Song · The Magnetic Fields
“Papa Was a Rodeo” by The Magnetic Fields
From the album 69 Love Songs (1999)
“Papa Was a Rodeo” by The Magnetic Fields appears on 4 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2019 and 2026. It was first released in 1999 on the album 69 Love Songs. Its best result is #193 on the KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,299 indie & aaa song of all time.
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"Papa Was a Rodeo" comes from 69 Love Songs, the Magnetic Fields' sprawling 1999 album, and it's a Stephin Merritt song he chose to share: Merritt takes the lead vocal alongside guest singer Shirley Simms, and the back-and-forth between their two voices is the whole point. With a title that sounds like a country standard nobody got around to writing, it's Merritt's wry songcraft at its most playful.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 193 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2022 | 249 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2023 | 318 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2026 | 529 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound | 1055 |
Also listed as: Papa Was A Rodeo.
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