Secret Confessions Of a Closet Country Music Fan

I used to hate country music.  Hated it. 

I grew up in small-town, rural Arkansas, where life in general was a giant country music song.  You know, Momma's In the Back Of the Pick-Up With My Hound Dog Lloyd, and We're Headed To a Swap Meet After We Drive Through At the Moonshine Store.

(Not my momma, let me be clear.  Mine wore penny loafers and Estee Lauder perfume.  Just clearing that up, because if I did not, I would be receiving a phone call from that same momma in 4.7 seconds.)

But all around me I was surrounded by people who loved country music--lived it, in fact.  They were delightful people.  I loved them.  But I would not be one of them.  I just knew I was Going Places.  And these places didn't have honky tonks.

But then I went to the University of Arkansas, and in the early 1990's they only granted diplomas to people who could recite the alternate concert verse of "I've Got Friends In Low Places".  Seriously.  You can check the school charter. 

I sang along a little, and I even two-stepped some (if the boy was cute enough), but I mostly held out.  I knew in my heart I was too sophisticated for a song that couldn't properly conjugate a verb.  ("He done me wrong."  Really?)

Fast-forward a few years, to my mid-twenties.  I was living in a downtown Chicago high-rise with my husband and new baby.  I was just as metropolitan as I could be.  I rode the El, I pushed my son's stroller along the shores of Lake Michigan, and I even stifled my southern accent enough that the grocery checker stopped looking at me like I was speaking Hungarian.

I battled a little homesickness, but mostly?  I had arrived. 

And then it happened.

One afternoon I was flipping through the radio channels, and I heard the staticky sound of a country music song.

It was the sound of home.  And in that moment, all my years of resistance left me faster than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

I found myself visiting Best Buy, wandering aimlessly toward the country music CD section.  My husband's favorite Clint Black CD, which I had previously banished, somehow made its way into my car.  And I sang along with it.  I was, in the face of my own homesickness, coming to terms that the fact that the twangy sound of country music had, evidently, been taking root in my subconcious for all those years. 

I was a country music fan.

I was sheepish about it for a while, listening on the sly, never admitting it to a soul.  But I'm alright with it now, realizing that our musical tastes will naturally become more diverse as we age (says the girl who has REM, Pavarotti and the Gaithers on the very same iPod).  I've learned that music can really speak deeply to the people we are, and the people we were. 

I've also learned that you can't sing along to a song called "Big Ol' Truck" and still take yourself too seriously.

Comments

[Kristin Doyle]

ditto. Awesome. you had some great lol moments on that post. It's not so bad...admitting it is the first step to truely enjoying - hehe

"She wears snakeskin boots made by Calvin Klein
And cheap sunglasses from the five and dime
All the other girls in school they give her dirty looks
She got an “A” in math and never cracked a book
Sure looks good in her denim and pearls
Rock my world little Country girl" - Brooks and Dunn

[Kara]

I wasn't a county music fan either, until I hear Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Fishin' in the Dark" freshman year of high school. I was hooked!

[Stretch Mark Mama]

I moved to the Big Sit-Tay in the Pacific Northwest and locked into the country music station, for many of the same reasons. I love me some urban livin' but I connect to the heart of the country.

"International Harvester" (Craig Morgan) pretty much sums up my teenage existence.

And even though it isn't a love song, "Every Day" (Rascal Flatts) is right where DH and I are right now.

Can ANYONE sit still during "Chattahoochee?"

And then there's Brad Paisley's "Letter to Me."

Sigh.

[Sue]

My dad used to love Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, and I loved them secretly.

Now I love country music because I'm a sucker for sappy and sweet. I like tearjerkers like Let Them Be Little and You're Gonna Miss This and a hundred other feel good while tearing up songs.

[Jackie @ Our Moments Our Memories]

You have the Gaithers on your iPod! Now that is the music that I grew up on, thanks to my dad. Whenever I hear them, I'm right back home.

[Dawn]

I was a huge country music fan in my teen years. Used to want to be a country singer as well...wrote songs...performed in talent shows, did a few songs in a studio and tried my best to learn guitar.

I loved the Judds / Wynonna, Lari White, Lila McCann, LeAnn Rimes, The Lynns, Reba to name a few and tried to learn from them.

After high school I joined the Army and a year later I got saved and well, country music went out the door.
God replaced it with something better...hymns and southern gospel music :-)

Hope you are having a good week so far!

