Odds are, if you're a country music fan, there are some life lessons you either learned from your favorite songs or songs you grew to love based on life lessons taught by friends and family. No matter the reason for your country music love affair, here are six life lessons we have all learned from country music, old and new.
1. How to love someone...and what to do once you don't anymore.
From the grand, romantic gesture that kicks off a new relationship to the final "screw you" that ends a particularly bad one, country music was born and bred on love and breakups. After all, matters of the heart are things we can all relate to in one way or another. Here are a few country love (and un-love) songs that remind us to go out on a limb, enjoy the little things, be smart enough to know when to walk away, and when to key their car before you do.
John Deere Green - Joe Diffie
Here's a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares - Travis Tritt
Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
2. The necessity of having a sense of humor.
If there's one thing growing up can teach us about life, it's that nothing and no one is perfect. Why waste precious time fretting over pesky rules or living up to the expectations of people who just don't matter? These country songs remind us not to take ourselves too seriously and be open to some unconventional ways of getting the job done.
Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash
I'm Gonna Miss Her - Brad Paisley
3. The importance of home.
Home isn't just about where we live now; it's where we went on our first dates, enjoyed our first driving privileges, spent summer days swimming and winter weekends having snowball fights. Home is more than a place. It's a feeling. And country music has a way of relating those feelings in a lot of different ways. From the fun and borderline stupid to the sweet and memorable, home is important to us, no matter how far away we may go and how long we may stay gone.
Meanwhile Back at Mama's - Tim McGraw
Small Town Saturday Night - Hal Ketchum
The House that Built Me - Miranda Lambert
4. To appreciate family.
Well, we've talked about love, home, and the importance of a sense of humor...it's only fitting that family be included, too. Growing up in a family that listened to country music, many of the lessons I learned in life were mirrored in the songs I was listening to. Now that I'm pretending to be a grown up, there are still a few of those songs that bring a tear to my eye and a smile to my face. Where would we be without the sacrifices our parents made for us to have what we needed and the words of wisdom from grandma and grandpa on the values that people today just don't seem to take as seriously? Nowhere good, that's for sure.
Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn
Grandpa - The Judds
Who I Am (Rosemary's Granddaughter) - Jessica Andrews
You're Gonna Miss This - Trace Adkins
5. How to tell a good story.
Music today seems to be all beat and no meaning. Sure, it's fun to dance to latest tracks and who cares if the whole song is literally the same word repeated 10000 times (I'm looking at you, Rihanna), but sometimes we just need a song that can bring us to another place or empower us to stick it to the man. When a song has a catchy tune and a great story to back it up, incredible things can happen.
Ole Red - Blake Shelton
Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton
Harper Valley PTA - Jeannie C. Riley
6. How to keep yourself grounded.
If nothing else, country music reminds us of the values of days gone by. It's easy to get wrapped up in our next career move, the endless to-dos, and our own day-to-day needs and responsibilities. Not so easy? Remembering to call mom, writing grandma that thank-you note, and making the people you love a priority in life. If I could wrap this all up in one sentence, it would be this: Thank goodness for country music.
Humble & Kind - Tim McGraw
I Believe in You - Don Williams
What has country music taught you? Drop your favorite tunes and the lessons you've learned from them in the comments below!
