“You know, traditional country music is something that’s going to be around forever.”-George Strait

Dear Mr. Straight,

Well George, King of Country Music, I hope you’re right. I also hope you read this because I could quite possibly be one of your biggest fans. That’s besides the point I’m trying to make here however, so let me quit distracting myself and the rest of the readers. As I was saying, I hope you’re right. I hope traditional country music WILL be around forever.

I hope generations after my own continue to hold onto what country music truly is all about: the lyric that tells a story, a story about love, heartbreak, family, troubling times, celebration, and more. The kind of lyric that people can immediately relate to, the kind of lyric that can give those who need it hope and strength for whatever they’re going through.

I hope that current and upcoming artists stay true to themselves and the traditions behind country music rather than prioritize money, popularity, and fame and conform in ways that detract from their talent.

Lyrics have already started to get more controversial, degrading, and inappropriate. These days, it seems that it is more important to be a good-looking individual that can entertain a crowd with only a sliver of artistic talent on the side. Now I’m not knocking down any of the popular artists at the moment: all of those individuals have earned their way in music and that in itself takes a lot of work, patience, and talent. I’m also not saying that I absolutely hate these performers or their songs; in fact, I’ve gone to a lot of these artists’ concerts and had the greatest time. Even at the concerts though, I noticed how the focus was on how fun and interactive they could be with their fans, not how well they sang their songs. As a little girl, my family and I had to the summer country music concert packages and it completely fueled my love for a good lyric. I guess at a young age I learned to appreciate a lyric more than most kids did. I was always listening to music. Always.

A good amount of the messages sung about in country music aren’t new concepts: it’s just the way the songs are worded and the tone of the song in general. Lyrics weren’t as inappropriate or dirty back then-if singers wanted to sing about something provocative, they found a way to tone it down and mask the true meaning of the song to younger audiences.

I wanted to highlight the difference between the way similar messages in songs are portrayed as time has gone on to prove my point to the people that are disagreeing with me at the moment.

• Missing your significant other a whole awful lot featuring George Strait’s “Run” (2001) and Eric Church’s “Like A Wrecking Ball” (2015)

“Cause I swear out there ain't where you ought to be

So catch a ride, catch a cab

Don't you know I miss you bad

But don't you walk to me Find a truck and fire it up

Lean on the gas and off the clutch

Leave Dallas in the dust

I need you in a rush

So baby run”

VERSUS

“And that old house is gonna be shakin'

Rafter rockin', foundation quakin'

Crash right through the front door

Back you up against the wall

Love you baby

Take it right there baby

Rock you baby like a wrecking ball”

• Always feeling/picturing your former love with you in times of heartbreak illustrated by Tim McGraw’s “Everywhere” (1997) and Keith Urban’s “Somewhere in my Car” (2013)

“Albuquerque waitin' out a blizzard

Arizona dancin' 'cross the desert

Watchin' the sun set in Monterey

Girl I swear just the other day you were

Down in Georgia pickin' them peaches

In Carolina barefoot on the beaches

No matter where you choose to be

In my heart I'll always see you

Everywhere”

VERSUS

“I know you're never coming back

But in my mind we're somewhere in my car

And it's raining hard on the streetlight glow

You got your lips on mine, it's gasoline on fire

I never will forget, you grabbed my shirt and pulled it over my head

Fingertips slide up and down my back

Breathin' hard, steamin' up the glass”

• Feeling immediate sparks and chemistry with someone depicted by Tim McGraw’s “Something Like That” (1999) and Chase Rice’s “Ready Set Roll” (2013)

"She was killing me in that miniskirt

Skippin' rocks on the river by the railroad tracks

She had a suntan line and red lipstick

I worked so hard for that first kiss

And a heart don't forget something like that”

VERSUS

“Ready set let's roll,

Ready set let's ride

Get your little fine ass on the step

Shimmy up inside,

Just slide girl by my side girl

Yeah, we can run this town

I can rock your world

We can roll 'em down fog 'em up

Cruise around get stuck pedal to the metal

'till the sun comes up

I made a deal with the man on the moon

He's gonna put in some overtime, we've got all night”

