What's On the Country's Mind These Days?

Al Sturgeon's DESPERATE HOUSEFLIES post for today had me thinking about country music. I grew up listening to country music in our home, but I've always enjoyed most types of music. The past few years I have been totally sold out to contemporary Christian. I think the first person I heard criticize the idea of only listening to contemporary Christian was Jay Bakker. His point was that we will not know what is on people's minds, what really matters to them, unless we are in touch with their music. The biggest selling songs are big sellers because they speak to the heart of the contemporary. So, I've decided to do a little research to see what's on a country music fan's mind these days. I'm using Billboard's top ten hot country songs as a resource. ANYTHING BUT MINE by Kenny Chesney is about living a fantasy ... a summer romance which is perfect in every way except that it is coming to an end...tomorrow. IT'S GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME by Brooks and Dunn is about recovery from a broken heart. The things that used to be so difficult are not as hard as they once were. There's hope for tomorrow! GONE by Montgomery Gentry is a line-in-the-sand let's be perfectly clear this relationship is over song. THAT'S WHAT I LOVE ABOUT SUNDAYS by Craig Morgan reflects on small town Sundays where everyone knows everybody, and family traditions give stability and strength to otherwise mundane lives. MY GIVE A DAMN'S BUSTED by Jo Dee Messina chronicles a woman's relationship with a neurotic man who blames his troubles on everyone and everything but himself. Finally, she has no compassion left to offer him. She just can't give a damn any more! IF HEAVEN by Andy Griggs looks back to the past ... to happier times and declares that if heaven is like those times, then it is enough for him. Sounds like life isn't too great right now, but there was a time when it was superb. HOMEWRECKER by Gretchen Wilson is a tough girl-to-girl chat in which the singer threatens to kick the butt of the one who is after her man. The confession, "Now honey I'm a Christian...", isn't enough to get in her way of threatening the 'other woman'. HONKY TONK U by Toby Keith traces his summers spent at a bar owned by his grandmother, to playing in a band, and to having his own band. He has played in bar rooms across the US and outside of the country. These are his credentials to claim to be a graduate from Honky Tonk U. I don't know if this has anything to do with his listeners or not. BABY GIRL by Sugarland pits the hopeful dreams of a wanna-be-country-music-star against the reality of not having enough money to buy food to eat. Each chorus is a letter back home. The singer has optimism without any basis for optimism. In that way it is a bittersweet song. WHAT'S A GUY GOTTA DO by Joe Nichols pushes all the fantasy world aside to say that he's having a hard time getting a girl, and he doesn't know why. He tries the strategies that are suggested to him, but they never have the result he's looking for. Right now I'm resisting the urge to search for trends in these top ten songs ... I want to analyze them, see why they seem to speak to our country music culture today ... but I'll leave that to you. Do any of these songs speak to your heart today? I'm interested.