Are You Ready for the Country (song)

{{Infobox song

| name = Are You Ready for the Country?

| cover =

| alt =

| type = Song

| artist = Neil Young

| album = Harvest

| released = February 1, 1972

| recorded = September 2, 1971

| studio = Broken Arrow Ranch

| genre = Country rock

| length = 3:33

| label = Reprise

| writer = Neil Young

| producer = {{hlist|Neil Young|Elliot Mazer{{cite web|title=Harvest|date=February 1972 |url=http://www.discogs.com/Neil-Young-Harvest/release/1044287|publisher=Discogs|access-date=2015-07-21}}}}

}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Are You Ready for the Country?

| cover = Are You Ready for the Country single label.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Waylon Jennings

| album = Are You Ready for the Country

| B-side = "So Good Woman"{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Waylon-Jennings-Ready-Country-Woman/dp/B00U2RMXD8|title = Waylon Jennings 45 RPM Are You Ready for the Country / So Good Woman| website=Amazon }}

| released = November 20, 1976

| format =

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Country rock

| length = 3:12

| label = RCA Nashville

| writer = Neil Young

| producer = {{hlist|Waylon Jennings|Ken Mansfield}}

| prev_title = Can't You See

| prev_year = 1976

| next_title = Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)

| next_year = 1977

}}

"Are You Ready for the Country?" is a song written by Neil Young and released on his 1972 Harvest album. The track features Young on piano backed by the studio band dubbed The Stray Gators, comprising Jack Nitzsche on slide guitar,{{cite book|title=Harvest|author=Inglis, S.|pages=84–87|year=2015|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=9780826414953}} Ben Keith on pedal steel guitar, Tim Drummond on bass, and Kenny Buttrey on drums. Backing vocals on the track are by David Crosby and Graham Nash.{{cite book|title=The Words and Music of Neil Young|author=Bielen, K.|page=21|year=2008|publisher=Praeger|isbn=9780275999025}} The recording was made in a studio set up in a barn on Young's ranch.{{cite book|title=Journey Through the Past: The Stories Behind the Classic Songs of Neil Young|author=Williamson, N.|pages=40–41|year=2002|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=9780879307417}}

Lyrics and music

According to Sam Inglis, the "country" in the title is never made explicit, and while certainly not a country like Belgium and it seems like it could be in the United States south like contemporary Young songs "Southern Man" and "Alabama," the lyrics are not explicitly political like those songs. Rather than addressing issues like racism, the lyrics of "Are You Ready for the Country" are more about generalized dread. Lyrics like "I was talkin' to the preacher, said, 'God was on my side'/Then I ran into the hangman, he said, 'It's time to die'" imply that there is more to the story, and perhaps a more interesting backstory, than what is explicitly stated, and hint at an organized religion theme. The title may be Young asking his audience if they are willing to follow him into country music, although Inglis states that the arrangement is more blues than country.

Allmusic critic Matthew Greenwald states that the arrangement provides a sense of whimsy, highlighting Young's "funky" piano and Nitzsche's "lazy" slide guitar.{{cite web|title=Are You Ready for the Country?|author=Greenwald, M.|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/are-you-ready-for-the-country-mt0010801852|publisher=Allmusic|access-date=2015-07-21}} Ken Bielen describes the melody as "punchy" and says it works well with the song's "sing-a-long vocal character." Bielen also comments on the "rustic" quality added by Nitzsche's slide guitar.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone Magazine critic John Mendelsohn said the song seemed like "an in-joke throwaway intended for the amusement of certain of Neil's superstar pals."{{cite news |newspaper=Rolling Stone |issue=105 |date=March 30, 1972 |first=John |last=Mendelsohn |author-link=John Mendelsohn (musician) |title=Neil Young Harvest > Album Review |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/harvest-19720330 |access-date=2015-07-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041013075720/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/306863 |archive-date=13 October 2004 }}

Cover versions

The song was released as a single by American country music artist Waylon Jennings in 1976, the second single from the album named after the song, Are You Ready for the Country. Jennings changed the lyrics of the chorus from "Are you ready for the country/Because it's time to go" to "Are you ready for the country?/Are you ready for me?" The Jennings single reached #7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=175}}

The song was also released in 1985 by cowpunk band Jason & the Scorchers, as the B-side of their single "White Lies", using the Jennings lyric change.

A further version was released as a single by Hank Williams, Jr. (featuring Eric Church) in 2015.