Introduction
In fact, country is a unique genre of popular music mixed with church motives, blues, and American folk. Country songs have roots dating back to the early 1920s in the Southern and South Western parts of the United States. Such melodies usually comprise dance tunes and ballads with overall simple forms, harmonies, and lyrics accompanied by string instruments: electric, banjos, and harmonicas. Most often, artists in this genre address the social issues in their music, such as racism, gun control, drug abuse, and homelessness. Through their vocal art and string picking, they aim to bring awareness to the problems and empower others to stand up against vices in society. Country performers and their support for social causes are the key ideas discussed in this paper.
Exploring the Topic
As a rule, the boldest and bravest comments do not come from social media but from country musicians who take a more significant risk when addressing critical issues. For instance, in recent times, this was demonstrated in a manner that was subtle and shocking. Gender equality and homelessness were tackled after many people in various fan bases continuously asked country performers to sing about them. For instance, the musicians like Carrie Underwood, Kane Brown, and Luke Bryan did not shy away from this challenge (12 times, 2018). Hence, Underwood focused on charities and continues to help the unfortunate in society, such as homeless people living in the streets.
In addition, apart from that, there were both official and unofficial responses to another social issue, like the “#MeToo” and “#TimesUp movements”. Therefore, a sneaky lyric from Luke that let people know that equality is something that everyone needs to support. The man did not fail in the quest as he soared to number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Many people appreciated his message and even supported it. In this case, female musicians deserve more than a bit of acknowledgment since gender equality should be practiced every time. Music is the easiest way of passing these messages across as it is easier for an individual to listen to a song. Moreover, similar issue, like inequality has affected American society for a very long time. Even in the past and in other genres, many artists have addressed about these moments through their songs.
One Piece of Music That Illustrates the Essence of the Topic
Moreover, “Stick That in Your Country Song” by Eric Church can be cited as an excellent example of a song that touches on a socially significant issue. In my opinion, this song is quite simple in its composition but melodic, incendiary, and beautiful for perception. The main problems that the author highlights relate to the growth of crime, the spread of drugs, firearms, and high mortality on this basis – a very meaningful and deep topical theme (Truitt, 2020). It should be noted that Eric Church is a relatively talented American performer in the country genre. His songs are filled with a unique meaning, feelings, and emotions that he puts maximum singing. Furthermore, his musical composition properly fits into the theme of this essay since the song tells about everyday phenomena surrounding a person almost everywhere. Thus, only joint actions and efforts are required to eradicate them.
Conclusion
The peculiarity of country music is not only in the entertainment aspects but also in the transmission of some messages. Musicians are, primarily, creators who use sounds and words to express their thoughts, ideas, and opinions. In particular, they strive to ensure that their messages are correctly deciphered, having the opportunity to change the world and society for the better. For example, country musicians often turn to inequality, discrimination, crime, hunger, and homelessness. Hence, due to such individuals, many people began to “open their eyes” to existing problems and solve them in a radical way.
References
12 times the country wasn’t afraid to make a statement in 2018. Web.
Truitt, B. (2020). Eric Church tackles serious social issues in new single “stick that in your country song”. Web.