“Nutbush City Limits” by Tina Turner

“Nutbush City Limits” is a shoutout to the town where Tina Turner grew up – that being Nutbush, Tennessee. Indeed based on her wording, it becomes quite obvious that this locale is not actually a “city” but instead “a one-horse town”. 

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Tina Turner's Nutbush City Limits at Lyrics.org.

In fact Nutbush reads more or less like your quintessential small community. For example, everyone follows the same routines, such as “go(ing) to the field on week days” and most notably “go(ing) to church on Sunday”. Moreover whereas there can be occasional rift-raft, overall the songstress depicts the place as “a quiet little old community”. 

So conclusively, Tina does not state forthrightly that this is her hometown. Yet it is still evident that she has a familial history with the place and that it is indeed dear to her.

“Nutbush city limits
Little old town in Tennessee
It’s called a quiet, little old community
A one-horse town
You have to watch
What you’re puttin’ down in old Nutbush
They call it Nutbush”

Facts about “Nutbush City Limits”

Tina Turner wrote “Nutbush City Limits”. And Ike Turner produced the original, which came out in June of 1973 as the title song from the album they put out that year. And the track was released by Capitol Records.

This song is noted as being the duo’s last true hit, peaking at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. “Nutbush City Limits” also reached number one in Austria and actually charted in nearly a dozen countries. And whereas Tina is not conventionally a song writer, this is the one tune she did write which performed the best commercially.  

This song became a staple of Tina Turner’s live performances even well after she and Ike divorced in 1978, and she has dropped different versions throughout the years. And some of those renditions have charted on their own. 

Indeed whereas this may not be one of Tina’s best-known songs per se it is one of her most-endeared. Such is evident of the fact that a diverse number of artists have covered the song in the decades since its release.  Moreover the tune has proven to be especially popular in Australia, where a popular line dance has been created to the entire song.

3 Responses

  1. Carol Carver says:

    Love tina turner and all her songs especially nutbush city limits

  2. Kathleen says:

    The nutbush city limits line dance is my absolute favourite line dance. 🙂

  3. Anonymous says:

    only a decade off, 1973 not 1983.

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