The Musings Behind the Music- part three
We all have our own red dirt roads. Final part to the series.
This is the third part in a three part series discussing the underlying philosophical ideas behind the appeal of country music. Previous entries in the series can be found here1 and here2.
Why is it the case that country music is the genre that straddles this universal- specific divide? Is it a historical curiosity or is there something bigger to the picture as a cause?
One of the dividing lines between folksy old time music and country music is a focus on commercialization. In the 1930s, when the roots of what we consider country music really came to be, commercialization was key. Old folk tunes were recorded for new audiences. Until that point in time, the regional music of Appalachia and the south was part of the continuous fabric of an insular culture. It had never been intended for outsiders. After the advent of recording technologies, it was surmised that a buck could be made selling this regional product and the kraken was unleashed. As a means of appealing to the others, the rough edges were sanded down and popular elements allowed to minimally seep into the sound. It's a pretty straight line from those primordial beginnings all the way to Florida Georgia Line.
The push and pull between the regional and traditional sounds and stories and more widely appealing stories and pop sounds became a defining factor in country music. Some eras lean more in one direction and some in others. The essential idea is true regardless. Artists from a generally rural leaning and specifically regional background tell stories aimed for mass audiences, often using folk and country traditions to shine light on rural settings and convey emotion and messages in song.
This naturally leads itself to this previously discussed delicate balance between universality (driven by the attempt at widening and relating to broad audiences) and specificity (driven by the connection to rural settings and musical traditions). What is interesting to note is that many view the constant focus on catering to pop audiences as a watering down of the countryness. It certainly can and does. It also brings in this wonderfully complex and rewarding dynamic. The benefit of independent country is that via its inlooking perspective it may be more authentic. That is clear. However, by not being subjected to the rigors of “Will this play on top 40?”, it doesn't get filtered for its mass appeal and consequently doesn't have this broad based universality to it as much. Each style, mainstream and indie, provide a different flavor.
Country music operates as both an outreach and an inreach. It reaches out to non insider audiences and shows them the commonalities within deeply human experiences. It provides inreach by bolstering the oft overlooked communities of America. If focus is only on the first, then you end up untethered from the unique roots of the genre. In other words, southern pop. If the focus is on the second, then you often end up with self absorbed music that struggles to transcend. It can also descend into crass identitarianism undermining the universal spirit which underlines a large chunk of the appeal of country music.
One of the areas which this commercialization has enhanced the artistry and expression of country musicians is faith. Country is the only mainstream genre that tackles faith from a multifaceted perspective. Faith in the mainstream entertainment world is either something which is used as a punchline or it’s used for some vague thematic ideas usually in a subversive manner. Songs such as Unholy or Like a Prayer come to mind. Usually faith positive or faith centered songs are found only in the explicitly religious genres of contemporary christian music or gospel music with country music the sole “secular” exception. For a genre which is rooted in southern sensibilities, and the day-to-day life of normal people, especially given an older audience, it is not unsurprising that faith plays an essential role. The same way tough relationships, or a difficult working environment impact feelings and thoughts of day-to-day people (providing excellent fodder for music topics), spiritual relationships and religious environments play a day-to-day role in the thoughts and feelings of people (again, excellent fodder for music topics).
Part of the reason why faith-based songs get put into the corner with faith-based genres is because it’s very difficult to make a song centered around religion, which can be very divisive, into a compelling narrative that can relate to people who are not members of that faith. The south has a multitude of different faith traditions amongst its borders. Frequent references to them are found in country music. It doesn’t matter whether they are Evangelical (plenty of Billy Graham references out there), Pentecostal (Kenny Chesney and that snake poison song), Baptist, Methodist, and so many more. I haven’t heard any Lutheran country music yet, but I’m sure it’s out there. Trying to convey the nature of a spiritual relationship with a specific perception of the Bible and all of the fine details within can be tough. Usually the specifics are ignored for a more smoothed over, broad based relationship with Christianity at large and the associated spiritual ideas. For those complaining that it waters down the religious traditions, gospel and CCM music exists. This broad manifestation of faith in music allows artists to both express themselves and have an audience relate to ideas that they would not have otherwise.
There are two general ways that faith gets discussed in country music, both of which grapple with the relationship between an irreligious audience and a religious singer. The first is to present the topic as a matter of artistic identity. As an audience, we love when artists open up about their inside feelings and thoughts and express them in song. If an artist is connected to faith, it is reasonable that would be a factor in his musical identity and his general identity as a person. A recent instance of this ideal is Eric Church‘s Monsters. The song describes the growth and maturity of Eric Church from a young child through fatherhood. A real masterpiece of writing. The song deals with fear. It starts with describing the childish fear of monsters beneath the bed and how the young Eric dealt with his fear. As the progresses to an adult Church, he has realized the way to deal with fear is to “get down on my knees and pray”. This gives the same feeling of stability and comfort as turning on the lights as a young child when he was nervous about the monsters beneath the bed. Here in this song, Church is not preaching. Church is demonstrating how faith plays a role in his life, and how it has been used as a tool for his own personal growth. This is deeply relatable. We all have things we struggle with and things that we are fearful of. We each have our tangled routes that we take to grow and change. For Eric Church that took a route through religion. Even those who do not believe in the classical sense, can nonetheless see, respect, admire, and connect with the changes that Eric Church has made in his life to get to this point.
In gospel music, the faith is the point of the song. In the above mentioned Eric Church song, faith is the key to unlocking the message of this song. This second approach to faith in country music takes a more tangential approach. Take a song like Red Dirt Road by Brooks and Dunn. It is a song devoted to analyzing and celebrating the protagonist’s childhood and development as a person. In that way, it is very similar to Monsters, however the role faith plays here is different. There is a growth taking place here from a child to adult and faith is only one component of many. The red dirt road represents many things; meeting a girl on the road picking blackberries, finding Jesus on the road, getting in a car crash on the road and many more life cycle moments. Faith is here to play its part in giving a full description of the protagonist's life, but the point is not the faith per se. Yes, it does end up giving the subliminal message that faith can enhance one’s life and faith plays a key role in the development of a person from a child to adult, but this is squarely within the perspective of the protagonist’s arc. Others outside of the faith tradition of Ronnie Dunn simply see a man assembling his personal life picture for them with a multiplicity of details. The format is eminently relatable. The audience's Red Dirt Road might be the cracked concrete of a public school basketball court or a Top-Golf in a suburban outlet mall. The reason they relate to Red Dirt Road is because of the broad picture of life depicted by a connection to place. Without a discussion of faith, the picture wouldn’t have been as clear.
Fin.
So concludes this project of mine. It was different and burned me out a little towards the end. I hope that isn't reflected in the quality of the work dropping off. If you've ever done a long form piece you'll know that by the end of it you've seen every line so many times that you doubt your ability to evaluate it anymore. I'm well past that stage. The whole idea got well out of hand and is somewhere in the realm of 6000 words at this point, which is nearly double anything I’ve written for this blog, and certainly longer than anything I’ve written even going back to school. It started as a gem of an idea, and really built itself into something that addresses some very deep ideas about music, and how we relate to other people. I've personally found myself pondering these ideas. This is the result. I hope it causes thoughts, either of disagreement or agreement. Either one is great and if there’s anything you feel I missed or anything you want to add to that conversation, please feel free to leave a comment or you can reach out at todayiheardblog@gmail.com.
Hope you enjoyed,
Joe