Hal Ketchum, “In Front of the Alamo”
He was one of the oldest of the new country stars, and there was always an aura of wisdom about him from the start. Here, he writes a beautifully sympathetic portrait of a woman leaving a bad relationship behind. After all, what better a place to make a stand than in front of the Alamo? Before you worry that this is one of those over-the-top country numbers with a tortured metaphor, it’s actually wonderfully understated. The character is so believable that it seems just a happy accident that she makes a tough choice in front of a historical landmark.
Country radio just sounded better when Ketchum was on it. It’s so good to hear his voice again.
Grade: A-
Listen: In Front of the Alamo
Hal has many wonderful songs that the country stations have not played. They have really missed the boat!
anyone have the tabs or chords to this song? patricksethyancey @ yahoo.com
Sorry to be commenting on this so late but I just discovered your website about 2 weeks ago. I love the song and do remember hearing it on the radio a few times. If Wikipedia is correct, the song failed to chart. I guess I’ll never understand what goes into having a hit song. While Hal has written over 200 songs – see the BMI website – “In Front of the Alamo” is not one of them. It was written by Gary Burr.
Good song.