27 thoughts on “Why I like (some) country songs”

1. Geoff- I despise most pop country (Tim McGraw makes me want to bash my head against a wall). The pop country you hear on most country stations and on CMT is almost getting as shallow as other genres. On a whole, though, it seems to me that most country artists are down to earth God-and-Country type of people. And I can listen to 90% of it in the car with the kids.

   My problem with pop country is that it is formulaic and shallow. But when you weave thru all the Tim McGraw’s, Faith Hills, and Keith Urbans, there are a lot of great artists out there. There’s an unofficial sub-genre of Country that I like to call “Americana.” The songs you quoted could almost fit in that category, but I’m thinking more along the lines of Alison Krauss, Adrienne Young (though she’s a flamin’ liberal), the Peasall Sisters, and Nickel Creek. I like Americana because it conveys modern meaning through mostly traditional instrumentation. It deeply respects the history of the music while addressing contemporary issues through the prism of deep-rooted American values.

   I do enjoy country music though. There’s nothing like driving in the mountains while listening to a little Sara Evans, Allison Moorer, or Patty Loveless.

2. That sounds like my story. My wife loves country music and me…not so much. I can listen to more if it now than I previously would have. I guess that’s what marriage is all about: corrupting my ipod with country music. 🙂

3. Tossman, what you are talking about is mostly bluegrass. It is a sub-genre of country as you say, and every bit as American as Jazz music. Jazz is considered THE American music form, but I think it only represents New Orleans and very large cities. The rest of the country would feel more tied to a banjo or a mandolin. Also check out Rhonda Vincent, she’s great.

   I like some of the country on the radio today. I find it interesting that Johnny Cash has been adopted as the patron saint of the rebellious and downtrodden, particularly in Alternative rock circles. He even gets a little radio play on the local AltRock station as much as the local country stations! The reason they adopted him, though, is that his message was universal, and sometimes quite touching.

4. I’ve had country music since childhood, so I have the same problem with it that people generally have with music: It was much better when I was younger. Kids these days! We’re mostly all stuck in the music mode we had when 17. (This year’s Grammy’s got my attention for the first time ever by opening with the Police; first time I looked up anything on You Tube.) I read an interview where Merle Haggard said he prefers rock stations because at least they sometimes play old songs he likes, and the country stations don’t.

   A trend I don’t like is the devolution of songs recognizing “poor, simple folk” into the current crop celibrating low class crudeness. Amid all the chaff, there are still some gems, though. When used well, it’s a style with more emotional range than pop or rock.

5. Geoff,
   Funny, I can’t stand most country, but I like outlaw country and alt.country. Largely I’m not interested in the God and family country (unless it’s Johnny Cash), because, as many seem to have mentioned, it tends to be sung by the pop-country performers, who have great cross-over appeal (I guess), but just don’t do it for me musically or lyrically.

6. Oddly enough, I started enjoying country music AFTER learning to dance to it. About a year ago (for reasons I won’t go into–okay, it had to do with dating), I started taking lessons in country/western dancing, both couples and line dancing. Not being particularly coordinated, it was a real challenge for me at first, but I’ve gotten good at it. I now participate in a performing group. When I listen to country, I “hear” the appropriate dance steps as much as the words and tune.

   One thing I like about country music is the ability to be romantic, even somewhat erotic, without being “dirty.” Geoff, you mentioned Josh Turner. While I’m not personally fond of his overtly religious material, as you are, I think “Your Man” is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL song. It celebrates the passion between a couple, including the physical, without being in any way degrading. Of course, the man has a voice that just…well, you know.

7. cantinflas- I would say that jazz is definately AN American music form, not THE American music form. Like pretty much the rest of American music forms, it has its roots elsewhere. Jazz has it’s deepest roots in West Africa and Voodoo. Americana’s roots are largely European. I’m not sure jazz is any more American than Americana.

