A tribute to Alan Jackson

Written by BLUE COLE

It can be dangerous saying anyone is the greatest at anything. The discussion grows more personal the closer it hits home. Most of us in the Greater Atlanta area could care less that Tom Brady is the greatest Minuteman in Patriot history, but if you claim Steve Spurrier is the greatest SEC quarterback in history… step back.

Coweta has a wonderful tradition of writers and storytellers. This hit home earlier this year with the publication of Newnan-Coweta Magazine’s March-April issue, which was devoted to writers, storytellers and fable makers. As I flipped through the pages, I realized Coweta’s crop of writers isn’t just a modern phenomenon; our storytelling tradition goes back generations. We are familiar with novelist Erskine Caldwell and columnist Lewis Grizzard. Margaret Anne Barnes, author of "Murder in Coweta County," was a prolific writer for the modern Newnan Times-Herald, which is more than 150 years old and borne out of multiple earlier iterations. Even the wider Three Rivers Region of west central Georgia boasts well known writing talent, including novelist Ferrol Sams who lived in Fayetteville.

These individuals are probably the best known writers Coweta County has produced, but storytelling is a little different. The oral art form is a genesis of the written word with the pre-plotting that takes place before a story gains permanence and lands on paper. And boy, do we have storytellers among us!

Who hasn’t grown up on a front stoop listening to grandfathers and fathers-in-law and uncles swap tall tales? Some of the stories aren’t to be believed: Did they really get a cow on top of Newnan High? Did so-and-so really shoot what’s his name in the buttocks with a shotgun? These things probably happened, and even if they didn’t, these stories were good enough to tell again, and again, and once more, even if a little more embellished.

So, who is Coweta’s greatest storyteller?

We have dozens to choose from, from both today and yesterday, including preachers, family members and country store sitters. But for me, it’s pretty simple: Alan Jackson is Coweta’s greatest storyteller.

Sure, he’s a musician who picks the guitar pretty well, and he ain’t a bad singer. But with that, he tells us stories. Good stories, by God.

A story is nothing more than a setting, a character and an emotion. For writers, the emotion is usually conflict, which drives the story forward to create more story to be read. Mr. Jackson gives us a setting, an emotion, and shows us the depth of the little man through his words. He tells us stories of growing up on the "Chattahoochee" and having a "Good Time," and going for a "Drive (With Daddy Gene)." These stories reflect Coweta County from years ago, recalling landmarks and people.

Take a look at his lyrics. In "Good Time," he sings, "the Waffle House way out yonder, on the other side of town.” If you’ve been around Newnan for a little while, you might think it’s the current one, east of the interstate, next to Dunkin’ Donuts. Not so fast, my friends! I’ve always thought it was the original Waffle House, west of 85, where the Nissan dealership is now. If one starts at the Chattahoochee on a Friday night and heads east, well, there was a Waffle House way out yonder.

What about "Drive," Jackson’s tribute to his father, Eugene Jackson? I get chills when I think of learning to drive, balanced on a hill and still learning the clutch. And there are more chills when I think of teaching my daughters to drive. Thigpen Road may have been dirt, but many of us learned to drive on washboard gravel. Jackson told us that story first, and I see the echoes of it in my life. 

As a father of daughters, Jackson pens songs that are sketches of life, moments captured while raising little girls into powerful women. We want to capture those memories and moments surrounding them. By sharing a diary of time with his children, Jackson shares his joys of fatherhood while reminding us of our own.

Not all of Jackson’s stories are about the good life and fun living. "Midnight in Montgomery" is a haunting tune that reminds us of the cost of fame and the demons that sometimes follow. It’s also a tribute from one storyteller, Alan Jackson, to another, Hank Williams Sr.

After one of our nation’s greatest tragedies on Sept. 11, 2001, Jackson wrote and performed "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)." That song said so many of the things we were feeling. It’s been 22 years since 9/11, and Jackson’s song remains undated and uplifting – and without a doubt, the best song written to capture the nation’s mood after that tragedy. There are days I wish we could recapture that feeling, and his song is a good place to start.

Religion is both complex and simple, and I struggle with the complexity of the big questions it presents. But when I listen to Jackson’s album, "Precious Memories," it brings back the simplicity and love that only a small country church can bring – with a mistuned piano, three chords and a bunch of singing ladies in the choir. The white frame church may be gone, but the love and memories remain.

This is what good storytelling does – and why it’s important. It preserves the traditions, values and history of an era – and an area. It highlights the variety in a community, and Jackson has done that by singing about his hometown, which is our town.

Alan Jackson has done more for Coweta than reminding us of our past by producing gold records or playing in benefit concerts. For many of us, he rescued the memories, which might have slipped away, and preserved them by putting stories to music. Each time we listen, we’re reminded of a simpler place and time wrapped up in sweet memories we don’t want to forget. He tells us it’s okay to be "Little Bitty," and he encourages us to try "Livin’ on Love" and to keep "Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow."

And, for those of us who get caught up in the moment, he’s reminded us to write down the name of the waitress before we marry her.

Good advice, Mr. Jackson. Thank you for that, and so much more. NCM