God is good!

Bless you,
Dawn

[The Hunter's Wife]

I never enjoyed country music until I went on my first date with my husband. He is a huge country music fan. That is all we pretty much listen to other than talk radio now. :)

[kisatrtle]

I can't remember my dad listening to anything but country music and by default that is what I always listened to. Of course, I never admitted it to anyone. When I moved away for college, I remember feeling very homesick and even though I had 3 roommates I still felt all alone. Sometime around Thanksgiving I received a tape in the mail ***for all of you youngsters out there that's how music used to be played in the old days*** My dad made it for me and it was filled with LOTS of country Christmas music. He always started playing Christmas songs the week of Thanksgiving (UGH). Sprinkled throughout that tape were personal messages from him. I loved it then and I think I love it even more now. It is 17 years old and it still plays and I could care less who rolls their eyes when I start playing it the week of Thanksgiving.

[Meg in Tally]

Oh, come on! Momma in the back of the pickup?

Actually,
"I was drunk the day my Mama got out of prison. And I went to pick her up in the rain, but before I could get to the station in the pickup truck, she got runned over by by a big 'ol train!"

This was the last verse to the PERFECT Country and Western song...can't seem to remember the author...I should know...he was famous.

I grew up with peanuts in my Coke with Barbara Mandrell. I still like some country, it's gotten a bit too "rock-y" for me. But every time I hear Josh Turner ask me "Will you go with me" I scream at the radio, YES! YES! YES!...my dd looks at me a bit funny. But seriously, with a voice like that...maybe...

[Aileen]

I grew up a metalhead. Big hair bands were my heaven. Hated country, and said I would never NEVER listen to that stuff.

Now, at 39, I'm a huge country music fan. HUGE.

Don't get me wrong, I still love my 80's metal. But, I'll take country music any day any time.

[Meg in Tally]

Add to my earlier comment:
The guy that wrote the PERFECT COUNTRY SONG was David Alan Coe...gotta give him his props!

[dcrmom]

Country music is my heritage too. My iPod has several country songs thrown in amidst a lot of classic rock. It does take me back whenever I listen to it, especially the older stuff. My dad still plays country gospel on Sunday mornings. Country music is my tie to home and I can't help but love it. :-)

[klutzymama]

To Meg in Tally,
That was David Allen Coe's "You Never Even Call Me By Name." A country classic!

[Leigh]

Add me to this list as well!

I like the stories that play out in the songs, some of them are the heartbreaking-twangy-tear-in-my-beer type stories, and some are funny and sweet, and others are just true.

[Kim]

O.K. I have a quiz for you:

What was the #1 country song of all time?

I surprised my husband and son that I knew this when one of those countdown shows were on! Also I can sing David Allen Coes perfect country song too! Funny thing is I don't listen to country much these days, but I was country when country wasn't cool! Grew up on Hee Haw!

[Katy]

My ex husband ruined country music for me (I think there's a song there!) I also attended college during the Garth years and it brings back memories of 10 cent beer in a plastic cup and my fake Ropers as I posed as a cowgirl at the honky tonk in Nacadoches, TX. I grew out of it though. Thank the Lord!

Katy
http://mynutvillage.com/

[Jane]

I was raised with country music, one town over from the Capitol Music Hall (and very close to Jamboree in the Hills). In late high school/college, I tried out rock, top 40, etc. But I've always come back to country.

I've almost converted DH to where he can listen to it without falling asleep. And my kids can sing along to Brad Paisley and Diamond Rio without missing a word :-)

PS - Someone else mentioned Brad's "Letter to Me." I went to high school with Brad, and the "Letter to Me" video is filmed in our high school and home town. His songs in general are a taste of home for me, but that one especially!

[Jennifer R.]

Hm.... I graduated from the U. of A. in 1991 and I don't know the alternate concert verse of "I've Got Friends in Low Places." Does that make my degree invalid? :)

[Ariel]

That's funny but certainly true. And country music isn't all that bad!

[Lizz @ Yes, and So is My Heart]

I've been surprised by what I now like and by what I no longer like music wise.

[Marla Taviano]

I secretly like country music too. Clear up here in Ohio.

[Angela]

Country music (and gospel!) are the sounds I grew up with as well, but I always loved it. Even when my friends turned to Duran Duran and such in the 80's (which I liked), we all still listened to country as well. It does feel like home!