   I’m talking about the folk roots that shaped the collective American psyche. It’s the kind of music that bluegrass, then country/western grew from. So while jazz is technically more American than Americana in the sense that it’s modern form is exclusively American

   The artists I named are not bluegrass. Some of the instrumentation is the same, but musically, those artists do not fit the technical definition of bluegrass, nor is bluegrass their roots (with the possible exception of Alison Krauss). Bluegrass is a fairly recent genre. Listen to Earl Scruggs, then listen to Nickel Creek and tell me if they’re in the same ball park.

8. Sorry, that middle paragraph didn’t come out right. Strike the last statement in the paragraph about jazz. It started as a valid point but it wasn’t worth the effort to summon the creative thought to clarify.

9. Well said, Geoff, but you need to give the outlaw and honktonky genre another listen. There is often a sense of loss, and a deep longing for redemption. Just a few quick lyrics:

   Moe Bandy – It Was Always So Easy

   I drove through the park and I searched all the bars
   where I made out with love too many times

   (Chorus)

   It was always so easy to find and unhappy woman
   till I started looking for mine.

   Merle Haggard – Mama Tried

   One and only rebel child,
   From a family, meek and mild:
   My Mama seemed to know what lay in store.
   Despite all my Sunday learning,
   Towards the bad, I kept on turning.
   ‘Til Mama couldn’t hold me anymore.

   And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
   No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
   Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied.
   That leaves only me to blame ‘cos Mama tried.

   I find both of those songs to be more authentically religious than, say, Jesus Take the Wheel.

10. “The artists I named are not bluegrass”

    All but Adrienne Young describe themselves as bluegrass, nevermind their roots. I hadn’t of heard of Young or the Peasall Sisters before today, but I know the other two very well, and they are most definitely bluegrass. Even Ms. Young acknowledges her roots in bluegrass.

    I am very familiar with Earl Scruggs and Nickel Creek, and they are in the same ballpark, often the same genre but with 40 years in between them. Of course they’ll sound different, but that doesn’t exclude the more contemporary one from the genre.

    I know the roots of jazz and bluegrass which is why I think bluegrass is more American than jazz. Jazz is much more closely tied to it’s African/Voodoo roots than bluegrass is to influences external to American culture. I hope you’re not saying that you don’t believe that Jazz is the first form mentioned as American music forms, because it is in every context I’ve seen, placing other formats in the backseat.

11. Mark IV, I think you make a decent point. I just can’t stand most of Toby Keith’s songs, for example. But I have to admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for Johnny Cash, who really started that genre.

    Tossman, I would agree with you that a lot of the “popular” country doesn’t do anything for me. I like the songs that tell stories.

12. Geoff- Have you heard “Watching You” by Rodney Atkins? You just have to smile at that song- especially if you have little boys (I have 3 under 5).

    This also has reminded me of an old LDS country/folk trio from Utah County called the “Three D’s”. They do a version of “The Unknown Grave” by David Hyrum Smith, which used to be in they hymn book. Man, I wish I could find them on CD somewhere.

    Those of you who dig the old Cash-era outlaw country might want to check out The Highwaymen (Cash, Willie Nelson, Chris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings). Good dang stuff.

    Cantinflas- I find people define bluegrass two different ways 1) the strict Bill Monroe definition, and 2) the more general term meaning anything played with an accoustic guitar, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin. When many artists say they play bluegrass, they are usually defining it the second way. Americana stems from old timey music, which bluegrass also stems from. But they are different. I actually can’t stand traditional bluegrass. It drives me nuts. But I love Alison Krauss. There are a lot of traditional bluegrass freaks out there that hate Alison Krauss and others because they are sometimes considered bluegrass, yet are not technically bluegrass.

13. Geoff, yeah, Johnny Cash is the man. “Sunday Morning Coming Down” was written by Kris Kristofferson, but Cash made it his own, and much of the meaning of the song is conveyed through the contrasts: Saturday night drugs and alcohol – Sunday morning church bells. Beer for breakfast – fried chicken for Sunday family dinner. Abject loneliness – A dad playing with his daughter at the park.

