It seems to me that country music has been given a raw deal. In an age when academics and others are beginning to appreciate the role of music in social awareness, it alone has remained hidden.
Rap music and much of the music of the sixties have long had recognition for their commentary on society. But what about country music?
Why haven't we delved into the study of Garth Brooks, George Straight, Wynona Judd and Clint Black? Whatever the reason, I plan to set the record straight right here, right now.
George Straight's classic lament of the state of spoiled love in American society is captured in the lyrics, "I've Got so Many Ex's and Owe so Much, I Oughtta Be on Hollywood Squares." In what other genre of music does someone so eloquently agonize over the rising divorce rate and the crisis of divorce laws? Mark Chesnutt picks up Strait's lead in "Goin' Through the Big D(and I don't mean Dallas)" and bemoans a hasty marriage and the aftermath.
If these examples are failing to convince you -- never fear. There are countless others.
We turn to Garth Brooks for a look at adultery and domestic violence. He tells of the plight of an adulterous truck driver's wife who is found out by her husband in the stirring chorus of "Papa Loved Mama": "The picture in the paper showed the scene real well. Papa's rig was buried in the local motel. The desk clerk said he saw it all real clear. He never hit the brakes and he was shifting gears ... Papa loved mama, mama loved men. Mama's in the graveyard; Papa's in the Pen." Garth was dealing with issues of domestic violence long before the O.J. case heightened the country's awareness.
Garth deftly moves from issue to issue and contributes to society significantly in other songs including "Friends in Low Places," the story of a man who has come to terms with the American elitist society and offers a biting critique of government welfare policies and red tape in the "America Honky-Tonk Bar Association."
In addition to the lyrics, the music itself has led to a social coup in the country bar scene. Line dancing has come to the forefront of hipness in country music and has freed women from the necessity of finding a long-neck toting man to whisk them around the dance floor for a two-step. Line dancing, once relegated to women without dates surrounded by happy couples two-stepping, has become the rage and given women the power to break free from the need for dates and to enjoy a "Boot Scootin' Boogie" as much as any man.
And so, I think it has become painfully obvious that country music is in need of its due praise. For years, it has suffered on in virtual anonymity, being sneered at by those of the Northeast and never fully appreciated by the music community at large. Next time you start to criticize country music, think of how it has freed women from the threat of having Redman dribbled on their clothes and a cold beer resting on their shoulder and the way it has heightened awareness on moral and class issues. And if you still aren't quieted -- try taking Randy Travis's advice and go back to a "better class of losers."
