Chelsea Viljoen 11/9/2015 Themes Found in Country Music There’s nothing like coming home after a long day of work, opening up a can of Bud Lite and listening to your favorite country artist. Whether it is Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw or Carrie Underwood, there always seems to be some reoccurring themes in this specific genre of music. 1.Alcohol Drinking has always been a popular subject amongst country musicians. In almost every modern country song there are lines similar to “Fill my dixie cup” ,“bring the keg”, “shot of whiskey” or even “Jar full of clear” which refers to moonshine, an illegal homemade liquor usually sold in southern states. It relates to hard working people who like to take a load off after work and would like to relax by having a few beers. It is very rare that you hear a country song about a ‘Friday night’ without there being alcohol mentioned. For many country artists there is a cycle and it is usually reoccuring in their lyrics; work from Monday to Friday (usually doing physical labor such as working on a farmer’s field), drinking on Friday and Saturday and then going to Church on Sunday. Now, this might seem very stereotypical but I have countless songs that back up this ‘theory’. Take for instance Toby Keith’s “drinks after work”; he talks about working hard everyday at work and then instead of going home after that, he decided to go to the bar for happy hour. Brad Paisley’s “Alcohol” also is a perfect example of this theme playing a major role in country music. My favorite example of an alcohol themed song and previously mentioned cycle is Eric Church’s “Drink in my hand.” There is a line; “Early Monday morning till Friday 5. Man, I work, work, work but I don’t climb,climb,climb.” Another is “Fill it up, throw it down. I’ve got a 40 hour week worth of trouble to drown. No need to complicate it, I’m a simple man. All you’ve got to do is put a drink in my hand.” 1.1 Partying Alcohol and partying really goes hand in hand when it comes to country music. Most of these songs are upbeat and are easy to dance to. Just like any music genre, country artists want to relate to their listeners and thus want to make it as jivey as possible so that their music will be played in bars, clubs and parties. Songs like these are: “House Party” by Sam Hunt. Most of the time alcohol and drinking is related to the next theme found in country music: 2. Loneliness/Heartache There are many heartfelt country songs about losing a loved one and the heartache that comes with that. These songs tend to be slower, not as upbeat and usually good or easy to slow dance to. One of my favorite songs about heartache is Brad Paisley’s “Whiskey Lullaby.” Once again we can see that alcohol plays a major role and that it was incorporated in this song. Many artists like to offer a simple solution to heartache and misery; drink alcohol to forget or overcome. “Drink a beer” by Luke Bryan is a very touching song that is about a man losing a friend suddenly and then sitting on a pier, thinking about his friend and drinking a beer, reminiscing about the old times. 2.1 Breakups There seem to be many songs about dealing with breakups or wanting someone to break up with someone else. This falls under the category of heartbreak and loneliness and is almost always relatable when you’re sad. Not all breakup songs are slow paced. “Break up in a small town” by Sam Hunt is a good example about trying to get over someone after a breakup. In this case it is difficult as the woman gets together with one of the man’s friends. Although it is hard for him, he finds it in his heart to understand that that is the way things go when people live in a small town. “Save it for a rainy day” by Kenny Chesney is about a man trying to come to terms with the fact that his ex girlfriend will not be coming home. He has a very positive outlook on the whole situation, he believes that the world has so much to offer and he tries to tuck away his heartbreak and save it for a rainy day. 2.2 Revenge Carrie Underwood seems to be a great example of a country singer who like to incorporate revenge in most of her songs. There is an underlying violent streak to many of these songs and in my opinion, sometimes gets a little repetitive. “Before he cheats” by Carrie Underwood is an example of revenge. She destroys his truck (his most valuable possession) when she finds out that he cheats on her. 3.Stereotypical idea of women and men This is a topic that could possibly be offensive to many people and that is why this will be a brief overview of MY opinion on this matter. In many country songs there are specific roles for each gender. This might be an older tradition and be because in the states where most country music is made (and listened to), gender equality is not as widely practiced. I have noticed that in these songs, males usually tend to physical labor such as working in the field, farming, building etc. Women usually get dolled up for their men, provide home cooked meals, make lemonade or ice tea on hot summer days and raise the children. This is not a negative thing