Another gem from Randy Newman’s 1970 “12 Songs” album, this is Newman’s take on Stephen Foster’s “My Old Kentucky Home.” Newman’s version is not what you would call a friendly vision of the American South, but it’s done with a light enough touch so as to be more sardonic than mean.

Warren Zevon attempted something similar with 1982’s “Play it All Night Long,” but because it was much more explicit, it just came off as smug and patronizing and says more about Zevon than the people he was trying to attack.