Country Music: Lyrical Idiocy or Sheer Brilliance? (with cowlgirl body paint pics)

Today's post is a bit unlike the others we've written ..

We mean, how often can one explain the stock market is rigged, an enormous economic bubble is ultimately going to pop leaving most of us in utter misery and Fed Chair Ben Bernanke should be sent forever to Guantanamo...

Lately we've tried to get into country music as something for relaxation; pleasant melodies to allow us to calm from the stresses of daily life and this admittedly most unpleasant topic of economic and finance.

Its not our first attempt-- Usually we'd find a couple artists we like, listen to the local country station when in our car doing errands or Sunday drive, then ultimately within a week or two, its inflaming our nerves and irritations, causing the radio to be turned back off for a prolonged period..

It's not country music we seem to abhor.. its the lyrics.

Only so many songs can one take in the span of 3 hours about drinking and honky-tonkin' and drinking and cheating hearts and drinking and lost love... And did we mention, there's a lot of songs about drinking?

One song's lyrics we heard went something like this:  "I like corn/ corn is for whisky/ and whisky/ makes my gal frisky"   Another song's lyrics were "I love my pick up truck/ but I love you more"

Wish we could remember the artists.. OK, No we don't..

And ever notice no country artist ever sings on their history as a region; never one mention of the Confederacy or their ancestors; their kinfolk fighting for their country.  Even the country artists of the 1940's and 50s never broached it..

Just songs about beer, whisky, moonshine and such..

But as we're listening to such over-simplicity of life and thinking these people who listen as maybe the dumbest pile of rocks, a thought occurred -- that maybe in a sense, they're the Smartest.

We all strive for the simple life-- to remove complication and clutter from our existence.  Whatever is giving us tensions and stress, just let it go figuratively and literally--  it makes us happier and ultimately we live longer, fruitful lives from it..

Of course, easier said than done for most, including us..

We delve into this muck of a topic and write on it 4-5x a week knowing full well its an uphill battle to wake people up to how bad things are so they'll take preventive steps and warn others...

Most people who know nothing about anything A&G has written about for the last 30 months... generally speaking, they may be poor or struggling and really not have the slightest clue why their lives have been turned upside down, but for some, the knowing does no good...

Its the not knowing which is the comfort.

And its never fun to see evil, despicably rotten human beings like Fed Chair Bernanke and CEOs of the banking cabal and all the Investors and market know-it-alls smiling their insincere grins while only the top 7% of the population economically sees their wealth expand; the other 93% contract lower.

Vast majority couldn't identify Bernanke in a photo from that of a Zagnut bar.

So maybe we interpret country music lyrics too harsh; too literal.

Maybe its supposed to reflect simpler times and attitudes.  Basic happiness and joys.. Common people singing on common experiences that are very clear cut and concise for common audiences to embrace..

The word 'common' not spoken in a negative sense..

Maybe through country music lyrics, magical worlds are explored where perhaps where all it takes to find inner-happiness is a beer in the hand and some burgers cooking on the grille, or reel in that big catch with one's buds...

When the mere smile of a pretty girl or good looking guy is enough to wash all the troubles away.

And who knows... Maybe more regular folk understand the reality of things then we at A&G give credit; maybe they Do know how deeply horrible their government is and the people running it but those who listen to country music do a better job of compartmentalizing

The ability or skill to know this is 'My' time and no nonsense on the outer world and its rottenness will infect 'My' time or that 'I' spend with family and friends...

So if all that is true, then the lyrical content of country music is quite ingenious; break life into its simplest components of what makes one happy or sad and thus capture that moment.

We still think there's far too many drinking references in country songs and honky tonkin' isn't That much fun...  But to each his/her own...

But a good lesson is learned that even we here at 'A&G' can take stock in; the 'All or Nothing' approach isn't the way to go.

One can not be an ostrich and avoid the reality of life because its upsetting yet like everything else, there's a time and a place for it and life and tulips shall always be growing no matter how hard those in power seek to stomp them out.