• Making memories with not a care in the world featuring Alan Jackson’s “Chattahochee” (1992) and Florida Georgia Line’s “Sun Daze” (2014)

“Down by the river on a Friday night

Pyramid of cans in the pale moonlight

Talkin' 'bout cars and dreamin' 'bout women

Never had a plan, just a livin' for the minute

Yeah, way down yonder on the Chattahochee

Never knew how much that muddy water meant to me

But I learned how to swim and I learned who I was

A lot about livin' and a little 'bout love”

VERSUS

“I'm gonna wear my flip-flops and
 I'm gonna play some flip-cup and


Rock a little bit of hip-hop and Haggard and Jagger


And throw a 20 on the corn hole game


If I'm lucky yeah I might get laid


The way that it's going, the keg gon' be floating

All I wanna do today is wear my favorite shades and get stoned


Work a little less, play a little more


That's what this day is for”

• Talking about the impact a car can have on somebody and the memories with others shown by Alan Jackson’s “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” (2002) and Kip Moore’s “Somethin Bout A Truck” (2012)

“Maybe one day they'll reach back in their file

And pull out that old memory

And think of me and smile

And say

It was just an old worn out jeep

Rusty old floor boards

Hot on my feet

A young girl two hands on the wheel

I can't replace the way it made me feel

And he'd say

Turn it left, and steer it right

Straighten up girl now, you're doing just fine

Just a little valley by the river where we'd ride

But I was high on a mountain

When Daddy let me drive”

VERSUS

“And there's somethin bout a truck in a field

And a girl in a red sundress with an ice cold beer to her lips beggin for another kiss

And there's somethin bout you and me and the birds and the bees

And Lord have mercy it's a beautiful thing

Ain't nothin bout it luck,

There's somethin bout a truck”

• Trying to explain how loving someone can change you and make you do crazy things now explained by Tim McGraw’s “It’s Your Love” (1997) and Chase Rice’s “Fifty Shades of Crazy” (2014)

“It's your love

It just does somethin' to me

It sends a shock right through me

I can't get enough

And if you wonder

About the spell I'm under

It's your love

Better than I was

More than I am

And all of this happened

By takin' your hand

And who I am now

Is who I wanted to be

And now that we're together

I'm stronger than ever

I'm happy and free”

VERSUS

“You set a fire up and down my skin as your fingertips go scraping

And I'm as gone as I've ever been

And it ain't weed or whiskey, baby

You put your hands on me

I'll put my hands on you

We'll get outta hand, girl

I'll deal you whatever hand you want me to

I can't quit

Can't kick this kind of craving

Girl, you drive me

50 shades of crazy”

• Loving and being intimate with your significant other featuring the King of Country himself once more with “Give It All We Got Tonight” (2013!) and Jason Aldean’s “Burnin It Down” (2014)

“Baby fall into my kiss

It should just happen like this

Trust it so much that there's no one else but us and

This moment that says it's so right

Cause that's all we have in this life

Drink up this love, baby, give it all we got tonight”

VERSUS

“We're just hanging around

Burnin' it down

Sippin' on some cold Jack Daniel's

Jammin' to some old Alabama with you, baby

Laying right here naked in my bed

I'm just doing my thing

You love it when I sing

Say it makes you feel like an angel

We about to get a little tangled up right about now

So girl let's keep burnin' it down”

There are many more songs that I could have pulled apart, but I don’t want this article to turn into something negative. I wrote this to show others how country music is a beautiful gift that so many people turn to in all sorts of situations. I wrote this to show how the genre has changed in some ways, but several artists like George Strait, can continue writing and singing songs that are relatable, appropriate, and focused on the actual song and his music rather than fame and society itself.

Sincerely,

That Girl That Actually Listens and Loves The Lyrics