Those of you that know me (really know me) will probably recall a time in my life when all I listened to was country music. For crying out loud - I had cowboy boots and a cowboy hat (just no place where it was acceptable to wear them...)Looking back over the years I can recall specific chunks of time in which my music tastes were very exclusive and specific - usually in one of the following genres:
- Christian / Contemporary Christian
- Pop Rock / Hard Rock
- Metal
- Industrial
- Grunge
- Country
- Etc.
I can't really tell you why I exited the country music phase other than to say I grew out of it. The songs on the radio were probably overplayed, and there may have been a new style of music catching my ear at the time. But whatever it was I left and left hard - complete change and didn't look back.
[Present Day] Tammy has been getting back into country - which means if I want to sleep in my own bed, I have to at least pretend to like it when I'm in the car with her. But I think it has been good for me, because it has helped me to identify the reason why I haven't been listening to it!
It's quite simple really - I don't listen to country music because it hits too close to home.
You know - most music is light hearted, fast paced, feeds into your emotions whether happy or angry, makes you feel on top of the world or willing to take it on full force or simply keeps you from having to listen to complete silence...
But country music on the other hand has another element involved. Sure there are the fun country songs like Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under and the "plinkety plunkety plink" old western style country songs, but these are the songs that I'm referring to:
- Skin (Sarabeth) by Rascal Flats: Dealing with cancer in an adolescent girl
- Arlington by Trace Adkins (lyrics here): Dealing with the death of someone in the military
- Believe by Brooks & Dunn (lyrics here): Dealing with conversion to a faith in God
- Jesus, Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood (lyrics here): Dealing with faith in miracles and letting go of our desire for control
Maybe it's the emotional side of me. Maybe it's because I'm a Social Worker and see the darker side of life every day. Or perhaps it's because I am a Christian whose heart breaks (as does the heart of Jesus) when people suffer and struggle.
Whatever the case, I think that's why I don't listen to country music...as much as I probably should...
