The Gospel According to Nashville

There’s an old stereotype of Country music that suggests that all Country singers ever sing about is drinkin, cheatin, old dogs, and pick-up trucks. People assume that Country is low-brow fare fit for only Honkytonks and NASCAR parties.

Actually, Country music today is deeper and expresses powerful values that put top 40, adult contemporary, and hip hop all to shame.

Look no further than recent hits like Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying” or “I Hate Everything” by George Strait. McGraw sings of the importance of living like every minute counts and King George’s hit is a sheep in wolves clothing. At first listen, you might assume that it’s just another sad bar ballad, but instead, he’s using irony to show how we shouldn’t take our loved ones for granted.

If you’ve been reading this column for a long time, you know that I share a lot of the values that Garth Brooks sang about in “We Shall Be Free:”

“When the last child cries for a crust of bread When the last man dies for just
words that he said When there's shelter over the poorest head We shall be free”

One of my favorite bands, Sawyer Band put out an entire album in 2003, “True Believer” in which every song dealt with faith and Spirituality. Mark Miller sings a great song called “800 Pound Jesus” on that one.

A recent song that will tear your heart out is “God’s Will” by Martina McBride. It’s about a handicapped little boy who’s indelible spirit and positive attitude touches and teaches the adults around him about God’s unconditional love.

Salem College, in Winston-Salem, N.C. offers an entire class devoted to the study of Martina McBride's music. English professor Dr. Ron DePeter uses McBride's songs and videos to examine woman's experiences.

A song from a few years back that brings me to tears is “The Little Girl" by John Micheal Montgomery. Teachers who’ve ever encountered a foster child know this one. I hope that people are praying for the infant that was taken into protective custody in the meth bust last week.

The story line of Montgomery’s song has a neglected little girl placed into a loving home:

“Her first day of Sunday school the teacher walked in,And a small little
girl,Stared a picture of Him.She said I know that man up there on that cross,I
don't know His name,But I know He got off. 'Cause he was there in my old
house And held me close to His side.As I hid there, behind our couch,The night
that my parents died.”

Not every Country song is so idealistic, though. Alan Jackson’s “Monday Morning Church” is a brutally honest look at grief. The man in this song isn’t afraid to admit that he’s angry at God and feels abandoned and lost after the death of his wife.

For my money the greatest song of all time- in Country, or any other genre has to be “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” by Alan Jackson. Not only did he capture the disillusionment and confusion that we all felt on September 11, 2001, but he went further and reminded us to depend on God and to respond to tragedy with love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

The flip side to Jackson’s song may be Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.” Don’t get me wrong, this battle hymn embodies the justified anger, the righteous indignation that we all felt about the World Trade Center attack, but unfortunately, since then it’s been turned into a sort of school fight song for our militaristic policies. A lot of Toby’s songs are just about having fun, but one of his best is “My List,” where he asks us to slow down and think about what’s really important to us- our busy schedules, or spending time with the people we treasure.

I happen to be a big Jimmy Buffet fan. I love listening to him sing about beaches and margaritas and cheeseburgers. Lately, high school kids have really been getting into Kenny Chesney, who seems to have taken to Buffet’s Island themes like a, well, like a fish takes to water. But a few years back there was a Country-Calypso tune that reminded you to think before jumping off the deep end. Clay Walker sang about cheatin’ in a pretty mature way”

“Then what, where you gonna turn When you cant turn back for the bridges you
burn And fate can't wait to kick you in the butt Then what?”

So don’t let anyone look down on you for loving your Country music, because you could learn a lot by listening to Country. But don’t tell your kids about this. As soon as they think it’s good for them, they’ll hate it. It’s like eating their vegetables. So, if you want your kids to pick up good values from their music- tell them that they’re not allowed to listen to Country anymore.

Make up some excuse, like that all Country music is just about dogs and trucks and drinkin' and cheatin. If they think that you think it’s bad for them, they’ll start playing it all day long. Then you can enjoy what they listen to for a change- just be careful to no look like you’re enjoying it.