All Tractors Ain't Green

Album: Mercury Lane (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Not every tractor is green, not every field grows corn, and not all country singers are white. That's the message in this song, a track from Jimmie Allen's debut album, Mercury Lane.

    Allen says the song is about "going against the grain of the country boy models." As a Black country singer, he turned a lot of heads but never wavered from genre because it's the music he loves.
  • Allen wrote this song with Brandon Hood and Tim Nichols. Hood is a Nashville-based guitarist who played on the Mercury Lane album; Nichols is an established songwriter in Music City, with a long list of credits that includes "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw and "Lay Low" by Blake Shelton.
  • In 2022, Allen recorded a new version of "All Tractors Ain't Green" for Amazon Music as part of their Amazon Originals series. Allen also shot a video for this version, where he sings from atop a piano in a Watertown, Tennessee field, joined by backing singers of various complexions.

    This version was released on March 23, 2022 in advance of the Amazon documentary For Love & Country, which features Allen as it traces the Black history of country music. The documentary, which dropped on April 7, also features Mickey Guyton, another young Black singer-songwriter breaking barriers in the genre.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Rock Stars of Horror

Rock Stars of HorrorMusic Quiz

Rock Stars - especially those in the metal realm - are often enlisted for horror movies. See if you know can match the rocker to the role.

Frankie Valli

Frankie ValliSong Writing

An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.