[Sarah N]

Maybe you crossed paths with my hubby at Arkansas. He went there for one year (89-90) before transferring to Florida for their better architecture program. He had a slight mullet (business in the front, party in the back!) and drove a pickup. He still says "fixin' to". Now that we have lived in Alabama for 5 years, our 7 year old son has developed quite the southern twang!

[Smockity Frocks]

I could have written this! (Well... not nearly as well.) Except the places were small town TX and then San Diego, CA.

Growing up, I was determined that I WOULD know the lyrics to the Captain and Tenille (and other Top 40) songs, and I pretended I didn't know who Hank Williams and Loretta Lynn were.

Now that my Daddy is long gone that music takes me back to my childhood where I store sweet memories of him.

"A Little Bit O' Life" is our family song these days!

[Krista Singleton]

I remember listening to my Mother singing along with "I was country when country wasn't cool" by Barbara Mandrell, and thinking I will not be that Mom! Oh well, almost 30 years later and I am that Mom! I listen to a wide range of music though. I also grew up listening to Gospel, & old Rock! So my kids are pretty diverse too. I listen to their pop music and they listen to my country (and try not to laugh)!

[Teri]

I think Country Music isn't such a regional thing. I'm in NE Indiana & I think it's the spirit of the music that connects you to home.

[Lora Lynn]

Same thing here. Didn't do much country music til I moved from Alabama to the nation's capital. Just as soon as the pace of life and the traffic got me down, I started listening to country music. And I just saaaa-aaang right along with it. Because somehow, deep down, I knew all the words to those songs I had scorned for years. Amazing.

[Jane]

I went to HS and college in NJ. You could change the word "country music" to metal "hair bands" and this would be my story!

[Marian]

I grew up hating it, too. Come on-- with a show like Hee Haw hitting the airwaves every week, how could any self-respecting northern girl go for that package? Now it's defintely part of my huge repetoire. The best songs are those that don't take themselves too seriously or are a little tongue-in-cheek, or those with such picturesque language that it paints a very strong, warm image.

[Deborah]

I grew up in Mississippi and moved to Chicago for college. I had only listened to country occasionally growing up - if my mom had it on the radio or if the boy I liked at the time enjoyed country music. That's how I went to a George Strait concert. Anyway, country music at college really gave me a taste of home. I still listen now.

[Elizabeth]

Those parents of mine who moved us to that same little town were penny loafer & bermuda shorts wearing college graduates who took us out to Colorado every year. My favorite summer was the one we listened to, oh, gosh, The Carpenters, Three Dog Night, and probably a gob of John Denver while headed to CB in the tiny blue VW station wagon. (Annie's Song was always a big hit at our house.) I was in the back-back with no seat belt and my ear was on the speaker.

Now, in that town Dad and that brother of mine did begin to love country music. However, we all still read books, and my parents NEVER let me do that cruise thing. Brett Foster did teach me to two-step, though, and you know no one would've said no to that!

And then there's that Alma Mater we share. We were surely on different sides of 1990, ha. The only twang of country I remember from Fayetteville was maybe, if you listen that way, coming from the Indigo Girls. I loved The Connells, Smithereens, local group Plan B, Big Country which wasn't country at all, Big Audio Dynamite and many, many more. I was able to swing that brother a little more my way, and the first Christmas after he was up there with me we bought each other our first Birkenstock's at the Old Possum leather store on Dickson.

And now we come to now. Shannon and I are yet again in the same town, but on different sides of the great divide that is 41st. (To you out-of town readers, if you pass that street driving one way or the other, you have to pack a lunch or change the oil, ha.) I have loafers in the closet for just in case they come back in style some day, and my bermuda shorts are my summer uniform. Married a man who lived in Old Snowmass, CO and we often return to CO with my parents and my brother's family. My kid love old Van Halen, REM, Jack Johnson, Sting... and they read lots of books. I hope they go back to good ol' UofA. (One, though, is talking Dartmouth and the other loves Oregon!) Still, though, no country music is going on.

So, to those of you whom Shannon may have scared senseless, it's all ok. People have made it out of that little town and that school on the mountain to tell about it without whining and letting tears fall into beers. Now my brother, we'll just have to see... Right now he's probably driving to his Fayetteville law office and listening to country music... don't know if he's in the truck or the blue hybrid, though:-)

[Betsy]

How can you help but love country music?? It's all about life and love and God and family? All the things that I'm living every day!

