Morals and Meaning: Country Music

Aside from some plucky banjo, intermittent fiddling, and corny hick accents, much modern country music is barely distinguishable from Top 40 Pop.  Cliched tunes and bouncy beats.  Vapid lyrics laden with gratuitous alcohol-worship, shameless innuendo, and plenty of unambiguously causal sex.  Basically, everything that’s wrong with this kind of pop country can be summed up in this fine specimen:

Fortunately, this country sub-genre equivalent of the Kiss FM radio cycle is not the only kind of country music out there these days.  To the contrary, there are many songs that – rather than exalting scantily-clad women, whiskey, and feckless personal pleasure – actually bear a family-oriented message, respectful patriotic sentiment, and praise for the work ethic of the American Dream.

Here are five good examples worth a listen:

1)  “A Good Man” – Emerson Drive

Funny how most of the songs I criticize above ignore man’s character and focus on women’s sex appeal or inebriated delirium.  Emerson Drive changes that in a fun, lighthearted way.

2)  “Alright” – Darius Rucker

The American Dream.  Enough said.

3)  “Love Like Crazy” – Lee Brice

Fidelity and value for marriage, rather than haphazard hookups.  What a refreshing change of pace from the flippancy of Big & Rich’s truly timeless words, “save a horse, ride a cowboy.”

4)  “It’s America” – Rodney Adkins

This spirited tune captures a pretty broad postcard picture of America – from the lemonade-stand entrepreneurial ethic of neighborhood kids to the civic-mindedness of citizens helping out fellow citizens hit by a twister.  Idealized, sure.  But nevertheless a substantially better message than Brad Paisley’s classic “I want to check you for ticks.”

5)  “Chicken Fried” – Zac Brown Band

“Funny how it’s the little things in life that mean the most.  Not where you live or what you drive or the price tag on your clothes.  There’s no dollar sign on a piece of mind…”  Zac Brown’s philosophy espouses simplicity and basic goodness in life.  Note also the respect for the troops who are on the front lines, willing to sacrifice their lives “so we don’t have to sacrifice all the things we love, like our chicken fried…”

Think you’ve heard some more or equally edifying country tunes than I’ve included here?  Please share in the comments below!