Growing up in what some would consider “the sticks” has given me a different perspective on life, a hatred towards cities due to the fact that open land is what I’m used to, and a love for country music. Now, I’m not talking about the hip-hop/country remixes (sorry FGL and Nelly), but the songs with true meaning and heart behind them. The life lessons and answers you are searching for can most likely be found in good ol’ country music.
1. That sometimes you can’t explain why certain things happen, but they happen.
Life will always throw curve balls at you and sometimes those curve balls are so unfortunate and upsetting that you just have to ask yourself why something like this would ever happen to me or if I could have done anything to change what is happening. Questions will go unanswered and we must accept that we won’t know the whys but we will still hold the memories. Rascal Flatts wrote a song a couple years back, "Why," about teen suicide. A life cut too short for unexplained reasons which is a sad but realistic part of our society.
2. Wherever it is life leads you, never forget where you came from.
You will always find your way back to your hometown at some point in your life. Whether that be during the summer after a year away from college, or moving back home after that relationship just didn’t quite work out. Or maybe just to visit your parents who never left the home you grew up in. In "Thank God for Hometowns," Carrie Underwood told us as she explained why it is so important to always remember where you came from. There will always be something special about your hometown. And sometimes you just need a little home, as Rascal Flatts tells us.
3. You will always have those forever friends, the ones that you should never take for granted.
Tyler Farr just recently came out with a single that speaks wonders about those forever friends. “Damn Good Friends” is the name of the song. It is okay to have a small group of friends, three or four that you can really count on for anything. You will call them when life gets hard, when you need some help, or just to have a good time with some damn good friends. There is nothing wrong with keeping your circle small.
4. If the love is strong enough, you will do just about anything for them.
Tim McGraw said it best. “Just to see you smile, I’d do anything that you wanted me to.” The lyrics explain that love is much stronger than any job or house. The song actually ends with McGraw not getting the girl but still remaining happy when she started seeing someone new because his love was still strong. And when you truly love someone, that love never fades.
5. And if for some reason that love doesn’t work out, you will find someone to save you from heartbreak.
Florida Georgia Line recently put out a single, “H.O.L.Y.” The duo touched upon how heartbreak had hit and then this girl came along and changed his perspective on life. Sometimes we need to be heartbroken to find what we really deserve from someone else. Love is a tricky subject to understand, and it takes a couple tries to figure out exactly how it should feel. Wait it out though, because once you find that love, you will never be happier.
6. You should always keep your faith regardless of the challenges you may be facing.
Hunter Hayes is a bit newer to the country scene, but he has proven he knows a thing or two about songwriting. His song "Faith to Fall Back On" shows that Faith will always guide you when you have unanswered questions or just need someone to talk to. Carrie Underwood is another artist who shows strong faith through her music. Some things are just better left up to God, because life isn’t always in our control.
7. You will always remember someone who has passed, and how to cope with their loss.
Luke Bryan is probably best known for his songs about shaking your bum or spring break. However he also has a couple songs that he has written that speak to the heart and can teach you how to cope with death. His song “Drink A Beer” is a dedication to his brother and sister who both passed suddenly without any explanation. In the song he talks about how he didn’t expect this to happen to his family but the Lord knows why it did. He doesn’t quite understand it but he has grown to accept it. This is true for all of us when we are coping with death. It doesn’t make sense but we eventually accept it.
8. You will always be daddy’s little girl, regardless of age.
The first man to ever hold my heart was my dad, and he is still the only man I still completely trust with my heart. “To me you know you will always be my little girl.” Tim McGraw with yet another good song with good meaning, “My Little Girl.” Your dad will always see you as that little girl with pig tails and muddy jeans from helping him out in the yard. Never take a father’s love for granted.
9. Always seek your parents’ approval in your relationship, at least before considering marriage.
Carrie Underwood wrote her mom a song before marrying her now husband. She wrote, “He is good, so good, he treats your little girl like a real man should.” You should always seek approval because your parents are the ones who raised you so they know what you truly deserve and will not let you settle for anything less than you deserve.
10. Life goes by faster than you may think, so enjoy every moment.
This is the cliché of life lessons brought to you by country music. However, one of the most important. Life is sometimes cut short and you don’t want to be towards the end regretting what you actually got to do versus what you wanted to do. “Don’t Blink” written by Kenny Chesney proves that life goes by faster than you think, and enjoy it while you can.
11. We will always want something that we don’t have.
Jake Owen surprised everyone with a ballad written about what we want but can’t have. Or what we might have had that we can’t get back. Whether that be a better job, a bigger house, a nicer car or even a relationship to work out instead of crumbling apart. We never find ourselves being satisfied with what we have. Always wanting something more, the next best thing. We think that materialistic objects make us better but we choose to better ourselves all on our own.
12. You should ALWAYS have a good time, and a cold beer(s) with your friends on a Friday night.
Luke Bryan is notorious for his Spring Break albums each year which you know are guaranteed to be a good time. Friday nights when you’re young should be spent enjoying the freedom and youth that you have. Don’t watch as all of your friends go out and enjoy some drinks, join them. “If you ain’t here to party, you picked the wrong place, the wrong Friday night.” It’s also got to be five o’clock somewhere so seriously, what’s the excuse?
13. And you know you wouldn’t change a thing about how you were raised.
You love the fact that you grew up country and you know that you were raised how you should have been. LOCASH debuted a song “I Love This Life.” Country isn’t just a music genre but a lifestyle. You have different morals, different standards, and different work ethic depending on how you were raised. Being raised country has taught me that I deserve a guy who would do anything for me, I have to work for my money, and I get the respect I put out. “I love my small town world, man I love this life.” I might have not had a choice in being raised around country music, but I chose to continue to love it. Because music should have meaning behind it and speak to your soul.
