Dry County (song)

For the song by The B-52's, see Cosmic Thing.

"Dry County"
Single by Bon Jovi
from the album Keep the Faith
Released	1994
Format	CD single
Recorded	1992
Genre	Hard rock, Heavy Metal
Length	9:52, 6:37 (Radio Edit)
Label	Mercury
Writer(s)	Jon Bon Jovi
Producer	Bob Rock
Bon Jovi singles chronology
"I Believe" (1993) "Dry County" (1994) "Always" (1994)

"Dry County" is a song by Bon Jovi from their 1992 album Keep the Faith. It was written by Jon Bon Jovi. Dry County stands as the band's longest song released so far, with a length of 9 minutes 52 seconds. A shorter 6-minute version reached #9 in the UK Charts and #1 in Latin America.

Lyrical interpretation

Dry County is about the decline of the US domestic oil industry and its effect on those whose income relied on it. In live versions of the song, during the build up to the second guitar solo, Jon Bon Jovi often includes a monologue about the struggles of life generally.

Song structure

Dry County is an epic ballad that contains several rises, climaxes, and instrumental solos, in the vein of such long rock epics as "Free Bird", "Child in Time", "Stairway to Heaven", "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", "November Rain" and "Jungleland".

Live Performances

Although Dry County is considered a fan favorite, it was played regularly only on the Keep the Faith and These Days tours. In fact, on May 13, 2006, when Bon Jovi played Dry County live on the first concert of the summer leg of their Have A Nice Day Tour in Düsseldorf, it was the first time it had been played live in 10 years, and went on to be performed on further occasions on that tour and on the band's more recent Lost Highway Tour. The band's followers often display signs requesting the song. It was also included in the set list on the The Circle Tour, at the opening of the New Meadowlands Stadium, New Jersey on May 26, 2010, as well as the encore set list at Soldier Field, Chicago on July 31, 2010 and Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 3, 2010. Dry County was included in the first encore of Bon Jovi's sets in Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester on June 24, 2011; Hyde Park, London on June 25, 2011; the RDS Arena, Dublin on June 29, 2011; Piata Constitutiei, Bucharest on July 10th, 2011 and Stadio Friuli (UD), Italy on July 17th, 2011.

Track listing

UK release

CD 1:

1. "Dry County"
2. "Stranger In This Town (Live)"
3. "Blood Money (Live)"

CD 2:

1. Dry County [Live]
2. It's Only Rock n Roll [Live]
3. Waltzing Matilda [Live]