Something I noticed about Country Music..odd?? (music lyrics, song, singing)
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I have never listened to country music that much, but my last GF did listen to it all the time and I got used to turning it on wherever I was, and I noticed a few things and wondering about them, first, I realized country music songs generally tell a story, and Ive heard some people comment about how country music lyrics and songs are so "relateable"(spelling?) to most peoples general lives, well, I totally disagree and have no idea where anyone would get that idea, most of the songs today are about growing up and starting a family, realizing your an adult now and all the responsabilities that go along with adulthood such as bills, rasing kids,and their moral upbringing, etc. I dont know anyones life that is relateable to ANY country music song Ive ever heard.. most are fantasys that no one experiences? What happened to the songs of my truck wont start, my wife ran off, my dog ran off, thast what people want to hear, not a made up scenario! Another example, a song that lyrics are about a guy who works at a nursing home for minimum wage and his relationship with a patient kathryn davis, and how she calls him raymond and she still thinks is 1943, and in the song, this is ok with him?? Who in the world thinks these songs up??? I would be extremely upset if someone working in a nursing home did something like that to a relative of mine!! I know its just a song, but when people say how relateable county music is to real life, they are absolutely WRONG! finally, many country songs have lyrics about how little they have, money, time, etc, and yet they still find ways to enjoy their lives and proud of the fact that they arent rich snobby elite class and are part of the good ole boy, small town citizen type of class... That is comical as the country stars singing these songs are making more money than most of us will see in a lifetime and have no idea what they are singing about! I almost laugh when I hear some of the songs on the radio, they are so far from reality, the song writers really need to re-evaluate the lyrics and maybe find out what the people in small towns are really like, and not make up their own ideas simply for a song! The fact is the world that country music portrays doesnt exist, and if people wanted it, it would exist, but it doesnt, so...
Country isn't quite as good as it used to be and many songs have an imaginative quality to them.
Still I get the sense part of the issue is they're not relatable to your life, not that they're not relatable to someone's life. Country is traditionally about rural or small-town life, you might not be a rural or small-town person. It also often has an element of nostalgia and even mythos. (Cowboys, wise Grandpas, Love-Triangles, America, other iconic imagery) Taken on those terms it might sometimes being relating more to the reality they believe in than the reality they literally experience. "Urban music" is often dealing with a slightly exaggerated and stylized vision of urban life so it might not be surprising country does too.
I haven't really listened to much country in the last decade, but I think some of the best examples of it still does speak to the hopes and fears of non-urban America. (And non-urban Canada plus Australia)
Still if you want an example of an older country song that I've heard people say they relate to, even if they have not had this exact experience, try this.
The fact is the world that country music portrays doesnt exist, and if people wanted it, it would exist, but it doesnt, so...
Not disputing your post, but I think there is a large part of our society that longs for a certain way of life, whether or not it is realistic to do so. I think a lot of people do live what I envision as they country-music way: you know, marry your high-school sweetheart, have some kids, work an "honest" job, blah blah blah. Not exactly MY story, and not exactly the most exciting stuff, but we all know someone's buying the records!
I don't know the song about the nursing home, but it's interesting you mention it. I used to work in one and had to listen to country music All... of... the... time... Good Lord, that stuff gets old fast. But a lot of our residents did relate to the songs, enjoyed the stories, and were reminded of other times in their lives, through country music.
Looking through recent country songs that either won or were nominated for awards the following sound like stories a person could possibly experience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNQk6gh4PK0 - Vevo so you'll have to go to Youtube. About being newly married, a parent, and having built a house. (Okay maybe not urban relatable, the character proposes on a farm after all, but not a total fantasy/unreal situation either)
I have never listened to country music that much, but my last GF did listen to it all the time and I got used to turning it on wherever I was, and I noticed a few things and wondering about them, first, I realized country music songs generally tell a story, and Ive heard some people comment about how country music lyrics and songs are so "relateable"(spelling?) to most peoples general lives, well, I totally disagree and have no idea where anyone would get that idea, most of the songs today are about growing up and starting a family, realizing your an adult now and all the responsabilities that go along with adulthood such as bills, rasing kids,and their moral upbringing, etc. I dont know anyones life that is relateable to ANY country music song Ive ever heard.. most are fantasys that no one experiences? What happened to the songs of my truck wont start, my wife ran off, my dog ran off, thast what people want to hear, not a made up scenario! Another example, a song that lyrics are about a guy who works at a nursing home for minimum wage and his relationship with a patient kathryn davis, and how she calls him raymond and she still thinks is 1943, and in the song, this is ok with him?? Who in the world thinks these songs up??? I would be extremely upset if someone working in a nursing home did something like that to a relative of mine!! I know its just a song, but when people say how relateable county music is to real life, they are absolutely WRONG! finally, many country songs have lyrics about how little they have, money, time, etc, and yet they still find ways to enjoy their lives and proud of the fact that they arent rich snobby elite class and are part of the good ole boy, small town citizen type of class... That is comical as the country stars singing these songs are making more money than most of us will see in a lifetime and have no idea what they are singing about! I almost laugh when I hear some of the songs on the radio, they are so far from reality, the song writers really need to re-evaluate the lyrics and maybe find out what the people in small towns are really like, and not make up their own ideas simply for a song!
The fact is the world that country music portrays doesnt exist, and if people wanted it, it would exist, but it doesnt, so...
All this means to me is that either you're very young and/or you just don't get out much.
Country music is about life experiences or desires among options, and as one poster noted, making big bucks. Nothing about it requires >your< understanding.
I have never listened to country music that much, but my last GF did listen to it all the time and I got used to turning it on wherever I was, and I noticed a few things and wondering about them, first, I realized country music songs generally tell a story, and Ive heard some people comment about how country music lyrics and songs are so "relateable"(spelling?) to most peoples general lives, well, I totally disagree and have no idea where anyone would get that idea, most of the songs today are about growing up and starting a family, realizing your an adult now and all the responsabilities that go along with adulthood such as bills, rasing kids,and their moral upbringing, etc. I dont know anyones life that is relateable to ANY country music song Ive ever heard.. most are fantasys that no one experiences? What happened to the songs of my truck wont start, my wife ran off, my dog ran off, thast what people want to hear, not a made up scenario! Another example, a song that lyrics are about a guy who works at a nursing home for minimum wage and his relationship with a patient kathryn davis, and how she calls him raymond and she still thinks is 1943, and in the song, this is ok with him?? Who in the world thinks these songs up??? I would be extremely upset if someone working in a nursing home did something like that to a relative of mine!! I know its just a song, but when people say how relateable county music is to real life, they are absolutely WRONG! finally, many country songs have lyrics about how little they have, money, time, etc, and yet they still find ways to enjoy their lives and proud of the fact that they arent rich snobby elite class and are part of the good ole boy, small town citizen type of class... That is comical as the country stars singing these songs are making more money than most of us will see in a lifetime and have no idea what they are singing about! I almost laugh when I hear some of the songs on the radio, they are so far from reality, the song writers really need to re-evaluate the lyrics and maybe find out what the people in small towns are really like, and not make up their own ideas simply for a song! The fact is the world that country music portrays doesnt exist, and if people wanted it, it would exist, but it doesnt, so...
When it comes to Country, the newer stuff is the absolute WORST you can listen to. Listen to the old stuff, plug in a Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard or George Jones song and say people don't relate to that.
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But a lot of our residents did relate to the songs, enjoyed the stories, and were reminded of other times in their lives, through country music.
