Lately I’ve been letting myself enjoy a little country music. I met someone this winter who told me they only listened to country. In Seattle? What? But it reminded me that once upon a time I was quite the fan. 20ish years ago. I hardly ever turn it on these days (aside from playing the “Country Strong” soundtrack on repeat for about 3 months when it came out), but I wanted to see if I still liked it. Turns out I do, but I have my limits. I’m pretty sure a true country fan would not consider me one! When it comes to contemporary country, I prefer the crossover style—is that what it’s called? Basically, I tend to like my country with a dose of pop. 🙂 But as far as what attracts me to it at all… I won’t psychoanalyze the genre, but we could use a little more of the simplicity country offers in our lives, I think.
And dang, are there some hilarious lyrics! I’ve been appreciating these almost as much as the singable quality that so much of country has. Here’s a quick sample of lines that made me laugh out loud when I heard them:
- “Yeah, I love him, wanna have his babies. Only problem is he hates me.”
- “We could be honeymoonin’ south of the border, if only he’d drop that restraining order.”
- “Y’know, I wish I had Bubba’s girl. I want Bubba’s girl. Why can’t I find a cousin like that?”
- “Girl, you make my speakers go boom-boom.”
- “5-1-5-0, somebody call the po-po…”
- “He can’t even bait a hook, he can’t even skin a buck, he don’t know who Jack Daniels is, ain’t ever drove a truck.”
While these lyrics completely entertain me, I don’t always love them in a live context. I went to a Blake Shelton concert this spring; I really enjoy his music, but realized I’m not as big a fan of his live show. Part of it I loved—the part where it was just him and his guitar singing his old songs and not baiting the audience’s redneck attitudes… And I loved that he did covers of non-country songs, that he opened with Footloose, that his first opener was Dia Frampton, who he coached last year on The Voice and who is totally poppy and adorable. And I loved that he didn’t wear Wranglers and a Stetson. 😉 I didn’t love the crazy drunk audience, I didn’t love how much he egged them on about that (I was extra sensitive to this because I was sitting in front of underage kids who were severely wasted and had to get escorted out because they couldn’t hold their alcohol-both gross and concerning). I didn’t like his crowd-pleasing second opener, Justin Moore (at all!!!) due to his extreme redneck attitude.
Essentially, I discovered I should probably stick with bands like Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, or even Tim McGraw & Faith Hill if I’m going to country shows in the future. This girl has her redneck limits!
How about you? Are you a country fan? What draws you to it? What are your favorite songs? Or are you one (like my sister) who can’t stand it and will refuse to be subjected to it? Would love to hear your thoughts! 🙂
If nothing else, I hope you enjoy this song–I find it totally catchy and hilarious!
A Living Song 