[Snowbird]

I grew up listening to the Grand Ole Oprey, thanks to my West (By God) Virginia born father. I, too, shunned country music but will admit that I do like Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, and some of the newer singers. Either I'm mellowing or country music is. LOL

[Suzie Eller]

Carrie Underwood fan here! Why? Because I live in Tahlequah, where she attended the university with my son. I'll never forget the day he came home and said, "Mom, I heard this girl sing today and she's the best I've ever heard." They later became friends. She dated his fraternity little brother. I met her in Braums once, wearing the typical college uniform of pj pants and a tank top, with her hair in a bun. She was beautiful even then. It's been amazing to watch her career take off.
Music does take us back to home, or to good memories, or that first dance with my unrhythmic but enthusiastic first love. : ) Love the post.

[Jill S]

Oh what a great post. I hated country UNTIL college. I remember growing up, my parents having Waylon and Willie on EIGHT TRACKS! Anytime I hear one of their songs, it takes me back!

[MamaHen]

Your post describes how I felt growing up in a small town in middle America. I couldn't wait to get out and get away, but the one thing I know, is that the minute we cross the state line into Nebraska, we flip it to the country station and oh the nostalgia! Enough that sometimes it hurts my heart to listen to it! We never listen to country except for then.

[Heather]

Longtime reader, first time commenter. :)

My iPod is just as diverse as yours. I have a few country songs that I listen to. I don't consider myself a fan, though. I went through a country phase in the early 90s when Garth Brooks was big. There was one song that was particlar to me. The other day my husband and I were in this little cafe (keep in mind we live in TN, just south of Nashville) and that song came on. I thought I was going to cry right there.

[Lisa B @ simply His]

I was God's gift to honky tonks back in my day. I loved two-steppin', line dancin' and all the other stuff I could leave off the "g" from. That's how I met my husband -- although he'll say it was in line dance class, I say it was a bar. We were both saved a year and a half later. God replaced country music for me with southern gospel and contemporary music. But oh, I still like some of the classics like "Online" by Brad Paisley. That's so me :D

[Molly B]

Growing up in Oklahoma, I swore I would never like country music. Working at Eskimo Joes before anniversary week, we were all in the back packaging up the shirts for hours on end with the country music radio playing.

Hal Ketchum's 'Past the Point of Rescue' pushed me right over that edge. There's a simplicity to some of the songs that it's just too fun to sing loud with the windows open. (And yes, I know all the words to 'Friends in Low Places' - don't we all?)

[Amy]

One of your earlier comments totally could have been written by me... I was into 80's big haired rock and swore I'd never like country. Now, I'm a huge country music fan... go figure.

[Frantichomecook]

That was my story. Only my family WAS the family packing the Hound Dog Lloyd Headed To a Swap Meet After Driving Through at the Moonshine Store. Seriously. And we listened to bluegrass. So country music became all that was wrong with my youth.

Because I wanted to have an education, wear shoes and conjugate verbs, I shunned it all as a package. But age brings wisdom and perspective and the end of that youthful running-from-your-roots that all generations go through. So country music is now my friend, and I'm learning to embrace my shoeless, outhouse-owning, bluegrass heritage for the good it had without washing over its warts.

Great post, as usual!

[Michelle]

When I lived in the Southeast, I answered the question "What type of music do you like?" with "just about anything except country." I wondered why I started to like country music when we moved to California. Now I see - homesickness.

[Ronnica]

I grew up listening to country and still like it, though I rarely listen to it anymore. I have converted 2 people back in the day to country music. It is truly catchy if you listen to it enough times.

[Robyn]

Amen and hallelujah. Makes me wanta say Wooo Pig! Soo-ie!

I'm a HUGE Reba McEntire fan. Have been made fun of plenty for it, Don't care, though. Love it.

[The Pumkin Patch]

Well I guess I was wrong, I just don't belong
But then, I've been there before
Everything's alright, I'll just say goodnight
And I'll show myself to the door

I didn't mean to cause a big scene,
Just wait 'till I finish this glass
Then sweet little baby I'll go back to the bar
And you can kiss my a**!

We are HUGE Garth fans here at The Pumkin Patch. But my faves have to be Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Reba, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Joe Nichols....the list goes on and on...

[123pizza]

Me too! I used to hate country music and refused to listen to it but whenever I'm looking for a radio station I almost always end up listening to country music. I guess it never leaves you.

