What we can learn from Country Music
“For These Times -in which we live the sound of someone’s heartbreak is the soundbite at the news break” Martina McBride
Country music, the real, older style, tells stories in melody. Each song is like a pearl of wisdom. I’m not talking about the current state of what is found on radio now, or for the last several years, with few exceptions.
The Real Wisdom
The kind of songs that tell stories about life and love and are filled with lessons. There are no shortage of these. One only has to go back a few years to listen and learn. Let’s start with Faith Hill. She sings about how The Secret of Life is the simple things, getting up early, a good cup of coffee, “the secret of life is, there ain’t no secret and you don’t get your money back!” Live a life filled with what you want and you already know the secret.
Pay Attention
“You’re Gonna Miss This” and “Don’t Blink” by Trace Atkins and Kenny Chesney respectively, tell us to live in the moment, not to take for granted or miss out and complain too much, because one day you will look back and think where did that time go? “You’re going to wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast, you may not know it now, but you’re gonna miss this.” “You just might miss your babies growing up, like mine did. When your hourglass runs out of sand, you can’t flip it over and start again” We can also add Tim Mcgraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying” to this group. Why wait, for anything? You may not get a second chance!
Songs that make you think
There are songs that make us think, cry, smile and remember a moment. Songs stay with us, mostly for a lifetime. Some of the earlier country songs I started listening to, in the late 80’s, are some of the most memorable ones for me. Shenandoah singing sad, but thought provoking lyrics with haunting melodies. Spending hours playing the what if game. “The Road Not Taken”, ” I Wanna Be Loved Like That”, and “Mama Knows” all about a simpler time. These songs craft the question, do we live in regret, or choose the life you have made.
The Big Guy
Garth Brooks even sang about the wisdom of not getting what you want. “Unanswered Prayers” reminds us, as he sees an old flame he once prayed would be the one, realizing she wasn’t and that God had someone better for him. “The Dance-I’m glad I didn’t know the way it all would end, the way it all would go, our lives are better left to chance,I could have missed the pain, but I’d of had to miss the dance”.
The Preacher Won’t Have To Lie
The idea for this blog came one day late last year when I was on a long drive in my convertible, and saw a billboard sign something about God is watching. I immediately thought of the Lee Ann Womack songs “The Preacher Won’t Have to Lie~I had a dream and I got a good look at myself. I stood face to face with the ghost of my past and I saw what was to come. They made it clear that on day I’d have to answer for what I had done. I saw what I’d become. The choices you make, the chances you take, they’ll follow you all of your life” and “Something Worth Leaving Behind”. Who could forget her monster crossover hit, “I Hope You Dance-never settle for the path of least resistance, when you come close to selling out, reconsider”
So many great songs, so little space. Here is a short list of some great songs to listen to again, or for the first time: Lynn Anderson “Rose Garden” The Judds “Grandpa” Suzy Bogguss “Letting Go” Kasey Musgraves “Mind Your Biscuits” Loretta Lynn, just about any of her older stuff. Grab your klennex for when Patty Loveless signs with a tear in her throat, “How Can I Help You Say Goodbye”
Martina McBride
I could write an entire blog on just Martina songs. She certainly can pick them, and she wrote some of them as well. Her songs inspire and give hope in trying times. “Love’s The Only House big enough for all the pain”. “Anyway sing, love, dream, do it anyway””In My Daughter’s Eyes”, which I wrote about here.
“All The Things We’ve Never Done” and “Whatever You Say” sometimes it’s not what you say or do that speaks volumes. Who could forget not only the soaring vocals but the message of “Independence Day”? Let freedom Ring, Let the whole world know that today is the day of reckoning. A song I use almost daily for inspiration, “Ride” Life is a roller coaster ride, time turns a wheel and love collides, faith is believing you can close your eyes and touch the sky. Hold on tight to what you feel inside and ride.
Back to the beginning
Especially now, “For These Times-where the worst of what we live is laid out for all the world on the front page. Give me a heart full of love and kindness and arms ready to open wide”. The wisdom of country music. What are some of your picks for songs on the list? leave a comment.