Anyone who knows me knows I love my country music. But lately, I’ve been hearing too much repetition of the same lyrics; they’re being over-used, and they ought to be faded out.
The first term we need to stop using is ‘wrecking ball’. I’m not
suggesting that anyone reword their existing songs. When Eric Church says ‘I
want to love you like a wrecking ball,’ I know exactly what he means. And when
Blake Shelton says ‘wrecking ball dancing down the hallway’, I can see the girl
knocking pictures off the wall and bouncing from one side to the other.
But the term has become a fad and I think country singers writing new
songs should step away from fad terms like this one going forward.
The second term that needs to hit the road is ‘blowing up my phone.’ Every
time someone wants to convey that their cell phone is ringing off the hook,
they say someone is ‘blowing up their phone.’ Okay, we’ve got it. It sounded good
the first couple of times, but now it is getting monotonous. Can we please move
on?
And finally, the term boombox seems a little outdated. Why isn’t the
younger generation singing about ‘turning up their iPods’, ‘blasting their iPods
through the corner speaker’ or ‘singing along to their iPod’?
Then again, so many people have their songs right on their phones
today, how do you work that visual into a song lyric?
In addition, I
think we are full up on lyrics that convey the following:
-Guys picking up girls in trucks
-Girls in trucks turning up the radio
-Girls dancing on the back of trucks
-Guys saying to a girl ‘do you want to get out of here’
As a life-long listener of country music, here’s what I think stands
the test of time:
Songs/stories that sound personal (“I drive your truck” by Lee Brice, “The
Boys of Fall” by Kenny Chesney, “Southern Comfort Zone” by Brad Paisley, “I
Wonder” by Kelly Pickler, “In Color” by Jamie Johnson, “Smoke Break” by Carrie
Underwood). Of all country singers, I would have to say that Brad Paisley is,
in my opinion, the best storyteller.
Songs that describe things in a way I have never heard before also
interest me. Florida Georgia line is really good at that. I love, for example, “you
melt me like ice in whiskey, those blue flame looks that you give me,” and “stars
shining out through the indigo” … I’ve never thought of darkness as indigo
before. Great visual.
So keep the great songs coming, everyone … but if we could just retire
a few overused words I would be eternally grateful and would be more likely to
download your music.
