one, but two songs is life in Nashville as a country artist. In “Go Down Singin’,” the title track to the album, Chase details his own journey as an artist. It’s been a bumpy road for him, and the song details every part of it (“left blood and sweat and tears up and down 16th avenue”). One of the biggest parts of his story is how he recently walked away from his record label to produce music independently (“Signed a couple sheets of paper, finally thought I’d won, turns out I’d sign a couple more, and tell ‘em I was done.”) 

Another song that comments on this topic is “Oh Tennessee” which offers a grittier and somewhat more pessimistic view on life as an artist, and how it can turn you into a person you’re not proud of (“Take a simple kid, simple life to live, and f*** it up all for you”). This view of Nashville is never described in mainstream country songs, which is what makes this song, and the album as a whole so special. 

Even the lighthearted songs on the album, like “Haw River,” about a preacher gone bad, is so far from mainstream country, in the best way.

Another powerful song on the record is “That Word Don’t Work No More,” a duet with Lori Mckenna, who served as a co writer on many songs on the album. The song is a raw story about a marriage that falls apart and turns into a divorce, emphasizing how addiction can ruin a relationship and how, in the most powerful verse of the song “they’ll never get back to the way they were before.” This is the most honest song I’ve heard about divorce since Jordan Davis’ “Bluebird Days,” but that’s an article for another time. 

Numbers is a song that serves as a reminder to live life to the fullest, saying “Our days are numbered, son, so put a few numbers in your days while you can.” Examples of numbers in the song are Psalm 23, F250, 4-legged friend, and the one you love. The song doesn’t make sense without listening to it, but it definitely inspired me to put a few numbers in my life.

When Chase was 22, his Dad died from a heart attack. He expressed those feelings in I Hate Cowboys and All Dogs Go to Hell with the song “For a Day” along with putting a picture of his dad on the cover of the record (and a picture of himself in the same pose on the cover of his newest album). In Go Down Singin’, Chase honors his dad with “You in ‘85,” a letter to his dad catching him up on what’s happened since he died, and telling him “ain’t no wonder we’re so much alike. Me right now and you in ‘85.”

While every song on the album is amazing, my favorite has to be “Hey God, It’s Me Again,” a personal and heartfelt track about Chase reconnecting with his faith and having a conversation with God about Chase’s history with Him, and about how Chase needs to drastically change the way he’s living his life (“I need a different kind of rock in my roll and get back to getting to know you and me again”). I was really able to connect with this song, and the raw emotion of it makes it the highlight of the album.

Country music is in a downward spiral, with the lines between country and pop music getting blurred, but it’s refreshing to know that music like Go Down Singin’ is still being released and, while it won’t receive as much playtime as popular country music from somewhat undeserving artists, it’s existence is keeping the kind of country I know and love alive, and I’m hopeful that more music like this will continue to be released and take back the spotlight.