Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Play It Again


Hot damn, I love country music.

It never fails to blow my mind how incredibly well a country song can perfectly capture the emotion and mood of a single moment, event, or experience that almost everyone has had, or will have, at some point in their lives.

How do they do this? It's all in the lyrics.

Sure, just the sound of a catchy country tune can put almost anyone in an instant good mood, but have you ever really stopped to listen to the lyrics?

Of course you have, because you're country fans, and you probably wouldn't be half the country fan you are without appreciate such wonderful writing.

There is such precise detail found in country songs, so much so that a perfectly clear picture can be painted in the listener's head right away.  Country singers actually make the listener feel the emotion they're feeling; it's as if every word they sing pulls us into a different emotional state.

I for one think it's an incredible gift for an artist to accomplish this.  Because while the lyrics and imagery play a huge part in the emotional pull of a song, it's also the delivery of these elements, and that's how you distinguish the great artists from the not-as-great.

Of course, I'm definitely no pro when it comes to discussing country; I'm a fairly recent addition to the population of People Who Like Country Music.  However, I am musically inclined,  a passionate person, and a hopeless romantic, and I have to say that I think country music definitely encompasses these aspects of my personality.

Mostly the hopeless romantic part... Because who doesn't want to fall in love with a cowboy while dancing in a sundress on the tailgate during a warm summer night? Yeah.

Two of my favorites come from Luke Bryan, aka the love of my life (he just doesn't know yet).  "Play It Again" and "I Don't Want This Night To End" are perfect summer songs for dancing outside with your man.

I love how carefree and honest the lyrics are in "I Don't Want This Night To End".  The image of not having a single care in the world and riding down the highway blasting the radio in a hot guy's pick up truck is so vivid and appealing, it almost makes me want to physically be in the song, if such a thing was possible (That may or may not have something to do with the fact that my wonderful boyfriend does indeed drive a pick up...).

My favorite lines include "Do anything to make your smile land on my lips, get drunk on your kiss"; "I don't know what road we're on or where we've been... All I know is I don't want this night to end"; and "Gonna cuss the morning when it comes, [...] 'cause you'll have to leave".  It's so funny what a mysterious and almost magical power the darkness and nighttime have over us.  It makes us feel invincible, like nothing else matters outside of the moment we're currently living in.  Yet it also means that when the morning arrives, it brings with it a whole different world, a harsh reality.  Night carries almost a sort of sacredness with it, especially for young people and lovers.

*Listen to "I Don't Want This Night To End": https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=luke+bryan+i+don%27t+want+this+night+to+end


I have to say, after attending Stagecoach for the first time this past April, I have an even deeper appreciate for country music and the great effect it has on people.  There is honestly something so riveting and powerful about the pull the music has on you.

It could have been the warmth of the desert climate, or the beautifully clear starry sky, or the beer buzz, or the adrenaline and excitement, or my love for music, or being surrounded by my favorite people with the arms of my wonderful man around me.  It could have been any of those things, but it's the combination of all of them that produce the most pure happiness and bliss, and as I stood there singing along, swaying to the music and laughing, I became so utterly content that, in the words of Luke Bryan, I truly did not want that night, or any of those nights, to ever end.

Cheers to a warm, blissful, and carefree summer.


<3 Syd




No comments:

Post a Comment