Tennessee Mountain Top

Album: Sweet Southern Sugar (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Kid Rock is from Detroit, but in 2017 he was living outside of Nashville, Tennessee... in a doublewide trailer. At this time, he also had homes in Detroit and Jupiter, Florida, and had recently sold his Malibu, California estate, which he bought in 2006.

    In "Tennessee Mountain Top," Rock sings about his transition from glitzy California to down-home Tennessee, where he spreads out on 102 acres of land. "I came here lookin' for love," he sings about Malibu, "but all I found was sex and drugs."

    No more Viper Room, palm trees and traffic jams on the 405 for Rock; now he's singing karaoke in a smoke-filled trailer with folks who don't name drop. "My heart's always in Detroit, but I love Nashville," Kid Rock told Dan Rather.
  • The karaoke in a trailer lyrics are a reference to Santa's Pub, a Nashville watering hole housed inside a trailer that is decked out for Christmas year round. It's cash-only, but there's an ATM outside.
  • Kid Rock wrote this song with the Nashville songwriters Tim Montana and Catt Gravitt.
  • The music video, directed by Mark Staubach, stars a puppet raccoon who gets picked up by Kid Rock when he's hitchhiking.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jon Anderson

Jon AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Jon Anderson breaks down the Yes classic "Seen All Good People" and talks about his 1000 Hands album, which features Chick Corea, Rick Derringer, Ian Anderson, and many other luminaries.

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")Songwriter Interviews

Holly Knight talks about some of the hit songs she wrote, including "The Warrior," "Never" and "The Best," and explains some songwriting philosophy, including how to think of a bridge.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien Songs

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien SongsSong Writing

The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.