My love of country music started 33 years ago when I was dating a guy who always played this type of music in his Jeep. While the relationship did not last, my love of country music absolutely did, and over the course of three decades, I often pause and silently thank that ex-boyfriend for introducing me to the distinctly American genre. My introduction to country music also conveniently coincided with the era of the Columbia House CD Club industry boom, and as soon as the mailer would arrive in my mailbox, I would order the twelve compact discs for a penny and then cancel my subscription after I received them, all in an effort to build my country music collection. My first CD’s included artists Brooks and Dunn, Reba McEntire, Lari White, Faith Hill, Alabama, Randy Travis, Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, and Shania Twain. Today, my list of favorite country music artists is longer than my 5’1” body, and whenever I am driving in my car, I listen to the Metro DC country music station 98.7. I have also gradually and surreptitiously instilled a love of country music in my husband and three children.
But why country? There are so many jokes made about country music. My favorite of course is “What happens when you play a country song in reverse? You get your dog, your truck, and your wife back!” But as a writer and storyteller what resonates with me most is that country music is ALL about stories. Country songs are notorious for following the traditional narrative arc: the set-up, inciting incident, rising action, climax, success or failure, falling action, and resolution. It is like a mini novel in every song! You will likely laugh, cry, or cringe but you will have been the recipient of a story that captures one small bit of humanity. The memorable stories in Don’t Take the Girl (Tim McGraw), Fancy (Reba McEntire), or She’s in Love with the Boy (Trisha Yearwood) have us walking in someone else’s shoes for those few audible minutes. I love the stories that have unexpected endings like Austin (Blake Shelton), and stories that remind us of how life used to be (Mayberry by Rascal Flatts) or what life could be like if we wanted to enjoy it at a slower pace (I’m in a Hurry by Alabama and Why Don’t we Just Dance by Josh Turner).
Beyond amazing stories, I love that country music is not afraid to be vulnerable and it sings about themes that are important to me: faith, patriotism, and love. Oh, the stories about love! We are talking about first loves, true love, unrequited love, and illegal affairs, and so many songs throw in the realities of jealousy, violence, and sex. Garth Brooks has a gift of telling these types of love stories. Like the cover of a Harlequin novel, we can visualize the relationship that develops in That Summer, the jealousy that drives Papa Loved Mama, and we are all reaching into our pockets hoping to find coins to put in the pay phone as he sings Callin’ Baton Rouge. Brooks and Dunn remind us of what first love feels like, while also celebrating other firsts, with Red Dirt Road and Thomas Rhett turns us into a puddle of tears as he sings the most romantic song to his wife in Die a Happy Man.
Now sometimes in life love turns bad, and country music artists thankfully share those stories as well. In my earlier life, much of my volunteer and professional work centered around domestic violence, victimization, and female empowerment, which is why I get slightly excited when the Chicks sing Goodbye Earl, highly emotional when Martina McBride belts Independence Day, and smile with glib satisfaction when Carrie Underwood sings Before He Cheats. The ladies in these songs may not have made the most lawful choices, but they did what they felt they had to do to be heard and safe, so I sing loudly along with them! And I love that Taylor Swift felt empowered to change the ending of Romeo and Juliet in Love Story to something happier. I have questioned Shakespeare’s ending for years!
And in a world where we increasingly cannot talk about our faith, I am grateful country musicians are not afraid to sing about God, and share their testimony through song, which I find extremely refreshing and uplifting. Carrie Underwood’s song Jesus take the Wheel is a 3 minute, 44-second-long sermon and as she sings, we think about how many times in life we too have thrown up our hands and cried out “I can’t do this on my own”. The song Unanswered Prayers (Garth Brooks) is a song that pretty much tells my story about how I was praying for one man, and God didn’t answer that prayer, but what he provided me in my husband was so much better (in case you are wondering, I gender bend the song in my mind when I sing it). Garth testifies “Remember when you are talking to the man upstairs, just because he may not answer, doesn’t mean he don’t care. Some of God’s greatest gifts are all too often unanswered prayers.” The man is correct. Rascal Flats shares a similar message in Bless the Broken Road as does Thomas Rhett in Life Changes (“You never know what’s gonna happen. You make plans and you hear God laughing. Life changes, and I wouldn’t change it for the world”). Both songs gently remind us that we do not walk-through life alone and that simply put, God is with us. I love that country music star Tim McGraw reminds us about how best to live in his song Humble and Kind, qualities the world is unfortunately not promoting in full force these days. And one small secret: I dream of one day singing Alabama’s Angels Among Us, transposed for a mezzo-soprano, with a full children’s choir behind me!
My country music radio station pauses every day at 12 noon to play the Star-Spangled Banner, our country’s National Anthem, a song that is 134 years old and voices our allegiance to a country that values our personal freedom. Country music loves to celebrate being an American, which alone makes me a fan! It was just one month after our country was attacked on September 11th that Alan Jackson shared Where Were You, a song that with each lyric and note tearfully brings us back to that day. Less than two years later Darryl Worley released Have you Forgotten which was a wonderful challenge to our nation as we balanced recovering and trying to forget with wanting to never forget.
The best part of country music besides the stories, love, faith, and patriotism is that country music has a fantastic sense of humor and loves a good party! I laugh out loud when George Strait sings All My Ex’s Live in Texas (Which is Why I Live in Tennessee), flash back to basement fraternity parties when Toby Keith sings Red Solo Cup, and we all raise an imaginary glass when we sing Friends in Low Places along with Garth Brooks. Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy by Big and Rich is crass and makes me chuckle every time, and don’t we all relate on some level to How Do you Like Me Now by Toby Keith, when he comically confronts the girl in high school who snubbed him? And nothing makes me happier than drinks by the pool with every song from the Zac Brown Band playing on the outdoor speakers. It is the signal to my body that it’s time to relax and party because It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere (thank you Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffet)!
I pride myself on being a grammar goddess, rarely detour from Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, and only on a rare occasion will I end a sentence with a preposition, so I confess I cringe slightly when I find myself singing the word “ain’t”, which is a popular lyric in country music. But compromised grammar aside, I am grateful for the artists who originated the popularity of this genre- Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and many others. Their songs and voices never get old. And I am grateful for the more recent artists—you know, of the past few decades--and I am feeling quite guilty that I have only referenced a small handful in this blog post. Bottom line is you don’t have to live in the country to love country music. I think the genre’s name is slightly misleading in that regard. The youth of our suburban church even embraced country music and made John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads their anthem for the two summers they were doing mission work in West Virginia! Whether you are already a country music fan, have never listened to a song in your life, or prematurely decided it’s not for you, I beg of you to play some Zac Brown Band at your next backyard party, turn your radio dial to country music and see what stories you hear, listen to the Spotify playlist I created that includes all the songs I have referenced in this Blog post and see if you agree with my thoughts on each. Heck, you can even borrow my now ancient (but will one one day be a collector item) Compact Disc collection! If nothing else, turn on 98.7 or your local country music station every day at noon and listen to our National Anthem being played, because love for our Land of the Free and Home of the Brave is something everyone should agree on. Happy listening y’all!
Click HERE for the “Happy Listening Y’all” playlist, which includes all the songs I have referenced in this blog post.
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