Old Country vs New Country

Whenever music is discussed & the topic of country music is brought up, you'll always hear the same stuff about how modern country music is trash & old country is better. While I do subscribe to that belief somewhat, I think I've realized something.

If you take a look at a lot of modern, popular country, you will see lyrics about trucks, farming, dirt, & fishing. It's some of the most generic redneck and/or hillbilly stuff out there & has no real substance.

I've gone back & listened to a lot of older country & I've noticed a trend. Quite a bit of old country is not about the countryside, it's about the country. Johnny Cash didn't sing about being a good ol' country boy on a farm, he sung about being an American with wild dreams in a car factory. Jerry Reed did sing about hard times in the fields but he also sung about train-riding hobos. Jimmy Dean wasn't the face of a mechanic that fishes on the weekends, he was the voice of construction workers & Virginia coal miners.

There are too many people that have forgotten the meaning of the word country. They just think it's Georgia farmland. To me. country music is supposed to represent all corners of American life whether you're a farmhand or an office worker. It may take place near Chattanooga, TN but I doubt that there isn't a soul who wouldn't understand 'I drove her out of my mind'. Not a word about where the main character grew up or about what his job is, it's just a story about a man hurt by a woman & decides to take them both for one last ride.

In our divided world, it's easy to claim and give certain things. This music genre belongs to these people & people who believe this are this stereotype. I've seen it & you've seen it. It's getting harder & harder to share something with people you might not exactly agree with. If you're left-wing or right-wing, you've probably had your heartbroken. I'm willing to bet you miss a certain co-worker from an old job. It's these universal experiences that should bring us together, not the lessons we take from them tearing us apart.

What do I want you to take from this? I'm not entirely sure. I just wanted to reflect a little on my experience going back into older country & noticing a trend where as the years progressed, the genre became more countryside than country. I'll leave some recommendations of some songs that you may want to listen to. Compare them to the most popular country songs today & tell me if you can see what I hear. Out Among the Stars - Johnny Cash

She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft) - Jerry Reed

Dear Ivan - Jimmy Dean

Here Your Memory Comes Again - Marty Robbins