as many women believe it is an honor serving their husbands and like to listen to songs where they are encouraged to do so. “In the 1940s, the difference between men and women as represented in country music was clear. Men could be good-hearted but might be given to drinking, cheating, fighting, lying, and other complicated and questionable behaviors. They were free to be full, threedimensional people endowed with a realistic spectrum of human emotions. Women, on the other hand, were just good-hearted, or they were cruel—typically one thing or another, rarely a human combination of both.” This is an extract of an article “Gender in Country Music History” which supports my previous statements. An excellent example of this idea is “Girl in a country song” by Maddie and Tae. They sing about the cliche of girls in a country song, girls who only exist to look good for guys and their friends on the weekend. 4. Travelling, driving & trucks Many think that southern music is about staying in a small town, living a small life but there are a lot of examples about artists wanting to leave the “small town” and wanting to travel to different places. In “Mean” by Taylor Swift it clearly shows a young artist wanting to travel to a big city and leave the small town. In Jake Owen’s song “Anywhere with you”, there is a clear travel theme incorporated about a young couple in love and him wanting to take her anywhere that she wants. Although driving trucks and trucks itself is not a major theme in country music it is definitely a sub-theme and is mentioned in many songs. There seems to be a lot of pride connoted with the size of a person’s truck and how “jacked up it is.” Many songs are about to “tailgating”, which refers to people sitting on the bed of a truck and drinking (usually in an isolated area like a field of sorts.) This brings us back to our first theme; alcohol. People in country songs seem to be content just driving around, often drinking and just being with good company or a pretty girl. Here are some examples of people driving their trucks in country songs: “Play it again” by Luke Bryan, “I don’t want this night to end” Luke Bryan and “I drive your truck” by Lee Brice. “I drive your truck” is especially connoted with truck driving, most of the song describes the inside of the truck and him taking back roads as it is a way for a young man to cope with his father’s death. Here are a few lines of the song: “I drive your truck I roll every window down and I burn up Every back road in this town I find a field, I tear it up Till all the pain’s a cloud of dust Yeah, sometimes I drive your truck” 5. Family/ Tradition & patriotism I believe that this particular theme is the most significant. Being a foreigner, I have always been amazed by the patriotism that seems to pump through American veins. It is proudly displayed in many music genres but particularly in country music. It is even found in country music videos, the American flag is displayed on a porch, on the back of a truck or even clothes that represent the red white and blue. I think in all of the music genres, country music has the most love for the United State of America. The cornfields, the country, the people… Everything seems to be beautiful for these country artists and they are proud to be where they are from and it is where they will stay. The most significant country song that i found with this theme is “Boondocks’ by Little Big Town. Here are a few lyrics that support my statement: “I feel no shame I'm proud of where I came from I was born and raised in the boondocks One thing I know No matter where I go I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks” It is clear to me that this person does not have much but it still very much proud of where he/ she comes from. It is pure love for his/her country and wouldn’t want to leave. Another few lines from the song: “It's where I learned about living It's where I learned about love It's where I learned about working hard And having a little was just enough It's where I learned about Jesus And knowing where I stand You can take it or leave it, this is me This is who I am Give me a tin roof A front porch and a gravel road And that's home to me It feels like home to me” This person is living a very simple life but isn’t interested in anything other than that. This is his tradition and is proud of the life that he lives. Another very touching song about family tradition is “Dirt” by Florida Georgia Line. It is about a man wanting to put 10% down on a piece of dirt to build a house. It is the land where he was born and raised. Here are a few lines from the song: “It's that elm shade red rust clay You grew up on That plowed up ground That your dad Damned his luck on.” Another few songs that I thought related to this theme is the following: ● Family tradition Hank Williams Jr. ● Florida Georgia Line - Round here ● Lee Brice drinking crowd ● Homegrown- Zac Brown Band ● Chicken fried - Zac Brown Band 6. Cowboys It is said that between the years 1940 through 1960 there was one music genre; country and western. Now, there are 2 different music