Re-thinking my attitude toward country music

I may not get past the annoying twangy thing, but maybe I like country music more than I thought I did.

The reason? A commentary by Jeff Foxworthy at the end of the CMT Music Awards -- a commentary that highlights his belief that country music is all about honor, family, humility, faith, and doing what needs to be done. The YouTube video is at the end, after the script I painstakingly transcribed (including Foxworthy's drawl). I've highlighted my favorite parts:

Well, this is the third year in a row that I have done this, which sets some sort of record for me being on TV with the same show. And I started thinking about why I like country music and doing this show so much, and here’s what I came up with, y’all.

I like country music because it’s about the things in life that really matter. It ain't about braggin’ about how you’re gonna mess somebody up or how somebody ain't respecting ya. It’s about love, family, friends, with a few beers, a cheap woman and a two-timin’ man thrown in for spice.

It doesn’t take political sides, even on things as ugly as war. Instead, it celebrates the brave men and women who go to fight ‘em, the price they pay to do it, and the longing we have for them to return home to the ones that they love.

It’s about kids, and how there ain’t nothin’ like ‘em. I get tired of hearin’ about how bad kids are today, because there are a lot o’ great kids out there that just need somebody to love ‘em and believe in ‘em. Country folks love their kids and they will jack you up if you try to mess with ‘em.

People in country music don’t forget the people that allow them to do what they do for a livin’. They sign autographs and they take pictures with the fans, because they know without ‘em, most of us entertainers would be gettin’ a lot dirtier in the course of our workday. We are thankful that people want to hear the songs and the jokes that we write.

Country music doesn’t have to be politically correct. We sing about God because we believe in ‘im. We’re not trying to offend anybody, but the evidence that we have seen of him in our small little lives trumps your opinion about whether or not he exists.

We love country music because it touches us where we live. It’s about mamas and when they were hot, and when they are unappreciated, and when they were dying. It’s about daddies and the difficulties they have sometimes in telling the people that they work so hard to protect and provide for how they feel about ‘em.

Country music is about new love and it’s about old love. It’s about gettin’ drunk and it’s about gettin’ sober. It’s about leavin’ and it’s about comin’ home. It’s real music sung by real people for real people. The people that make up the backbone of this country. You can call us rednecks if you want, we’re not offended, ‘cause we know what we’re all about. We get up and go to work, we get up and go to church, and we get up and go to war when necessary.

All we ask for is a few songs to carry us along the way, and that’s why I love this show, because it ain’t some self-important Hollywood hype with the winners determined by somebody else. On this show, you decide who goes home with the trophy, and you get to dance and sing along with the people that bring you the songs of your life.

And here's the video:


(HT: Dean Barnett)