Country Music Formulas

           Country music, and any other genre for that matter, tells a story.  There are formulas to storytelling and I believe the formulas for the types of stories told or how the stories are told changes with the times.  I believe formulas follow what is culturally acceptable for the time period, what is acceptable to the industries beliefs, or for what is happening in society at the time songs are written.

            Western and protest songs grew out of the depression and the dust bowl era.  Western songs became popular because of the Midwesterners were moving west in hopes for a better life.  Per Encyclopedia.com (January 2001)," the romantic cowboy image was a growing phenomenon" at that time.  Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were well-known western style artists at that time.  Protests songs were growing in the south due to the high unemployment rate and the rise of unions.  “The North Carolina Textile Strike” by the Martin Brothers is just one example of a protest song.

             In the 1960s Americans were dealing with social and political issues such as free love, civil rights and feminism.  Country music largely avoided most of these issues due to the industries’ conservative culture.  I believe civil rights topics were avoided given that the south, where country music typically originates, generally favored segregation.  The music of that era typically focused on innocent style love songs or heartbreak songs such as “Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger?” by Charley Pride.

            Country music today is a little more liberal in their writing styles and doesn’t necessarily stick with the conservative ideals of it’s past.  Carrie Underwood’s song “Last Name” is a perfect example of this.  The song is about a girl in Las Vegas getting drunk and waking up the next day to discover she’s married to a man she doesn’t know.  There are a lot more drinking and one night stand songs in today’s country music.  

            It’s interesting to see how the formulas have changed over the years.  It also helps me to understand why different generations of country music lovers debate about what should really be considered country music.