genres; country music and western music. In the book “ The Cowboy in Country Music” it is explained in detail the difference between the two but here is a paragraph that briefly explains: “Musically [the two] are basically the same thing. The difference in western is in the lyrics. It deals with the West – the beauty of the West, western stories. The western genre has pretty much disappeared. The country music cowboy is a guy who drives a pick-up truck – he doesn’t have a horse, there’s no cattle.” There are many country songs that have this ‘modern day cowboy’ and it has been mentioned in the previous theme but here is a song about an actual cowboy “Like a cowboy” - Randy Houser “I'll ride in on a sunny day, Sing you a song, steal your heart away Like a cowboy Hang my hat like I'm here for a while Kick off my boots and drive you wild, like a cowboy Well baby you know I can't stay long You wake up, I'll be gone Until then I'll hold on, like a cowboy” 7. Farming/ Countryside This theme definitely does go hand in hand with the 2 previous themes mentioned. Many of these country songs are produced in the south which does explain a huge number of country songs that have to do with farming or being in the country. These songs are most likely very relatable to the listeners who are possibly also do physical labor for work such as farmers or field workers. “How Country Feels” by Randy Houser is a perfect example of someone who is used to being in the country, most likely grew up there and loves it. Here are a few lines from the song that supports my previous statement: “You were raised on an asphalt farm Ain't never heard a rooster crow Never walked barefoot by a river Felt the mud up between your toes You never rolled in the hay You never thrown it in four wheel Climb up on here girl Let me show you how country feels” A few more songs that I thought would be appropriate to this theme is the following: ● Farmer’s daughter - Rodney Atkins ● Jason Aldean - Dirt Road Anthem ● Kick the dust up - Luke Bryan ● She’s country - Jason Aldean ● Somethin bout a truck- Kip Moore Love/ Relationships Like in most music genres, country music artists also does incorporate love in the lyrics. It is not this specific genre that adds this theme to songs, most artists do it. It is a very popular theme to sing about. However, love is displayed and explained differently in country music than in other music genres. For example, when a man loves a woman he will sing about her putting her painted toenails on his truck’s dashboard. Or for a woman, she will sing about him taking her out on the town and take her dancing. This theme also goes well with pretty much every other theme previously stated. Love is almost always the reason behind an alcohol themed song or the reason for heartache etc. Other than previously mentioned, this theme is pretty self explanatory. I have listed a few country love songs that I think represent this theme quite well: ● Like a wrecking ball - Eric Church ● Zac Brown Band - Whatever it is ● Crazy Girl - Eli Young Band 8. Religion Religion plays a very big role in country music. Any other genre does not mention religion as often as much as country music. This really does go hand in hand with the theme previously mentioned; tradition. Many country artists mention that they ‘go to church on a Sunday’ ‘get down on their knees’ ‘thank the good Lord upstairs’ etc. It is pretty obvious that the main religion found in country music is “Christianity.” I have never heard any artist sing about another religion and thus I am making my statement based on my personal view of the matter. I think religion has a deep connection with country music but not so strong that some country songs can be classified as religious songs rather than country music. More so that religion is mentioned quite often. Here are a few examples of the country songs that I have found that are related to religion. ● Brantley Gilbert - One hell of an amen. ● Carrie Underwood - Church Bells ● It Wasn't God Who Made the Honky-Tonk Angels Like in any music there are themes that play a big role in the lyrics and the general sounds of the music. There are so many more themes that are found in country music but I listed the most significant ones that I found the most interesting and that appeared in the most songs. I also found a quite interesting song that I thought appropriate for this essay, It is called “Crazy Town” Jason Aldean. It is about Nashville, Tennessee and artists trying to make it in this big city. “It's a crazy town full of neon dreams, Everybody plays everybody sings, Hollywood with a touch of twang, To be a star you gotta bang bang bang, Bend those strings till the Hank comes out, Make all the drunk girls scream and shout, We love it we hate it we're all just trying to make it, In this crazy town.” Sources: http://www.thestate.com/living/article14376488.html http://www.shmoop.com/country-music-history/gender.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriotic_Country http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-cowboy-in-country-music-71339427/?no-ist
