Listening and learning

I’ve been listening to country music since I was 9 years old.  When I was a kid listening to some of these songs, I just sang along, memorizing the melody and the lyric, never really knowing what the song meant.  It wasn’t until I got older that I realized Garth Brooks was singing about murder, Reba about prostitution, and what people meant Faith Hill was doing under those sheets. See, I’ve learned so much from the music I play.  I’ve learned to love, learned what heartache is, learned to forgive, and to hold on.

The introverted and heavy-hearted lyrical stylings of Mary Chapin Carpenter have kept me sane during the craziest times and they still feed my brain regularly.  This is in contrast to Alan Jackson, who takes a straight-forward and bare-bones approach to his songwriting and his music feeds the simple soul in me, the country boy that remembers catching crawdads in the creek and how great it felt to come home muddy and dirty.  And while Alan doesn’t directly sing about those things much – or I’d have already gotten bored with him – he just gives off a good ol’ boy energy in whatever he does.  I need reminded there are still good ol’ boys in the world now and then.

I couldn’t begin to tell you everything country music has taught me.  But I can tell you about some of my favorite albums, and what I learned from them, and how they shaped me into who I am today.

Alan Jackson – Here In The Real World … Alan’s debut album is the best example of his simple and universal appeal. Maybe it’s because it was my introduction to Alan Jackson, so I have a soft spot for it.  I learned all about Music Row and ‘how the wheels turn slow’ from ‘Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow’, I’ll never forget there’s no place like ‘Home’, and that love can still be just as strong after a decade – from this record.

Randy Travis – Storms of Life …  If nothing else, it taught me to appreciate traditional country music, especially in this neo-classic form.  These songs were already country standards by the time I got to them, and were still relevant.  This album told me about the reasons to cheat, broken-hearted madness, and assured me there’ll always be a honky tonk somewhere.  God knows we need one after all that.

Mary Chapin Carpenter – Come On Come On … I call this album my ‘school of hard knocks’.  Mary Chapin Carpenter is a deep soul and also one that has stumbled more than once on the road of life, and it comes across in her songs.  ‘The Hard Way’ and ‘I Take My Chances’ were lessons in the real world for me, pointing out all the grim realities.  Other songs like ‘Passionate Kisses’ and ‘I Feel Lucky’ keep the album from being too abysmal.

Reba McEntire – Rumor Has It … This one taught me just how great a country album really can be, from start to finish.  Reba mixes some stone country numbers with a few snappy tunes and also a few soaring ballads.  Maybe just playing these songs so much embedded them into my consciousness and because of that, their lyrics are closely tied with my own intuition.  I find myself assuming the bitter character in ‘You Remember Me’ or the indecisiveness of ‘Now You Tell Me’ too often.  And I’m constantly ‘waiting for the deal to go down’.

Trisha Yearwood – Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love … This album was released just when life went a little nuts for me.  I found myself right in the middle of each of these songs.  It taught me about losing and letting go.

What albums  and song have shaped your life?  Tell us what they are and what you learned from them …