Country music covers a wide range of topics. Heartache, love, drinking, hard work, parenthood, loss, and mourning are common themes. A look back into the genre’s history will also reveal plenty of murder ballads and cheating songs. However, a few songs deftly illustrate the diversity of topics covered by country singers. For instance, there are plenty of country songs about UFOs and Aliens.
Videos by American Songwriter
When fans think about country music, they likely don’t immediately go to songs about aliens. To be fair, it’s a small portion of the genre. Within this small subset of songs, though, fans will find the storytelling aspect of the genre on full display. With that being said, here are three otherworldly tracks about visitors from another planet.
“Trucker and the UFO” by Brush Arbor—A Classic Country Song About Racing Aliens
While “Trucker and the UFO” is a humorous track, it stands at the crossroads of several kinds of country recordings—story songs, trucker songs, and songs about aliens and UFOs. Brush Arbor released this track as a single back in 1973.
Kenny Munds, who served as the lead singer for Brush Arbor from 1971 to 1974 penned the song that tells the story of a trucker meeting an alien. As the story goes, a UFO comes out of the sky, flies alongside a trucker, and challenges him to a race. In the end, he leaves the little green man in a cloud of smoke. Score one for Planet Earth.
“Third Rock from the Sun” by Joe Diffie—A True-to-Life UFO Sighting
Joe Diffie released his breakthrough album Third Rock from the Sun in 1994. It produced some of his most popular songs including “So Help Me Girl,” “Pickup Man,” and the title track. “Third Rock from the Sun” and “Pickup Man” were both No. 1 hits for Diffie.
Written by Sterling Whipple, Tony Martin, and John Greenebaum, Diffie released “Third Rock from the Sun” as the lead single from the album. This hit country song isn’t all about aliens. Instead, it’s a story about a wild chain of events that happens in a small town. However, someone mistakes something relatively mundane for an alien sighting. While there are plenty of credible UFO sightings, most are misidentified everyday objects. So, this one might be a little more true-to-life than others.
“The Light Saw Me” by Jason Boland & the Stragglers—A Country Song about Alien Abductions
In 2021, Jason Boland & the Stragglers released the concept album The Light Saw Me. The album centers around a farmer living in the late 1800s who is abducted by aliens, travels through space and time, and finds himself lost in the future. The title track sees the farmer going out to his favorite fishing hole and seeing a bright light in the sky. More importantly, the light saw him.
The story unfolds over a rocking honky tonk arrangement with big, distorted, electric guitars and pedal steel. When it comes to country songs about aliens, this one is hard to beat.
Featured Image by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Pepsi’s Rock The South
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.