[Lisa @ Stop and Smell the Chocolates]

I grew up in Montana and I also refused to be a country music fan. I was much too trendy for that!

Now I find that I actually like lots of country music, but I still don't like the stuff that's too twangy and some of the stuff my Dad listened to!

[Shalee]

Shannon, we're more alike than you think. This is exactly what happened to me in 2000. How do I know the year? I was working for the US Census in Nebraska, driving down country road in a truck. Country music just seemed right. I guess my Tennessee heart didn't know what it was missing all those years.

Now I know way too many words to way too many songs in way too many genres, including country, Top 40, classics, blues and the 80's, of course. My poor kids. They're going to have such an eclectic musical education by the time they hit college...

[Lisa @ Stop and Smell the Chocolates]

OK - I had to come back again to say...now I've got "Friends in Low Places" stuck in my head - thanks a lot!

[Shannon M.]

Being a native Arkansan myself (who also scorned country music) I can relate. But I've come to terms with it at 37. It now reminds me of "home", especially the really old songs, and I always think of my daddy when I hear George Jones sing "He stopped loving her today." Of course, Elvis' Blue Christmas always takes me back to Christmas morning where my parents always danced blissfully together around the living room....

[Jennifer]

I can't believe no one's mentioned Johnny Cash yet! Mercy, Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash Johnny Cash Johnny Cash.

There. I fixed that.

[Jenn]

Love it! I hated it growing up too because it was what "my parent's listened to" but secretly started liking it. Now it's great sing along in the car music...and bonus that baby likes it...ahhh the benefit of the pregnant belly listening to what mama likes. My husband hates it and takes every opportunity to poke fun. Glad to see I'm not the only one.

[Carrie]

How about the extra verse in the live version of Garth's "Thunder Rolls"? hmmmm???? Mhm that's right, Closet country fan here too...now shush and don't tell anyone I have to go finish packing for my camping trip to the rock fest we are heading too!!!

[Angela]

My hubby converted me to country music... and I laugh and think of him when I hear Brad Paisley sing, "Honey, I'm still a guy!" :)

[Fab-Fam]

I'm a new "Rocks in My Dryer" fan and have been immersed in your blog for the last week or so, reading way too many of your posts in too short a time period.(And loving every second.)

Having discovered that you're a grammar snob, I have a question for you:

I thought periods and commas always go inside quotation marks, but I often see on your blog and others' blogs the period outside of quotation marks from time to time. What's the rule on that?

Like in the fifth paragraph of this post--howcome the period is outside the quotation marks in "I've Got Friends in Low Places"?

[Christi]

Nashville Star is now my favorite show! I'm "as country as the days are long" though. Thanks for coming out of the closet!

[AnnMarie]

I've been listening on the sly...maybe I'll come out of the closet, maybe.

[Leslie @ Sunday School Blog]

I got my degree from Auburn University and learned that you can't live in Alabama for any length of time without developing a taste for country music. My husband, on the other hand, is an official "music snob" - he has a music degree and worked as a middle school choir director. So I listen to my country in the choir when he's not present so that he doesn't have a heart attack.

[Leslie @ Sunday School Blog]

I got my degree from Auburn University and learned that you can't live in Alabama for any length of time without developing a taste for country music. My husband, on the other hand, is an official "music snob" - he has a music degree and worked as a middle school choir director. So I listen to my country in the car when he's not present so that he doesn't have a heart attack.

[Stephanie's mommy brain]

Oh my! Growing up in rural AR in the early 90s I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. The theme for my senior prom was "The Dance." And I can sing along with Garth almost word for word all these years later.. Sigh.. Even Rhode Island (where I've been for 11 years) has a country music station which I confess gets almost as much play in my van as K-LOVE does. = )

[Jackie W]

SAME HERE. Every time I hear "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" my eyes roll, my mom would play that RECORD not cd over and over. But now it's comforting somehow. I myself like County Rock, give me Grethen Wilson anyday.

[Tari]

The same thing happened to me, only I moved from rural NY to Houston, TX, and then proceeded to scorn country music while still trying to call myself a Texan. I finally broke free from all of that, and now can sing along without guilt to the 70's country music station, all of which reminds me of Sunday afternoons at home as a child. Amen.

