As a Country music fan myself, I wouldn’t begin to
generalize an entire genre, but it is interesting to examine reoccurring themes
within some of this year’s past hits within the Country community.
Many women sing of heartbreak at the hands of men, and some
even take to singing about their unhappiness in their marriages. Most often, we
hear of infidelity, tired housewives left with domestic duties, dishonesty, and
betrayal. I pulled up a “Top Country Hits” playlist on Spotify (a music player
that bases popularity on the number of plays). Immediately I notice these
songs: “Tornado” by Little Big Town, “Two Black Cadillacs” by Carrie Underwood,
“Merry Go ‘Round” by Kacey Musgraves, and “Mama’s Broken Heart “by Miranda
Lambert. While the lyrics of each song would be lengthy, I can tell you that
each contains themes that speak to a life filled with struggles similar to that
of a 1950’s housewife. Unhappiness. Stress. “Mama’s Broken Heart” even touches
on the taboo of revealing these feelings to the public. It alludes to the
importance Lambert’s mother places on a woman’s composure when upset rather
than her own frustrations about the situation.
Miranda Lambert entered the music scene singing about an
abusive significant other. It’s not new to Country, the Dixie Chicks crooned a
similar tune entitled “Goodbye Earl”. Within the past two years, Miranda
Lambert joined up with some other female artists to form the Pistol Annies. These girls released an
especially interesting song (on an album with songs similar to it) that seems
to take a time machine right back to the 1950’s—the only difference is, this
song was written about one of the member’s experiences in recent times.
The link is to the Pistol
Annies’ song, “Housewife’s Prayer”
“Can't see a way out of the mess I'm in
And the bills keep getting higher
All I need is a gallon of gas
God I'm getting tired
Gonna set this house on fire
And the bills keep getting higher
All I need is a gallon of gas
God I'm getting tired
Gonna set this house on fire
I've been thinking about Going off the deep end
My man can't get no overtime
And the baby ain't been sleeping
All I need is a washing machine
And the baby ain't been sleeping
All I need is a washing machine
Well I've been thinking about
All the pills I'm taking
I wash them down with an ice cold beer
And a love I ain't been making
Oh I feel like I'm burning up
Wih words I ain't been saying
And all these pills I'm taking”
All the pills I'm taking
I wash them down with an ice cold beer
And a love I ain't been making
Oh I feel like I'm burning up
Wih words I ain't been saying
And all these pills I'm taking”
It’s a short song, so I’ve included most of the lyrics. It
includes a model similar to what we read about in Coontz’ What We Really Miss About the 1950’s. They sing of a tired
housewife who feels she cannot advocate for herself, is neglected by her
husband, medicating herself, worrying about her husband’s job as breadwinner,
and completely worn out by her situation.
The interesting thing to me about all of this is the
current-nature of this song and many of the Country songs that have come out
recently. A time once idealized is still
very much a reality within some realm that Country music touches. While I’d
hate to perpetuate the stereotype that Country music is a genre that only
produces songs about beer, horses, and infidelity—there is something to be
taken away from the content of popular songs from female artists.
On a similar note, Carrie Underwood publicly stated her
support of gay marriage last year. She received a lot of backlash within the
Country community (similar to backlash received during the quest for
interracial marriage which Pascoe discusses in Why the Ugly Rhetoric Against Gay Marriage Is Familiar to this
Historian of Miscegenation).
So what am I getting at?
By and large, Country music fans are rooted in tradition—for
better or for worse. While it certainly doesn’t apply to every fan, each artist
is met with fans who believe in marriage between a man and a woman as well as
gender roles within a household that often lead to the discontent of the woman.
I’d be curious to see how these topics are communicated in
other genres. While Carrie Underwood didn’t sing about marriage equality, is
this a topic that other genres are exploring favorably/unfavorably? How are
gender roles outlined in other musical communities?
I think different music genres vary greatly, and in different ways, this reflects their fan flow. The fact that country music is based off of traditional roles, this definitely has an influence on the themes of the songs. I know for example, Macklemore's "Same Love" has been a symbol for the LBTQ community. Macklemore also is quite vocal in all aspects of social media of how he feels about political issues such as gay marriage. However, for someone like Carrie Underwood, while she might be able to voice how she feels off the mic, while shes performing, she might not want to jeopardize putting some of her fan base in discomfort.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, I think a lot of this comes back to the concepts of celebritism and how influential celebrities can be while on stage, or on the big screen or even on the tabloids, but, ultimately they have to devote some portion of their lives to the private sector as well.
