There is no music genre that is under as much debate as country music. The question “Do you like country music?” gets a confident and emphatic answer every time, regardless of opinion. Everyone I have ever met is either all for it and is all but throwing on their cowboy boots to go to a concert, or there are other people seeing every song as a boring drawl with the same lyrics in every song. I’m here to tell you that country music is something everyone should at least try listening to.
Country music tells a story. There aren’t many genres that can touch your heart in a relatable way that country music can. Country music is all about singing about things that normal people go through every day. They can be about fun, love, loss, coming of age, and other common experiences. Country songs put our feelings into meaningful words in a way that we cannot express ourselves. Hearing these songs that seem to be written just for you can put you at ease, clear your head, and help you sort out your thoughts and feelings.
This genre is more than singing along to a favorite song (although that is always fun). It’s about hearing your feelings in a song and knowing you’re not alone. Whether you mess up and want to say sorry but don’t know how, you want to tell someone you love them, or you are going through a heartbreaking loss and you feel you have no one to turn to, country music understands. As Brad Paisley says in his song “This is Country Music:”
Do you like to drink a cold one
On the weekend and get a little loud?
Do you wanna say I'm sorry or I love you
But you don't know how?
Do you wish somebody had the nerve
To tell that stupid boss of yours
To shove it, next time he yells at you
Well this is country music and we do.
Music has always been a powerful tool in expressing our feelings, but modern pop music has lost some of that. Popular celebrities seem so far away and inhuman that we can sometimes feel like they could never understand or write about normal occurrences that normal people like us encounter. While many country music artists are very well known and considered celebrities, they stay true to their roots and remain faithful to the hopes, needs, and expectations of their listeners. Country music can touch hearts in a way that no other genre even comes close to doing. I implore people to put aside any preconceived notions regarding country music and give it a try. I recommend starting with this song: “This is Country Music” by Brad Paisley. Then just jump into fun and upbeat artists such as Luke Bryan and Brett Eldredge.
This is Country Music by Brad Paisley:
