Song #60: Kenny Chesney feat. Uncle Kracker - "When the Sun Goes Down"

Song #60: Kenny Chesney feat. Uncle Kracker - "When the Sun Goes Down" (2004)

When the Sun Goes Down

"She thinks Kracker's sexy when the sun goes down."

I've always iterated numerous times how, when I was a child, I loved country music almost more than life itself, watching the Country Music Telvision (CMT) and Great American Country (GAC) networks with the loyalty of an elderly woman watching The 700 Club. One of my all-time favorite songs when I was a young kid, lazily watching country music videos on Televisions for sometimes four or five hours at a time was Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker's big hit "When the Sun Goes Down." Alongside Neal McCoy's "Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On" and Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett's "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," it was one of the music videos I'd most look forward to seeing.

For starters, the song isn't deep or metaphoric, like some country songs are. The song is as simple as its title, with Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker hanging out on a beach, presumably in Hawaii, relaxing and simply "breathing" all day long before the sun goes down, the big moon rises, and, as Chesney articulates, "it's time to play." Basically, the two's day is spent sitting listlessly on a beach around a small fire and a Volkswagen Bus waiting for the sun to go down; in other words, the archetypal example of "paradise."

For starters, the two men chose to sing this song are simply perfect. Chesney can represent the quietly confident, extremely attractive guy who, with his bulging muscles and straw-hat, adapts accordingly to the beach, while Kracker represents more of a "Chumlee" like character, stockier in build, squirrely, and very goofy. Even Kracker's voice, which sounds a bit more dryer and even wheezier to Chesney's smoother, more easy-listening vocals poses a fitting contrast for the men, as they're both in the foreground of a gorgeous, sun-soaked environment on the lakefront. The song's visualizations are beautiful and the duet is sung by one of the most perfectly matched people I've ever seen for a country song.

Furthermore, let's talk about the song itself, as simple as it is. The lyricism may be basic, but it's still wholly pleasant, as it talks about that aforementioned idea of paradise all of us want to experience. It reminds me of when I take vacations, from when my family frequented Wisconsin Dells in June or July from 2009 to 2012 or when my mom and I started going to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin last year at the tailend of July, early August. Those vacations will always occupy a place in my heart, and "When the Sun Goes Down" has the melody and the atmosphere of a wonderful vacation. 

Here's hoping you enjoy and love this song even half as much as me, for I consider this one of my favorite contemporary country songs. It shell-shocked me to learn this song turns ten this year; it feels like yesterday I was singing this on the couch at age eight.

Give "When the Sun Goes Down" a listen (I linked the music video, for I still believe that's the only way to listen to the song and be fulfilled), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGLdbpmXrbQ