I have heard that songwriters have an eminent position in country music. I have even been told that they are the real stars. Although I am on the outside of the music scene looking in and writing about it, I would say that they hold major (and well-earned) sway in the genre.
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This is a sweet example of how a talented and experienced songwriter named Don Schlitz quietly slipped a lyric into a Randy Travis song that he hoped would delight his (Schlitz's) wife. I certainly hope that it did!
The Randy Travis Song 'Deeper Than The Holler' Was Patterned After The Classic Motown Hit 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'
One Song Refers To Lofty Geography, The Other To A Lower-Level Kind
"Holler" is a colloquial term for "hollow," per Songfacts. In the 1988 song, "Deeper Than The Holler," "Randy Travis instead says his love is deeper than the holler, a Southern way of saying 'hollow,' meaning a valley...." The narrator is trying to convey the incomparable depth of the romantic feelings he has for his special lady. He employs these landscape-oriented allusions to get the message across in a unique and colorful style.
Per the outlet, "This song was written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, who like Travis, had come to Nashville...They had previously written Travis' songs 'On the Other Hand' and 'Forever And Ever, Amen.'"
'Deeper Than The Holler' Was Successful For Randy Travis
It Rose To Number 1 On The Charts
Songwriter Don Schlitz slipped a line into the song that he thought would tickle his wife. That line was "From the back roads to the Broadway shows with a million miles between." He was married to an actress with an affinity for shows on Broadway. The reference was just for her. Nice guy, nice gesture!
"...My love is deeper than the holler
Stronger than the river
Higher than the pine trees growin' tall upon the hill
My love is purer than the snowflakes
That fall in late December
And honest as a Robin on a springtime window sill
And longer than the song of a whippoorwill
From the back roads to the Broadway shows
With a million miles between
There's at least a million love songs
That people love to sing...."
