3 Country Ballads From the 90s That Made Small-Town Heartbreak Feel Relatable to City Folks

The article looks back at three 1990s country ballads whose stories of young love, regret and heartbreak resonated beyond small-town audiences. Their country-pop appeal and familiar emotions helped city listeners and people who did not usually follow country music connect with them.

Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine” recalls a teenage summer romance and the bittersweet return to a changed place; it reached No. 1 on the main US and Canadian country charts and No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. Little Texas’s “What Might Have Been” reached No. 2 on Hot Country Songs and No. 16 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1993. Lee Ann Womack’s “The Fool”, released in 1997, peaked at No. 2 on Hot Country Songs and No. 5 on Canada’s Country Singles chart.