E Pluribus,

You posed a difficult question to me this afternoon, asking me to list 10 country songs that I could tolerate, not including rock-influenced country songs. I admire you for posing this question in such a straightforward manner, requiring me to abide by some restrictions. As you know, without rules there can be no rules to break. As you also know, nothing beats breaking the rules from the inside, that is, by abiding by them and respecting them more vigorously than even those who've set the rules. Along with answering your question and commenting on 10 songs that I can tolerate, if not actually like, I'll do my best to meet and exceed your expectations.

A few things up front for readers hoping that my tastes will dovetail with their own:

• Because my list will not include country-rock songs, I will refrain from including anything involving Graham Gram Parsons, including his best works, all of which were done with Flying Burrito Brothers.
• Johnny Cash spent a lot of time with rockers and started out, more or less, as a rocker. I'll leave my favorite Johnny Cash songs off the list. Beside, hie best songs are basically rock 'n roll songs, which give them an unfair advantage compared with real country songs.
• No songs by that controversial trio E Pluribus claims to like so much - the two sisters with bad posture and the pig-nosed, badass lead singer - will be included. I don't know enough about their music to include them, and I'm bugged by their Look.
• Finally, I'll refrain from including any songs from the film soundtrack for Nashville. Although it's by far my favorite country album, its inclusion might upset the apple cart and hurt my credibility. Likewise, I'll rule out the scenes in Tender Mercies in which Robert Duvall picks up his acoustic to play that new song he's been working on, or when he sings the song he pretended he couldn't remember singing to his daughter. That whole movie kills me, but although Duvall's character is not influenced by rock, some of you might gripe that Duvall himself is not a real country musician and that including him on my list cheapens this entire effort. I'll respect that possible concern.

So here goes, 10 real country songs I can tolerate, if not like...

Follow up:

1) Tammy Wynette, "D-I-V-O-R-C-E"
As a child of one and a child of those teased and sprayed hair times, there's a lot to like about this song. For me, Wynette is as close as a country artist gets to Dionne Warwick: she's got the whole failed '60s suburban longings routine down pat. What a better representation of failed love than divorce. She avoids the suspense of a "Wouldn't it Be Nice" and gets right to the bad times.

The other great thing about "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" is that is allows a Yankee like myself the opportunity to chuckle in assumed superiority at our quaint neighbors south of the border. Who in the Northeast Corridor would write a homespun song about having to spell out the end of a couple's marriage in front of the children? Don't get me wrong - I'm aware of all that's wrong about this bias that I grew up with, but I can't help but feel like lightly patting Tammy on the teased bouffant.

2) Tammy Wynette, "Stand by Your Man"
This song's also cute and was outdated about 12 seconds after it was written. Poor Tammy is so homely yet stately. She could have been one of those tragic British women of good breeding and an oversized jawbone. Seriously, the song is both sad and campy, and I'm not in the minority in enjoying it for just these reasons.

3) Merle Haggard, "Okie from Muskogee"
I know country-rock guys love Haggard, but I he's the real deal in terms of country, right? This is another country song that's so lacking in self-consciousness that it sounds tongue in cheek - or maybe that's intentional. Anyhow, the badass, anti-rebel pose of the song is similar to what Jonathan Richman did on the first Modern Lovers album, you know, the one great piece of work that guy did before he stopped checking his thumbsucking tendency onstage and doing "cute" things like cutting country albums.

4) Merle Haggard, "Mama Tried"
Without being "influenced by rock," this song has a good rockin' vibe, both musically and lyrically. The one big difference is Haggard's acknowledgment of having a mother. Only country guys and soul guys seem comfortable acknowledging that they're not bitches, so to speak.

5) Hank Williams, "Why Don't You Love Me"
I think this is one of the Hank Williams songs I like best; I haven't listened to my wife's albums in a number of years. I do remember thinking he was pretty good - reminded me a lot of Bob Dylan's goofy side, like those fun tracks from the early albums and The Basement Tapes.

6) TIE: Patsy Cline, "Walkin' After Midnight" and "Crazy"
Here's another artist my country-raised wife loves and whom I've learned to tolerate over the years. These are objectively strong, well-written, and well-sung songs, but they've got a "swing" element to them that's not to my tastes and, more importantly, like Don McLean's "American Pie", they inspire "normal" people to drain their beers, get misty-eyed, and sing along - badly. I'd probably like these songs better if I spent more time listening to them in isolation, without the distraction of all those half-crocked, sentimental fools near closing time at the bars I've frequented.

8) Olivia Newton-John, "Let Me Be There"
This song was pretty cool when I used to hear it as a 10-year-old, and it lived up to a lot of the conventions/stereotypes of what I thought country music should sound like. If I'm thinking of the right song (I haven't heard it since the mid-70s), it even had an a capella breakdown, in which the bass vocal part was easily discerned and easy to dig! Much cooler than that Doobie Brothers song about hearing funky music and dancing with your mamma all night long! Also, Newton-John was very easy on the eyes when she hit the scene. Much better looking than Natalie Maines - that's her name!

9) TIE: Charlie Rich, "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl"
Like those Tammy Wynnette songs I love so, these "Silver Fox" hits of my youth captured all the early-'70s-era unfulfilled promise of middle-class life in the '60s. I also like the fact that these songs barely sound "country"; they seem to have more in common with Liever and Stoller's work for The Drifters or those Bacharach/David songs that Dionne Warwick made her own. Great Look to boot!

So there, E Pluribus, I hope I've answered your question. For my limited taste in country music, I hope that fans of the genre will be mildly impressed by my signs of good taste.