Leigh Ivey, Charger Staff
Country music. Some people love it, some people hate it. Why? Maybe because
some songs are too “twangy.” Maybe some artists are trying too hard
to sound like rock or pop singers. Or maybe people dislike country music simply
because they haven’t given it a chance.
I grew up listening to country music. My mom played it in the car when I was
little, so I had no choice but to learn to love it. From Lori Morgan’s
“Shackles and Chains” to Kenny Chesney’s “She Thinks My
Tractor’s Sexy,” country music deals with real life, real situations.
Some songs tell stories, such as Clay Walker’s “Chain of Love.”
Some songs, like Faith Hill’s “Secret of Life,” offer advice.
Some are simply for fun, such as the Dixie Chicks’ new hit, “Some
Days You Gotta Dance.”
Some people who don’t like country music say that every song is either
about a dog running away, a new car, or a love that turned bad. Maybe there
are songs dealing with all of those topics (although I can’t come up with
one dealing with a lost dog), but how many genres of music don’t deal with
lost love?
I’m not saying I like every country song I hear. There are plenty that
I simply cannot stand. But on the whole I do love the music. Tim McGraw, Diamond
Rio, Shania Twain, Brooks and Dunn--each contribute to country music in their
own way, making it modern, classic, happy, sad. Joe Diffie sings a song telling
how music can change your attitude, “take you to another place in time,
and even change your state of mind.”
Not everyone has to enjoy the same kinds of music. Whether it’s classic rock, oldies, pop, blue grass, or even country, everyone has a favorite genre. But before you put down country music, listen to it first. It just might change your state of mind.
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