One of Travis Tritt's standout moments in his 30-plus year run of upholding country music tradition came when he covered "Where Corn Don't Grow" for his 1996 album The Restless Kind.
The Roger Murrah (Alan Jackson's "Don't Rock the Jukebox," Alabama's "High Cotton") and Mark Alan Springer (Tanya Tucker's "Two Sparrows in a Hurricane") co-write was first recorded by Waylon Jennings for the country legend's 1990 album The Eagle. Though the original version stalled at No. 67 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, Jennings' vocal portrayal of a farming father's hard-earned wisdom and his son's short-sighted daydreams was a No. 1 hit in Tritt's heart.
"I first heard 'Where Corn Don't Grow' from a Waylon Jennings album," Tritt told Wide Open Country in March. "He had recorded it, and I just fell in love with it right off the bat because of the fact that it was so relatable. All the people that I grew up around and all the people that I've known for the most part and for the majority of my life have been people that are hard-working people. They are blue collar folks.
"I've had numerous people over the years that have come up to me and thought that I wrote that song, which I didn't," Tritt continued. "They would say, 'Man, when you did 'Where Corn Don't Grow,' you must have been reading my mail because that's exactly how I felt so many times.' The prodigal son kind of story where all you want to do is leave home and get away from home, and then after a certain period of time, you start realizing that home wasn't so bad after all and you long for the opportunity to get back home and do some of those things you grew up doing. I know that story was certainly true for me, and I think it's true for a lot of other people, too."
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Tritt's reminder that the grass isn't always greener beyond your parents' mailbox cracked the Top 10. Its sustained '90s country cred made it ideal cover material in April 2021 for Riley Green.
"Where Corn Don't Grow" Lyrics
As we sat on the front porch
of that old grey house where I was born and raised.
Staring at the dusty fields
where my daddy worked hard everyday.
I think it kinda hurt him when I said,
"Daddy there's a lot that I don't know.
But don't you ever dream about a life
where corn don't grow?"
He just sat there silent
staring at his favorite coffee cup.
I saw a storm of mixed emotions in his eyes
when he looked up.
He said, "Son I know at your age
it seems like this ole world is turnin' slow.
And you think you'll find the answer to it all
where corn don't grow."
Hard times are real
there's dusty fields no matter where you go.
You may change your mind
cause the weeds are high where corn don't grow.
I remember feeling guilty
when daddy turned and walked back in the house.
I was only 17 back then
but I thought that I knew more than I know now.
I can't say he didn't warn me
this city life's a hard row to hoe.
Ain't it funny how a dream can turn around,
where corn don't grow.
Hard times are real
there's dusty fields no matter where you go.
You may change your mind
cause the weeds are high where corn don't grow.
You may change your mind
oh the weeds are high where corn don't grow.
