I remember years ago watching the movie The Blues Brothers in which there is a most memorable line delivered by Bob - prepriotor of "Bob's Country Bunker". When asked:
"What kind of music do you have here mostly?"
His reply is:
"Oh, we have BOTH kinds... Country AND Western."
Of course there are all the stereo-typical jabs at Country... like...
"What do you get when you play a Country song backwards?"
...
"You get your wife back, your house back, your dog back..."
OR
"What's the common theme to all Country music?"
...
"My wife ran off with my best friend... and I miss him."
This week in Calgary we are celebrating the Calgary Stampede. So, I figured in the spirit of the season, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the music.
As a DJ I hear a LOT of music. Although I'm not a die-hard country kid I have grown appreciative of Country's wholesome angle. I have yet to hear a country song that requires a "RADIO EDIT" version to be deemed appropriate for an all-ages demographic.
Country 105 FM is our local country radio station. For years they've had the same format - no deviation. They've thrived, too. No one has attempted to compete in the "all Country" format, although several attempts have been made over the years at mixed-format stations. Aside from the CBC, I know of no other radio station on the FM band that has the longevity of Country 105.
Speaking of "wholesome", I did a wedding reception on Saturday night south of Calgary in Ranch country. Sure enough, Country was the format... for the most part. 
The song I have for you today is one I played that night. As it was playing I listened to the lyrics fairly closely. It spoke to me, so I decided to share it with you here.THAT'D BE ALRIGHT - Alan Jackson, 2003
If money grew on hackberry trees,
If time wasn't such a luxury;
If love was lovesick over me:
That'd be alright.
If I could keep the wind in my sails,
Keep a hold of the tiger by the tail;
A half a ham sandwich in my lunch pail:
That'd be alright.
Yeah, that'd be alright.
That'd be alright.
If everybody, everywhere,
Had a lighter load to bear,
And a little bigger piece of the pie.
We'd be livin' us a pretty good life,
And that'd be alright.
Hey, go heavy on the good and light on the bad,
A hair more happy and a shade less sad.
Turn all that negative down just a tad:
That'd be alright.
If my dear ol' dog never got old,
If my family farm never got sold.
If another bad joke never got told:
That'd be alright.
9 comments:
the only country I like is the Jack White produced Van Lear Rose by Loretta Lynn.
otherwise, no country or western for me please... :)))
Well I'm not a major Country Fan but I do love Tim Mcgraw especially "it's your love" I'm not too sure how Country that song is...
I see what you mean about the lyrics of 'That'd be alright' When ever I hear Country I feel like line dancing.
Here's one for you.
It was all that I could do to keep from cryin'
Sometimes it seems so useless to remain
You don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
You never even call me by my name.
You don't have to call me Waylon Jennings
And you don't have to call me Charlie Pride.
You don't have to call me Merle Haggard, anymore.
Even though your on my fightin' side.
CHORUS
And I'll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standin' in the rain.
You don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
You never even call me by my name.
I've heard my name a few times in your phone book
I've seen it on signs where I've laid
But the only time I know, I'll hear David Allan Coe
Is when Jesus has his final judgement day.
CHORUS...
Well, a friend of mine named Steve Goodman wrote that song
and he told me it was the perfect country and western song
I wrote him back a letter and told him it was NOT the perfect
country and western song because he hadn't said anything about
Momma, or trains, or trucks, or prison, or gettin' drunk.
Well, he sat down and wrote another verse to the song and he sent
it to me and after reading it, I realized that my friend had written
the perfect country and western song. And I felt obliged to include it
on this album. The last verse goes like this here:
Well, I was drunk the day my Mom got outta prison.
And I went to pick her up in the rain.
But, before I could get to the station in my pickup truck
She got runned over by a damned old train.
CHORUS:
So I'll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standin' in the rain. No,
You don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
You never even call me, I wonder why you don't call me
Why don't you ever call me by my name.
I don't like David Allen Coe much but this stupid song was funny.
Good tune, but my country tastes stop at the Dixie Chicks, who, one country fan vehemently told me "are NOT country anymore." Of course, the real old stuff, the Hank Williams and Johnny Cash pain songs are quite soulful and authentic. You could tell those guys were REALLY in pain, like they just drank a bottle of whiskey and then ate the bottle.
Hi T, just dropping by. Wanted to say thx for the yummy haagen dazs in my freezer! yay for Costco!
I guess I am a fence-sitter. I haven never listened much but I don't mind it. Line dancing (some of which is NOT country) has helped me appreciate it more I think.
BTW if you take out the spaces in you file names they won't look like this: 01%20That'd%20Be%20Alright.mp3 when you click on them. I have learned to use dashes or underscore instead of spaces.
IPM - no country? hmm... i think i could find something you'd like...
GRANNY - Thanks for that! There's a lot of feeling in country music.
JEREMIAH - Pain, indeed. I just picked up a Cash best-of... has the most interesting photo on the inside cover under the cd...
ZZ - I was hoping you'd see it sitting there before it became "not-ice-cream"!
A/C - Thanks for the tip!
oops, almost forgot...
SMILEY - Tim rocks! I was going to post "Back When" as an alternative to this, but that would show my age because I relate to that song! You and A/C should get together on the line dancing thing!
Jitterbug or two-step.....anvilcloud was pretty close - line dancing is NOT country. ewwww.
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