10 Classic Rock Acoustic Songs
2. Louisiana Rain - Tom Petty
Most of Tom Petty's background in music comes from the American South. Hell, even songs like American Girl and Refugee just sound like what the regular rockabilly bands would have sounded like if they had gotten a healthy dose of the British Invasion. Given how much Southern lineage is in the Heartbreakers' sound, it was just a matter of time before they went full country mode.
Compared to the straight ahead rock songs on Damn the Torpedoes, Louisiana Rain is a much needed comedown at the end of the record, as Petty picks up his acoustic to tell the story of a man making his way across the country back to Louisiana. Though he comes across some shady characters in his travels, he still can't help but think of the woman that he left behind out West, all while the harsh rain beats down upon him.
It's not like the country influence is that subtle either, with Mike Campbell chipping in with a strong dose of slide guitar to hammer the point home. The tone might be country, but the actual result has a rocker's heart up until the very end. While a lot of Petty's tunes involve characters who are down on their luck, this is the kind of heartache songwriting style that someone like Willie Nelson would have recognized in an instant.