Laredo (Chris Cagle song)

"Laredo" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Chris Cagle. It was released in February 2001 as the second single from his debut album Play It Loud. It peaked at #8 on the Hot Country Songs chart.[2]

"Laredo"
Single by Chris Cagle
from the album Play It Loud
B-side"Lovin' You Lovin' Me"[1]
ReleasedFebruary 12, 2001
GenreCountry
Length3:50
LabelVirgin Nashville
Songwriter(s)Chris Cagle
Producer(s)Robert Wright
Chris Cagle singles chronology
"My Love Goes On and On"
(2000)
"Laredo"
(2001)
"I Breathe In, I Breathe Out"
(2001)

Content

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The song is a recollection of a lost lover that the narrator has had in the city of Laredo, Texas. It is composed in the key of F major. Cagle said that the idea came to him one morning when he was listening to his radio and driving on Interstate 40. He heard "Galveston" by Glen Campbell on the radio and began thinking of other songs about cities in Texas. He decided to pick Laredo, Texas, because it was one of the few cities for which he could not think of an existing song. After seeing a billboard that said "invest in your city's future", he came up with the concept of "a city being treated like an individual" and "pleading with the city to not let her leave."[3]

Music video

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The music video was directed by Eric Welch. It shows Cagle trying to find his lover (who is seen in a stunning red dress) throughout a stone castle. His every chance at finding her fails, but in the end before disappearing she leaves a piece of her dress on the ground for him to keep in memory. Scenes of Cagle performing the song inside different parts of the stone building are seen throughout, as well as shots of the woman by herself sitting on a high wall and in a room filled with candles (where one of the performance scenes also takes place). It was filmed over 2 days in Lost Pines, TX, at a historic castle made entirely of stone, built in the 1800s.

Chart performance

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"Laredo" debuted at number 60 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart for the week of February 17, 2001.

Chart (2001) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[2] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 60

Year-end charts

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Chart (2001) Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[5] 35

References

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  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. ^ a b "Chris Cagle Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  3. ^ "'Laredo' is a good friend to Cagle". The Tennessean. August 18, 2001. pp. 3D. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  4. ^ "Chris Cagle Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  5. ^ "Best of 2001: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2001. Retrieved August 14, 2012.