    I love that song.

14. That’s funny, the lyrics are one of the reasons I hate Pop country. I hate what I call bumper sticker lyrics. It seems like they take a bumper sticker that they read and made a song about it. Hearing some of the lyrics make me queasy. Some of them feel so fake and insincere. One song will be a religious song about Jesus, while the next song will be glorifying beer or bar fighting. My dislike for most modern country music is in contrast to my wife’s love for it.

    On the other side of the coin, I love Bluegrass, modern and old. I love folk music traditional and new, rockabilly and a lot of older country; Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and some Willie Nelson among others.

    I think that Country music is straying too far from its roots and mixing in too much Pop music. That’s my opinion anyway.

15. I like that country music still tells stories in songs. I think storytelling in songs has been lost in a lot of other genres.

16. Tossman, #12, that’s a great song “Watching You.” I have a son who’s almost two and he copies everything I do, including the bad (like yelling at the TV set when Hillary Clinton comes on — just joking all you Dems). So, that song “Watching You” brings a tear to my eye.

    Mark IV, “Sunday Morning” is pure poetry. It’s both sad and uplifting at the same time. You can just see what a wreck this guy is, but you can also see his struggle to get his act together. I love that song.

17. Country music is the descendant of the folk singers of the Appalachians. I read a federal tax case about the history of country music. I can’t remember which artist was involved, sorry. Anyway, the country music singer had opened a line of restaurants that immediately bombed. It was in the 60s or thereabouts. His restaurant business declared bankruptcy, and left several investors high and dry. The singer paid back all his debt, even though he was not legally required to because of the bankruptcy.

    The tax case was about whether or not he could deduct those repayments, since they were not legitimate business debt anymore. The singer argued that, as a descendant of folk music that was all about community, his reputation was important to his success as a singer and leaving his investors unpaid was bad for his reputation. The tax case traced the roots of country music to show that a country music singer had to have the respect of his fans, as well as be talented. Repaying his debts enhanced his standing with his fans, which meant the payments were motivated by a legitimate business purpose, not just honesty. He got to take the tax deductions.

    You just have to love a music genre that the tax court agrees has to be sung by people with integrity.

    Don’t know how that would shake out today, but in the 60s, that’s how it happened.

18. “A Boy Named Sue”

    My daddy left home when I was three
    And he didn’t leave much to ma and me
    Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
    Now, I don’t blame him cause he run and hid
    But the meanest thing that he ever did
    Was before he left, he went and named me “Sue.”

    Well, he must o’ thought that is quite a joke
    And it got a lot of laughs from a’ lots of folk,
    It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
    Some gal would giggle and I’d get red
    And some guy’d laugh and I’d bust his head,
    I tell ya, life ain’t easy for a boy named “Sue.”

    Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
    My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
    I’d roam from town to town to hide my shame.
    But I made a vow to the moon and stars
    That I’d search the honky-tonks and bars
    And kill that man who gave me that awful name.

    Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
    And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
    I thought I’d stop and have myself a brew.
    At an old saloon on a street of mud,
    There at a table, dealing stud,
    Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me “Sue.”

    Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
    From a worn-out picture that my mother’d had,
    And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
    He was big and bent and gray and old,
    And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
    And I said: “My name is ‘Sue!’ How do you do!
    Now your gonna die!!”

    Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
    And he went down, but to my surprise,
    He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
    But I busted a chair right across his teeth
    And we crashed through the wall and into the street
    Kicking and a’ gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

    I tell ya, I’ve fought tougher men
    But I really can’t remember when,
    He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
    I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
    He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
    He stood there lookin’ at me and I saw him smile.

    And he said: “Son, this world is rough
    And if a man’s gonna make it, he’s gotta be tough
    And I knew I wouldn’t be there to help ya along.
    So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
    I knew you’d have to get tough or die
    And it’s the name that helped to make you strong.”

