Country Music verses Pop Music, He’s a Little Bit Country, I’m a Little Bit Undecided…
Posted: Sunday, December 06, 2009
by Brianna Popsickle
When my husband and I first met we both enjoyed listening to country music. Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, was our song.
We danced our first dance as husband and wife to Just You and I by Kenny Rogers and Crystal Gale. That tells you how long we've been together.
Over the years we've enjoyed listening to the likes of Collin Raye, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks and Toby Keith. My favourite group for many years was Brooks and Dunn. We played country music at home and on road trips, but that changed once we had children. Slowly children's entertainers, Fred Penner and Sharon, Lois and Bram took over, followed by The Backstreet Boys and Brittany Spears.
I felt like I'd been scolded. The truth was I was always getting into trouble with my husband and kids for leaving the volume cranked, my music blasting them each time they start the vehicle.
My husband likes a wide variety of music but prefers his country to my pop. He'll roll his eyes and sigh whenever Lady GaGa or Li'l Wayne comes on.
"Do you ever actually listen to the lyrics?" he'll ask.
I hate to admit it, but I don't always. Sometimes I can't make them out, and much of the time, I'm off in my own little world, working or driving, enjoying the beat but not focused on what they're saying.
One day I had a rude awakening. I was driving with my windows down, music playing and stopped at a red light. The car stopped next to me had their stereo blasting. They were tuned into the same station as me. I glanced over to see a teenage boy looking back at me. He was tapping to the beat on his steering wheel. He smiled and gave me the, how you doing nod.
My face froze. Suddenly the lyrics were loud and clear. Quickly I reached for the volume with my right hand as my left hand fumbled for the button to raise the windows. I stared straight ahead until the light turned green. I couldn't believe I had never heard the words before and was embarrassed to think anyone who knew me, could have heard me listening to that. What kind of mother was I?
I work from home, and with the kids away at university and my husband at work five days a week, I have free reign to listen to whatever music I like.
I spend my days with Beyonce, Pink, Jay-Z, Chris Daughtry and my favourite, Nickelback. They accompany me to the gym via my ipod and when I'm driving. When I'm working in the yard they're blasting over the sound system my husband had installed for backyard parties.
For some time now the radio at home and in the van stay set to my station. Lately, however, I've noticed my husband is making a bold move to change that. Before work each morning he's switching my station to Sportsline, and Saturday and Sunday mornings he sneaks into the kitchen and switches it to his country station. Suddenly Lil' Wayne is being replaced with Kenny Chesney.
Because I get to listen to my music ninety percent of the time, I decided I would leave country playing this particular Saturday, especially since my husband was working on a small renovation I'd wanted done forever.
While he was busy staining woodwork I was busy cleaning.
I hate to admit it but the new country music was pretty good. It was catchy. The lyrics were about love and love gone wrong. They were about whiskey drinking men and tractors, lots of tractors. No wonder guys loved country so much.
A lively Brad Paisley song came on and I started to dance around as I cleaned. My husband walked in and I said happily, "You know what? I'm really enjoying listening to country again. I feel like it's bringing old Brianna back. I've missed her. New Brianna is tiring."
"You're telling me," he smiled and went to resume staining.
A while later Rascal Flatt's latest song, Why came on. The melody was beautiful. As I listened to the lyrics I began to tear up. My husband walked in giving me a puzzled look.
"Who writes this stuff?" I asked him, fanning my hand in front of my face as if to stop the tears. I began to sob uncontrollably. "Listen to the words," I urged him. "It's so sad."
"See? That's what's good about country," he replied, "It makes you think. None of that disco stick' crap."
Even though I could point out some pretty crazy lyrics to his music, Working hard all week to put beer on the table', she thinks my tractor's sexy', nice buns Betty,' for the most part I really liked it. I'm not saying I'll switch back to country, but I may reserve it for Saturday and Sunday mornings.
We worked the rest of the day and into the evening with country music playing.
Later as my husband spun me around and held me tight, I realized any music that ended with us slow dancing in our kitchen on a Saturday night, couldn't be all bad.
I smiled. Maybe I was a little bit country after all.
Dance with me,
Don't say a word, just dance with me.
Let the world outside disappear,
Baby, what we got here,
is all we need. '
Here's to you Johnny Reid...
This Article has been viewed 1,255 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)If you play country music BACKWARDS, you get back everything you've lost: your jeep, your girlfriend Lucille, your youth and money....
You are hilarious Paul. And so are many of the country music lyrics. Got to love it!
Take it from a native of Nashville, now Miami-transplant, who is often chided for my birthplace...I never was a fan of country. Maybe because native Nashvillians work very hard to correct the mistaken perception most people carry around about our city. By default, I had extreme distaste for all those symbols that feed everyone's belief that we are back-woods rednecks with little more than a 5th grade education and an outhouse in every back yard. I've since grown to shrug it off and appreciate the lyrics, rhythm and talent that these artists create. Nice to know there are others who appreciate the music and aren't afraid to admit it.I'm glad you were able to shrug it off. People who say they don't like country, haven't heard Carrrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Toby Keith, Johnny Reid... I could go on and on. These people have amazing talent! Thanks for reading and commenting Michael, and for joining my fan club.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.