Craig Morgan, ‘Corn Star’ – Song Review

Craig Morgan is winning the battle to be country music’s most agriculturally minded singer, but his latest single may leave farmers hiding behind their tractors. The singer has pushed against the cheese boundary before, but with ‘Corn Star’ he joins Trace Adkins (‘Brown Chicken Brown Cow,’ anybody?) in embracing jokes that make eyes roll so hard that the price of Tylenol goes up.

“Corn star” and “porn star” — they rhyme. We get it.

“She’s a corn star / Talk of the crop at every county fair / Corn star / Blue ribbon winner for the last five years,” Morgan sings to begin the chorus. “They cut a four lane highway right through her pasture / Blamed it on progress and movin’ traffic faster / But everybody knows the only reason for the road / Was to see her chug-a-luggin on the top of that tractor.”

‘Corn Star’ stands out on Morgan’s ‘This Ole Boy‘ album. It’s the project’s ‘Redneck Yacht Club’ or ‘Bonfire’ — a song that is too much fun to leave as an album cut. There’s a clear trend with this style of song for Morgan. He continues to push the envelope in terms of corniness to find the limit (‘International Harvester’ and ‘Still a Little Chicken Left on the Bone’). Now it’s time to back up the tractor.

“You’d swear you’d seen her in a red bikini on a ‘Baywatch’ episode / But I’m telling you straight that 600 acres is the only life that she knows / There gossip in town flying around / She was sunset stripping for tips in L.A. / But that’s just a bunch of bean growers / Talking to bean loaders,” Morgan adds during the second verse.

While the joke wears thin after a listen or two, some credit must be given to the song’s structure and Morgan’s vocal performance. He embraces the plowboy anthem like he embraces his most emotional ballads, and the lyrics — while over the top — are tightly packaged and clever. It was now or never for ‘Corn Star,’ as the song wouldn’t stand a chance on country radio if released in November.

Listen to Craig Morgan, ‘Corn Star’