[Jackie Sue]

You are exactly right, Shannon, country music is home. Even after I gave it up b/c I couldn't in good conscience explain the lyrics to my kids, when I was alone and tuned in a country music station it just soothed my soul. There is no music to my soul like country music. I can't explain it any better than you. It just is home to me. More often than not these days we listen to the local Christian station, but when it just gets too repetitive we flip on the country music just enough to win over the kids :)

[The Apron Queen]

Oh, you made me smile. Thank you. I detested country music for years. It was Gretchen Wilson's Redneck Woman that converted me. Now, country music is all I listen to. That and 80's music that my kids call the oldies. :D

For your daily dose of vintage goodness & a bit of silliness, stop by Confessions of an Apron Queen

[Melissa @ A Long Way from the Theta House]

Welcome to the dark side, girl!!! You go get yourself some Phil Vassar and sing sing sing along. He's a great songwriter!

[Pauline]

I laugh because I lived in Michigan for a long time and fought the country music. Then I moved to the Boston area, and now I'm a die hard fan. I guess I just like to do things a little backwards..... =)

[Shannon]

Well said.

[Dawn @ My Home Sweet Home]

Shannon, I wonder what other attitudes we share, growing up 40 miles apart (besides a tendency to sneak out of dinners where salmon is being served)? My parents loved country music, but I was way too cool as a teen for that stuff.

Do you know what I listened to for the first 150 miles of my drive home from She Speaks? George Strait. Loved every minute of it. I've got a post I need to write about me, George Strait, and my former too-cool-for-country attitude.

Greetings from another member of the country club! :-)

[chocomama]

What about....TIM MCGRAW!! It doesn't get much better than Tim and Faith singing together. And I love me some Rascal Flatts and Carrie Underwood. I have listened to country for about 10 years, but tend to go to one really great "top 40" station we have here. But when they're on commercial, I'm all about the country.

And when it comes to videos, don't even get me started. Country music videos are so SO SOOOO much better than any other genre.

[Stephanie]

I am now and have always been a country girl.

Favorite songs? Too many to list, but right now I'm lovin'...

I Loved Her First (Heartland)
You're Gonna Miss This (Trace Adkins)
One More Day (Diamond Rio)
Nobody In His Right Mind (George Strait)
You're Gone (Diamond Rio)
When You Say Nothing At All (Alison Krauss)
There Is No Arizona (Jamie O'Neal)

[Clio]

I'm from OKC. Haven't listened to country music in year, and while at a graduation party the graduate insisted on only country music. And now? One of my presets in the car is set to the local country station. I love that song that goes "you're gonna miss this... you're gonna want this back..."

[Queen B]

I'm slowly converting. And really. I don't think there should be any more making fun of the NASCAR...

[Tonya]

I love reading your blog!! I gave you an award. You can pick it up on my blog. Congrats!!

[Lynda]

I was just like you - a 7th generation Texan nonetheless - always resisted country music. And one day... it was okay.

[Fuschia]

To this day Chattahoochee comes on and I'm in our first real house painting the kitchen!

[Stacey]

I say you should have stayed in the closet. hehehe :-)

[Sherry Early]

Nostalgia is a powerful force.

[Diana]

Shhhhh, I like country too.

I grew up listening to country and classic rock, in a small town bar. *Helllloooo, rednecks!* I knew I was going places and dammit I was not going to end up like these people. THESE PEOPLE. In their small town bar with their god forsaken country music.

My favorite little place is a small town bar, when huz and I go out (not very often) it's just not a night out without stopping at that place.

We're country and we certainly think we're cool. Do me a favor and don't tell us any different, okay?

[citystreams]

Me too! I look back on my snooty ways, and feel a little sheepish. The stories inside country songs just fascinate me now. They make everything else seem one dimensional.

[Missy]

I have a similar story. I listened a bit as a kid, then not again till after college. I was kind of ashamed to admit it first. Now I fully embrace my inner Redneck.

[Sister]

I, too, vividly remember when, where, and what country song sounded like home.

Thanks for coming out...confession is good for the soul - just like country music. :)

[Christy]

I entered Texas A&M in 1991, when Garth Brooks was a huge hit. Previously I was proud to be a Dallas city girl with nothing to do with country music. By the time I graduated, I could two-step with the best of them and had quite an extensive collection of country music. I don't listen much now unless it is the stuff from the early 90's. It just reminds me of that era in my life.

