On “Ellis County,” husband and wife duo Buddy and Julie Miller show why they are so well regarded in the folk and country communities. Having written and played with a slew of artists over the years, who should have probably been backing them, the duo returned to their own material this year with their album Written in Chalk. While the entire recording is a homespun gem, the opening track is one of those songs that stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it, and has remained a song that really hits me each time I go back to it. While I have no reference point for the lyrics (mainly relishing times that came and went decades before I was even born), “Ellis County” has an undercurrent that allows listeners to empathize with the song even if they haven’t picked cotton, used a plow, or been so poor that “all we could afford was laughter.” What the Millers did on this song, as with the entire album, is they’ve created a genuine document that shows what is so often lacking in their genre: namely a rustic sincerity and timeless quality that transcends geography or age and proves to be a heartfelt gift from this supremely talented couple.

Buddy & Julie Miller “Ellis County” (mp3)

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