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ReplyDeleteMeghan thanks for your post, it is thought provoking and original. As someone who rarely listens to country music, I found your perspective about themes in the genre very interesting and easily related to concepts discussed in class. Tara brings up an important example within the hip-hop community of Macklemore’s song “Same Love,” which comes out in support of gay marriage and the LGBTQ community in general. Also, last year, in an interview, Jay-Z stated his support for gay marriage. Although Jay-Z did not do this through song, I think his statements were important for not long hip-hop but also the Black community. In regards to gender norms, I am afraid to say that other genres are not that much different than country. If you listen to pop stars like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, or my personal favorites Adele and Beyoncé, many of their songs deal with romantic love and/or heartbreak just like country. While I have never heard these women sing about being a housewife, their work still reflects the importance society places on the concepts of love and monogamy.
ReplyDeleteI too myself am a huge country music fan. I absolutely love listening to all the different songs by these particular artists that you mentioned above in your blog. I never really noticed the use of women in a lot of these songs, but now as you have said, they are constantly being used in various songs throughout the lives of each female country star. Carrie Underwood is one of my favorite artists and "Two Black Cadillacs" is one of my favorite songs at this time. One day I actually sat down and listened to these lyrics and found it very interesting. The meaning behind the song was very thought provoking and made me think. Also, I find it interesting that these female country artists are talking about their lives in these ways. Shouldn't they be singing to the world the things that they love about themselves and their lives instead of what makes them upset in this crazy world?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post! Now that you mention it, I do realize several similarities between country music, and American society. Both were created by white men with protestant ideals. It is no wonder there are so many similarities. Although I do not listen to country music regularly, from what I have heard, it is very heteronormative. I therefore wasn't surprised that Carrie got the backlash that she did for supporting gay marriage. Country music also started in the South and we know the reputation of the South. The conservative population is still very prevalent in the country music scene. Although I am supportive of women coming out and singing about how they have been wronged which goes against conservative ideals. I think it is a form of empowerment in a very oppressive, male dominated atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteMeghan, I really enjoyed this! I am a huge country music fan and I thought you brought up some very valid points. You're right that a majority of songs are about heartbreak at the hands of men! I never realized that until I read your blog! I really only listen to country music so I'm mad at myself that I never picked up on it. I'm not a Taylor Swift fan at all but a lot of her songs are either about falling in love or heartbreak and I think people find her music relatable. I wonder if there is a better way for country artists, especially women, to connect with other women in their audiences? Maybe focusing on song of empowerment. It'll be interesting to see how country music does or doesn't change over the years. I wonder if they will stick to their roots or not. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think you make a very interesting point. I do agree with the other comments, that it would be very hard to keep a fan base with the different messages that they would try to portray. I think that is a hard and interesting place to be. The housewife stereotype in country music is definitely prominent, although I had never put it together. Too many of the most-famous women in country are perpetuating these stereotypes, and I agree with Brogan, that focusing on empowerment (like some other genres) would be beneficial to this music scene.
ReplyDeleteI think other music genres are starting to incorporate different gender roles, but it is still very heteronormative. I think there is a start to change, but it still will be a long time before we see it in every genre, especially country.
You could also look at the continuation of this country music stereotype through the lens of faith and commitment to the armed forces. Though many of these struggles seem to embody the 1950s housewife, some of them come as a result of having family members in the service who come back wounded or die leaving their families economically crippled and burdened with a spouse whose triggers can spark abuse. This also might be part of the Christian undertone many country songs take in that women are portrayed as born from Adam's rib and are therefore subordinate to their man's wishes. Just something to think about.
ReplyDeleteI like how you used music to explain gender roles, a different take on most of the things we normally talk about. Being from England I don't really know much about country music but with the few songs I have heard they do seem to center around men driving trucks whilst they pick up a hot girl who sits in the front with them and does as they're told! I think music really does represent how women are viewed in society, for example rap makes lots of sexual references towards women where as women tend to sing about being heartbroken or saying how in love they are with a man.
ReplyDeleteHi Meghan! Thank you for your post! It is so true that country music is so deeply rooted in traditional values. The songs are always talking about a man and a woman, as well as manly men driving manly tractors drinking a beer. Country music is also connected to christian values which is why most of the songs reflect traditional ways of thinking. I love how Carrie Underwood said she supports gay marriage, good for her! I can see how see received a lot of backlash from the country music community, but she did the right thing. We need more people like her in the music scene especially for them country folk!
ReplyDeleteGreat article!!! It never occured to me to think about gender issues in country music. As someone who doesn't listen to a lot of country music, I found this article very helpful! Especially the connections you made between a modern country singer's lyrics/experiences and a 50's housewife. While you focused a lot on the lyrics of songs, I was wondering if you had an idea of why this gender theme is so prominent in country songs. Is it the style of music, the fan-base, or the stereotypes of country that create this institution?
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