    He said: “Now you just fought one hell of a fight
    And I know you hate me, and you got the right
    To kill me now, and I wouldn’t blame you if you do.
    But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
    For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
    Cause I’m the son-of-a-bitch that named you “Sue.'”

    I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
    And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
    And I came away with a different point of view.
    And I think about him, now and then,
    Every time I try and every time I win,
    And if I ever have a son, I think I’m gonna name him
    Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!

19. I loved that song when it came out and I was three too. It sticks in my mind with the A&W in Redding, California; it must have played a lot over the speakers by the outside tables.

20. “So, do you still hate country now?”

    Yes. Even if I found those lyrics moving–and I’m not sure I do–it would still mean that I’d have to wade through a mile-high pile of inane and saccharine lyrics to get to them. Just to find that song I’d have to listen to hours and hours of the mindless drivel of the oh-so insightful Shania Twain, for example. Consider this thought-provoking gem:

    I’m gonna getcha while I gotcha in sight
    I’m gonna getcha if it takes all night
    You can betcha by the time I say ‘go,’ you’ll never say ‘no’
    I’m gonna getcha, don’t cha worry about that
    You can bet your bottom dollar, in time you’re gonna be mine
    Just like I should – I’ll getcha good

    Let me reiterate: she’s planning on getting me good, because she should. Sight, meet night. Go, meet no. For heaven’s sake, I’m fairly certain I could find a second-grader in my neighborhood capable of coming up with better rhymes and lyrics than this. And don’t get me started on how she feels like a woman. It’s just painful to listen to. When I first got married, my wife thought I was joking or exagerating when I told her country music made me grumpy. She was wrong.

    More to the point, my admittedly limited experience tells me that this is typical of the bulk of the music I can hear on country stations. I think the question posed is if a few good songs redeem the entire genre. My answer: not when the rest of the genre is putting this crap out.

21. Hi Jimbob,

    Which genre do you listen to that isn’t brimming with low-quality high selling songs? What music, created in the last 60 years, would not meet your above description as a genre?

    Nobody here is saying every song is good, just that the genre has value.

22. It’s not hard to do a little research and figure out who the *good* country artists are. Just stay away from the radio.

23. I think Tim McGraw is very hot. I would go out with him.

    I’m not crazy about country music, but I love Jesus Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood.

    Bill loves it, though, he gets all sappy.

    Good topic.

24. Cantinflas,

    I suppose it’s a question of how you categorize your genres. I listen mostly to classic rock. While I’m sure there’s some stupid love songs that fall under that category, almost none of what I listen to has “silly love song” lyrics. For example, much of Zeppelin’s lyrics are based on old blues standards, which means the love songs there are about women who have taken money and time and left the singer sad. Similarly, in the Who’s large catalog, there are few out-and-out love songs. They chose to sing songs about moms that pretend their boys are actually girls and teenage wastelands. Also, Pink Floyd wrote very few love songs, if any at all. I don’t think AC/DC has ever written a love song. I could go on and on. (Which isn’t to say that this type of music doesn’t have its gospel challenges: there’s an inordinate amount of sexual innuendo on this type of music I have to work hard to avoid.)

    But all of these songs came out on the radio on stations which played them with songs that fit into your “low-quality high selling songs” category. That is, Zeppelin got played on the same stations as the Bee Gees in the 70’s. So if they are considered part of that genre, I guess you’re right about no genre escaping low quality high selling songs–although I’d still maintain that country music has the highest cheese per song quotient. If you take them as a separate genre today, though, then probably not so much.

25. You mean “You Shook Me All Night Long” isn’t a love song?

26. I think Tim McGraw is very hot. I would go out with him.

    If you actually were ever to see the top half of his face would you still think he’s hot?

27. have any of you listen to kiss my country ass, or daddy won’t sell the farm, or country boy can survive
    or hillble shoes,midnight in montgomry,thank god am a country boy armoilly sky. sorry if I mispelled any thing.

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