| "Wide Open Spaces" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_cover_art.jpg) | ||||
| Single byDixie Chicks | ||||
| from the albumWide Open Spaces | ||||
| B-side | "I Can Love You Better" | |||
| Released | August 17, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1997 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:44 | |||
| Label | Monument | |||
| Songwriter | Susan Gibson | |||
| Producers | Blake Chancey,Paul Worley | |||
| Dixie Chicks singles chronology | ||||
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"Wide Open Spaces" is a song written bySusan Gibson and recorded by the Americancountry music groupDixie Chicks. It was released in August 1998 as the third single and title track from the band's albumWide Open Spaces.[1] The song hit number one on theU.S. Country singles chart and spent four weeks there in November 1998.[1][2] It also placed to number 41 on theU.S. Pop singles chart.
In 2001, theRIAA placed "Wide Open Spaces" at number 259 on its 365Songs of the Century list. In 2003,CMT named it number 22 in its 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music list.
Amarillo, Texas-basedSusan Gibson wrote the song's first lyrics in 1993, on her first visit back home after leaving forforestry school at theUniversity of Montana.[3][4] She left the notebook containing the lyrics at home by mistake when she returned to school; her mother found it and included it in acare package, inspiring Gibson to complete a song along the themes of leaving home.[3] She first performed it in local clubs around the University of Montana, where it was sometimes requested.[4]
By the late 1990s, Gibson was lead singer of thealt country band The Groobees.[5] They recorded an album,Wayside, that included "Wide Open Spaces"[3] and which would be released in 1999. It wasproduced byLloyd Maines, father of new Chicks lead singerNatalie Maines.
Lloyd Maines identified with the tale of a daughter leaving home, and thought it would match Natalie's vocal character well; he brought the song to the group,[6] who tested it in concert a few times to a strong response.[3] Both the Chicks andSony Music agreed with Lloyd Maines' assessment, not only recording it but making it the title tune of the Maines-era group's first album as well.[5][6]
The youthful, romantic, adventurous sense of independence featured in "Wide Open Spaces" helped key much of the group's new image; it thus became one of theirsignature songs and proved very popular among young teenage girls.[1] The lyric speaks of possibilities yet undiscovered:
The lyric has been considered an exemplar of the songwriting strategy in which lines are not repeated in either the verses or chorus.[7] The Texas,bluegrass-flavored arrangement[1] in the recording begins with afiddle riff, with the band soon joining in. Verses are sung byNatalie Maines by herself, withdrums,fiddle, and softguitar andpiano carrying the accompaniment. Choruses feature sistersEmily Strayer andMartie Seidel backing Maines withharmony vocals, and also add abanjo line. The instrumental break features Strayer and Seidel onmandolin and fiddle respectively. The main fiddle riff then brings the recording to a close.
Emily Strayer was proud that the group's hits such as this were still able to incorporate the banjo, an instrument the Nashville establishment often frowned upon as being too hillbilly.[8] Susan Gibson and "Wide Open Spaces" has been considered an example of the influence of theWest Texas influence in country music songwriting;[9] Gibson herself considers Amarillo to be "where the wide open spaces are. Amarillo has the most beautiful sunsets."[3] Gibson's childhood family drives from Amarillo toMissoula, Montana, also trace the song's lyric and settings.[4]
The song gained Nashville respect, as it was named theCountry Music Association Awards Single of the Year in 1999.[10] It also won Gibson theAmerican Songwriter Professional Country Songwriter of the Year award in early 2000,[10] as well as aBMI award the previous year.[10] Although the song itself was not nominated for aGrammy Award (the album was, as was its previous single, "There's Your Trouble", both of which won in their categories),[11] it was included on the various artists1999 Grammy Nomineescompilation album.
Themusic video for "Wide Open Spaces" portrayed the Chicks in aRocky Mountains setting, cavorting through wide open fields ofwildflowers and the like. Interspersed were scenes of the then-all blonde Chicks on tour: in performance, backstage, and on their tour bus (the last showing the slogan "Ain't Skeerd" on the outside). The performance was filmed atWest Fest, an annual event inWinter Park, Colorado[12] where the Chicks appeared four years running.[5] The mountain scenes were done around Winter Park as well, and included background shots of some of the Chicks exercising theirtrampoline talents. It was directed by Thom Oliphant, who previously directed "There's Your Trouble," and would later co-direct "Without You."[12]
This effort was directed by Thom Oliphant,[12] and was named theCountry Music Association Awards Music Video of the Year in 1999. It was placed at #32 onCMT's 2004 ranking of the 100 Greatest Videos.[13]
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[14] | 1 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[15] | 41 |
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[16] | 1 |
| Chart (1998) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[17] | 16 |
| USCountry Songs (Billboard)[18] | 61 |
| Chart (1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| USCountry Songs (Billboard)[19] | 70 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[20] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[21] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
The commercial success of the single and album gave songwriter Gibson something of a windfall, which she celebrated by going toSan Marcos, Texas and buying gifts for everyone she knew.[6] She would later say the song was both innocent and personal for her, in the latter detailed so much that she was surprised another artist would relate to it.[22] She would say of the song's recording by the Chicks that it was "beautiful [with] stunning musicianship and very professional production ... [a] gorgeous recording."[4] And of the song's popularity, Gibson would say, "So much of the success of that song belongs to [the Chicks] ... but pairing that song with that group is what made 'Wide Open Spaces' what it is. It really was just a magical combination of right place, right time, right group. I'm glad it happened to me."[22]
"Wide Open Spaces" has been a constant on the Chicks' concert tours, and indeed was the only song fromWide Open Spaces still in theset list as of the 2006Accidents & Accusations Tour. TheNew York Times said that in one such 2006 performance, in light of the still-ongoingChicks political controversy, "songs like 'Wide Open Spaces' ..., about women leaving home and striking out on their own, sounded more than ever like mission statements."[23] It remained on the playlist during theDCX MMXVI World Tour. Gibson also continues to perform it at her live performance outings.
The song appears on the gameKaraoke Revolution editionCMT presents Karaoke Revolution Country. An introspective interpretation by the artistSoccer Mommy has gained some media attention.[24] That singer said in 2018, "I'm a huge Dixie Chicks fan. I think 'Wide Open Spaces' is one of those perfect '90s alt-country songs. Plus it's relatable to any girl who's moved away from home and had to start a new life somewhere."[25]
The song was used in the fifth episode of the second series of the British sitcomGavin and Stacey in a scene where Bryn West, played byRob Brydon gives his sister-in-law Gwen West, played byMelanie Walters a surprise barn dance birthday party
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