[Beth]

Well for dang sakes! I reckon we jus' found us another country girl :-)

OK, enough of that, but seriously! It's OK. I grew up with Conway Twitty (for my mom) and Marty Robbins (for my dad), and "Hee haw" on TV. Yes, I just said Hee Haw. I personally chose Randy Travis and Kenny Chesney, with a few big hair bands in between :-) Now it's Jeremy Camp and Chris Tomlin mostly, though...

[Julie]

I love your Memories and the "secret - life!"

[The Diaper Diaries]

As someone who lived in Chicago for many years I can tell you, you were not alone. It doesn't make it any more right, but there are plenty of country music fans all over this country. God help them all.

[katdish]

I grew in Houston. For me, country music represents all the drunk, redneck jerks that I had the pleasure of attending high school with. I'm way past high school now, and I know there's lots of great country music out there, but I just can't get past the redneck thing. My loss.

[White Hot Magik]

It is like a dirty little secret club over here. I occasionally still listen and it my husband "catches" me. I recently discovered Trace Adkins, that man is sexy!

[terri m]

I always loved country music and still do. I got sick of my parents listening to gospel, but now I also have the gaithers and other gospel on my mp3- much to my childrens chagrin. Do you think they'll have that music on their's when they get older?

[Aleesha]

I grew up on the Georgia / Alabama state line... but on the Georgia side where I was still slightly ashamed of my affinity for all things Garth or Tim. The country music fan in me only came out when I was on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee! When I moved to Michigan, matters got worse... I was so taunted by my girlfriends that I made sure to turn my radio in my car OFF when I got to work every morning, just in case I ended up being the one driving to work. Take it across the border, moving to Toronto... ack! I think it's only slightly more tolerated here because they all know my roots are in the South, so I just fall into that particular part of the stereotype! Again, you can take the girl out of the South but you can't take the South out of the girl!!

[githe]

Please Jesus, may I get married to cowboy!

Hm-m-mmmmmm

[ashley @ twentysixcats]

Oh I just had to comment on this post... I grew up in another country that had this specific soft drink that was a source of nationalistic pride. The drink tastes like bubble gum (which I hate) and is bright yellow. The whole time I lived there I hated the taste of the drink, and it annoyed me that a lot of restaurants served only that for beverage! I moved back to the States 7 years ago, and now whenever I come across that soda I always buy it and enjoy! It still tastes the same but for some reason it just reminds me of HOME.

[Tamlynn]

Hello! I linked here on a whim via Nester's sister (I think)because I couldn't resist your intriguing blog title. I am not disappointed! Great writing, very fun, I will be back.

I also resisted the country music crowd for as long as possible. Oh well.

[Sarah (Real Life)]

I am the SAME WAY! With country/ bluegrass. I was always way too important to listen to it. Until I spent 12 years living in a place where every other person "picks" in a bluegrass band, and the weekends bring a huge meadow, kids running around, and a music stage with friends crooning away.

I love it now, more for the culture than anything.

[Nancy]

Me too. Hated it until I moved away from Texas. Now it's almost all I listen to. Love it.

[Jill]

Oh, I love country music, too. Always have, but my love has deepened as I've gotten older. Sara Evans is my dear friend and I just get teary sometimes listening to her sing. Please tell me you own a pair of cowboy boots!

[Ashleigh (Heart and Home)]

I was a little girl during the Garth years and my beachside-born-and-bred parents suddenly went on a country music binge that lasted (maybe?) two years. By the time I was in highschool I curled my lip at those years and was thankful country music wasn't "the thang" anymore.

Now? I also have Clint Black, the Gaithers and Josh Groban on the very same iPod... and oodles of other to match each genre. Country came back to haunt me.

[Tami]

I grew up listening to country music in the 70's, so I know a lot of older country music. But I found my way to pop and contemporary christian music in the 80's and 90's, and I was happy in my little musical bubble.

And then God, who has a great sense of humor, gave me children who love country music. I am talking children who like to watch country music videos on CMT! And the sit and guess who is going to win some call-in segment for best video. And, of course, Billy Ray Cyrus is big in country music again, and my kids just crack up over his 80's mullet.

And I have a 4-yr-old Johnny Cash wannabe! Oh, my, heavens, this boy will sing in church with a microphone and go from singing "Power in the Blood" to "Ring of Fire." It's a good thing we go to a small country church that is full of country music fans. And we decided that "Ring of Fire" was a pretty good description for someone who was not under "The Power in the Blood." LOL At least we figured out how to make it work for our aspiring country music singer.

Tami