What they sing about, what we write about

The fact is that everybody knows what country music is about. Well, that’s not a fact. That’s an assumption. Anyways, we are convinced that sooner or later the uncomfortable question, which unsets philosophers of music since Plato, has to be posed. And why not now! So… is an average pedestrian aware of the real cultural, philosophical, moral, life-saving copious content of country music? What are the themes of lyrics? What are the hidden messages, the innumerable subtleties of Texas tunes ?

The truth is that country music is not very sophisticated (but how close to the everyday existence... yes, think about Sartre now). Song writers get their inspiration mainly from everyday life the themes being family, kids, love, loneliness, unhappiness, misery, poverty, drinking, cheating, sin, self-destruction… The list seems to have no end (country and Chuck Norris approach infinity). The song can be really about anything… but the atmosphere is mainly gloomy.

Not to shock you with too much of hermeneutics, we’ll list the most recurrent subjects. According to Seven Great Themes of Country Music (a compendium of knowledge about what real cowboys listen to, and a barometer of your feeling towards it) most common subjects of lyrics are:

1.  Deeply Tragic Incidents             

·         Roy Acuff The Wreck On The Highway

·         Emmylou Harris Mary Danced with Soldiers (dancing is not the worst thing that happened to her)

2. The Piercing Sting Of Regret

·         Waylon Jennings Let's Turn Back The Years

·         The Notting Hillbillies Feel Like Going Home (sometimes I really, really do)

·         Emmylou Harris & Ralph Stanley I Never Will Marry

·         Patsy Cline Why Can't He Be You

3. Heart-Wrenching Loneliness

·         Loretta Lynn Miss Being Mrs (with a little bit of naughtiness)

·         Patsy Cline She's Got You

·         Ted Hawkins The Good And The Bad

4. The Soul-Crushing Angst of Unrequited Love

·         George Jones He Stopped Loving Her Today (a song for a good memory)

·         George Jones She Thinks I Still Care

·         Patsy Cline I Fall To Pieces

5. The Demon Drink Has Been My Ruin

·         Johnny Cash Sunday Morning Coming Down (so much of a personal story behind it)

·         Ted Hawkins There Stands The Glass

6. I Love You, Yet You Cause Me Great Suffering

·         Hank Williams You Win Again (winner takes much, but not all)

·         Hank Williams Your Cheatin' Heart

·         Hank Williams Cold, Cold Heart

·         Hank Williams Take These Chains From My Heart

7. I Am The Cause Of My Own Pain

·         Johnny Cash Hurt

·         Hank Williams Crazy Heart

      

      We seriously recommend Johny Cash's Hurt and Ted Hawkins's The Good and The Bad. 

      Cash is so sad, so completely aware of his failure and blaim that it really is taugh to listen to the song. But it's amazing. Plus the guitar!  

      On the other hand, Hawkins had an incredicble voice (he was an African American). You'll be probably surprised with such a voice in such a repertoire (blues but not-blues). 

Ride what you can – second thoughts, hesitation and shame

Embarrassment, uneasiness, shyness – these are the feelings that start to overwhelm me when I think about country. For the first couple of days, I thought it’s going to be funny - just look at Dolly Parton.

But then a reflection came – what if I am misunderstood? What if somebody doesn’t get the humorous part? What if somebody thinks I really LIKE country? Even worse, I write a blog, so I not only like country but I LOVE it. Possibly I’m an obsessive! What then? Will I ever be invited to any normal party? Will I still be able to have a normal conversation on something more challenging than the weather forecast and crops this year?

Seriously, the type of music you listen to attests to who you are, at least among the groups of young people I would like to be associated with. And what is the image of a person who listens to country?! Just look at Dolly Parton!

I started to desperately look for a justification of my sudden interest in country. I need to tie it to something the influential social groups I aspire to would respect. Well, I got it! Skateboarding! Here's a proof!   Jason Adams does his magic and Hank Williams III does his! The video (“Black out”)  was provided by Black Label but the music was provided by the good gens of Hank Williams III, son of Hank Williams Jr. and grandson of Hank Williams Sr. who continues the family business of neotraditional country. In his free time he does punk and metal music, unfortunately nobody saw him on a skateboard. 

So far.  
It is interesting how country got a new life thanks to similar exotic combinations. Kickflip 180 doesn’t really rhyme with Nashville. Well, maybe it doesn't rhyme but it works well.

The lasso starts to spin - WELCOME!!!

Woooooohaaaaaaaaa! We just took off our cowboy shoes and started writing. Still smelling horse’s forelock and the life- giving vapor of the old, good Mississippi. The saddles still blazing, at least blowing out.

Well, to be precise we are in Poland but we’ve  certainly read some of Mark Twain. And each of us saw a horse at least once in her lifetime.

Various associations with the country music caused us to choose it for the theme of this blog. We would like to investigate which of our immediate ideas about this kind of music have any justification in the history of American music and culture generally. We hope to listen to the music (aaaaayha!), analyze some lyrics, dive into the history of the genre, watch movies, read books, get ourselves a country- singer’s outfit, fall in love with Johnny Cash and, finally, explain why do people unjustly think that listening to country music is embarrassing.

We hope you’re going to take this ride with us!

Eeeeeeehaa!