The Editorials

What Makes It Country?

You know, as the editor of this fine website, and the webmaster over at martinamcbride.com, I've been able to be a part of a few debates on the country has gone too pop issue. It's a hot topic that can cause outbursts of emotions at the drop of a Stetson hat, and it seems that a lot of people are truly upset that pop and rock have begun to integrate into country music.

It occurs to me that I've seen countless opinions posted saying that people like Faith Hill and Shania Twain are nothing more than pop radio fodder these days, I've read that at the AMA awards Martina McBride's song “It's My Time” was more 80's rock than country, and that SHeDAISY'S song that night was more rock and rap than country.

So, after hearing all of these opinions it occured to me that no one ever talks about what makes a song "country" to them. What aspect of a song takes it from the categories of rock or pop or whatever and puts it firmly into the country music section of your favorite record store?

I asked this question on Martina's message board, and I got some interesting responses. The first and foremost was, the song has to be real, a story that people can relate to easily. While this is true of most country songs, I don't think it's any less true of other genres. People relate to what they listen to as their experiences, why do you think it is that so many teenage girls like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera? Why do you think it is that mainly younger males listen to Eminem and Dr. Dre? Obviously the music speaks to their life on some level.

To look at lyrics a little further, I've actually heard some of the best “country” songs come out of artists that will never be played on country radio. Bruce Springsteen, in my opinion, is one of the greatest country songwriters of all time. His material has been covered by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, The Mavericks, Chris LeDoux, Faith Hill and Trishia Yearwood, just to name a few.

I recently saw an interview with Bruce where he discussed his writing. One song in particular was “The Wish” which was released on his Tracks boxed set of material. These lines in particular were discussed:

If pa's eyes were windows into a world so deadly and true
You couldn't stop me from looking but you kept me from crawlin' through
And if it's a funny old world, mama, where a little boy's wishes come true
Well I got a few in my pocket and a special one just for you

Bruce said that these lines should have been in a country song, something off of a Merle Haggard CD maybe, he mentioned the song “Mama's Hungry Eyes” as one possibility. Springsteen has always been a story songwriter. Quite a few country arists have covered his material, so why don't we ever hear Bruce on your favorite country station? Now, I know, this isn't an article on Springsteen's songwriting, but I feel he is the perfect example of an artist on the OTHER side of the fence here. We have so many country artists that are being embraced by pop radio, but we have country stations that refuse to play anything outside of the Nashville circle. I'm beginning to think that THAT is the only thing that makes a country song these days, where the record comes out of.

So, I hope I've proven that they lyrical content alone can't make a country song. Now we need to look at instrumentation. Is there a magical instrument that dubs a song country? Is it a steel guitar? Mandolin? Fiddle? Perhaps a combination of these?

Since I've already talked about Springsteen, I'll continue, I saw three shows on his last tour and there was more steel guitar than any country concert I'd seen in the past few years. There was also a mandolin, but no fiddle. So, we have two of the three instruments, was it a country show? I don't think so...

There are two facts that people have to grasp, the first is there is no set of rules to what makes a country song, and the second is that musical genres are combining causing the music to evolve. There are some people caught in their own personal time warp thinking that music should come back to them, it's not going to happen.

Country music has grown. The songs of Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson and Hank Williams will always be classics, but they are from a different time period. Willie, who is an excellent songwriter, continues to make songs with a more modern sound. As ironic as it is, Willie has actually released some stuff that was too progressive for country radio to play.

Artists like Martina McBride and SHeDAISY did what they should have done at the AMA Awards; they put their best foot forward and presented the music the way they wanted to. If, as a listener, you didn't like what you heard, change the channel, buy someone else's CD, or go take a walk. Artists and genres are going to evolve; it's a simple fact. Why not enjoy the music rather than try to pigeonhole artists into one small aspect of what they can do?

I applaud the pop and rock radio stations that pick up songs released by “country” artists. If all you ever listen to is what you hear on country radio and see on CMT you are missing a LOT of great songs. There are still people out there making albums with a stronger traditional sound. Pick up any CD by Kelly Willis and you'll hear one of the finest voices not to be played by country radio.

If you're feeling adventurous then pick up a copy of Springsteen's 1984 classic Nebraska or a copy of his The Ghost of Tom Joad. Both of these CD's are more country than rock and deserve to be heard.

So, decide for yourself on what makes a country song. If you hit on a magical formula, be sure to let me know! I'm sure there is some guy sitting in an office at every record label in Nashville trying to come up with this magical formula as you read this, so if you come up with it first you'd better patent it fast! Then send me a portion of the first big royalty check you see!