"In Color"
Single by Jamey Johnson
from the album That Lonesome Song
Released	March 17, 2008
Format	CD single
Genre	Country
Length	4:51 (album version) 3:49 (radio edit)
Label	Mercury Nashville
Writer(s)	Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller, James Otto
Producer	The Kent Hardly Playboys
Jamey Johnson singles chronology
"Rebelicious" (2006) "In Color" (2008) "High Cost of Living" (2009)

"In Color" is the title of a single co-written and recorded by American country music artist Jamey Johnson. It is the first single from his second album, That Lonesome Song, which was initially released to digital retailers in 2007, and was released on August 5, 2008 on Mercury Nashville Records.^[1] Johnson co-wrote the song with James Otto and Lee Thomas Miller. In January 2009, "In Color" became Johnson's first Top Ten country hit. The song was later included on the compilation album, Now That's What I Call Country Volume 2, in 2009.

The song won the 2009 CMA Song of the Year Award on November 11, 2009.

Contents 1 Content 2 Similarity to "The War Was In Color" 3 Music video 4 Reception 5 Chart performance 6 References

[edit] Content

The song is a largely acoustic ballad centralizing on an elderly man who is showing black-and-white photographs to his grandson, each photograph showing a various part of the man's life. Describing the instances in each photos, such as fighting in World War II, he recalls his own life story to his grandson, telling him, "you should have seen it in color" (i.e., that the grandson would have had to be there himself to know what each experience was truly like).^[1] Trace Adkins was originally slated to record the song, until Johnson asked Adkins' permission to record the song himself.^[2] Adkins did record the song as an iTunes exclusive bonus track on his 2008 album, X.

[edit] Similarity to "The War Was In Color"

In Color is strikingly similar to a 2006 song by the band Carbon Leaf called The War Was In Color, which also conveys a grandfather's vivid description of World War II to his grandson who has discovered a box of black and white photos of the war.

Jamey Johnson's song In Color says, "I said, Grandpa what’s this picture here? It’s all black and white and ain’t real clear..."

Carbon Leaf's song The War Was In Color says, "These old pictures are cool. Tell me some stories. Was it like the old war movies? Sit down son. Let me fill you in..."

In Color, "And if it looks like we were scared to death, like a couple of kids just trying to save each other, you should have seen it in color."

The War Was In Color, "Where to begin? Let's start with the end. This black and white photo don't capture the skin. From the flash of a gun to a soldier who's done, trust me grandson, the war was in color."

[edit] Music video

A music video was shot for "In Color" in May 2008. It portrays Johnson sitting on a stool, playing acoustic guitar and singing, with various black-and-white photographs (which Johnson borrowed from his grandmother) spread out on the floor around him.^[2] Eventually, color begins to sweep across the photos from the outside, working its way in until Jamey himself is also in color.

[edit] Reception

The song received a "thumbs up" rating from Brady Vercher of The 9513. Vercher described the lyrics favorably, saying that they contained "vivid and emotive imagery without becoming overwrought", also saying "[t]he production stays out of the way of the vivid stories and adds a richness and expressiveness[…]Johnson may not be the most gifted vocalist as far as range goes, but he is more than capable and knows how to interpret a song for good effect. Needless to say, he nails the delivery in this song."^[1]

"In Color" won "Song of the Year" at the Academy of Country Music Awards on April 5th, 2009. It was also nominated for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song at the 51st Grammy Awards.^[3]

[edit] Chart performance

"In Color" debuted at #57 on the Hot Country Songs chart dated April 19, 2008. The song spent a total of 40 weeks as an active single on the country charts, and became the first Top 10 hit of Johnson's career, peaking at #9 on the week of January 10, 2009.^[4] In addition, the song peaked at #52 on the Billboard Hot 100 the same week, and in January 2009 it peaked at #34 on the Radio & Records country singles charts in Canada.

Chart (2008-2009)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs	9
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	52
Canadian Radio & Records Country Singles	34

[edit] References