The Top Ten Theological Country Songs, David Fillingim
A while back, a reporter asked me to compile a list of the top five theological Country Songs of all time to use as a sidebar in an article he was writing about religion and country music. He ended up not using the list, so I thought I’d expand it to a “Top Ten” and post it here.
By “theological” I mean any message about ultimate reality or ultimate meanings, not just specifically theistic or Christian or biblical references—though most of the songs on my list include these.
I’d love to hear from readers what songs you would include that I have omitted.
Here’s my list:
1. Kitty Wells, “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”—In this song, Kitty Wells answers Hank Thompson’s “The Wild Side of Life,” which had the same tune. Thompson’s song had placed the blame for broken relationships on misbehaving women. Wells turns the table and blames men for the disorder in the moral universe. At least they agree that God is not to blame.
2. Hank Williams, “A Picture from Life’s Other Side”—In this song, Luke the Drifter paints a chilling portrait of some of the more tragic possibilities of the human condition, exposing the darkness at the heart of Hank’s picture of reality.
3. Garth Brooks, “The Dance”—So called “purists” might object to Garth’s inclusion here, but there’s no questioning his impact on the world of country music. “The Dance” is Garth’s signature theological statement, advising listeners to bless rather than curse the fate that brings lost love: Make the most of life and especially of relationships, and be grateful that it was good while it lasted!
4. Martina McBride, “Independence Day”—In her breakout hit, for which she credits Garth with opening the door, McBride recounts a tragic tale of liberation from patriarchal oppression, drawing on images from biblical apocalyptic and patriotic myth.
5. Clay Walker, “A Few Questions”—In a departure from the tone of his other hits, Walker offers a meditative exploration of the age-old question, Why do bad things happen to good people? The lyrics to this poignant song allude to God’s speeches from the whirlwind in the biblical book of Job.
6. Hank Williams, “Long Gone Lonesome Blues”—Hank laughs and moans his way to suicide by baptism; listen to this one right after you read Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “The River.”
7. Johnny Cash, “The Man Comes Around”—Among the gems from the Man in Black’s valedictory recording sessions with producer Rick Rubin comes this stirring and bizarre catalog of apocalyptic images; see how many biblical allusions you can identify.
8. George Strait, “I Can Still Make Cheyenne”—There’s a famous Zen parable about a guy who stops to eat a strawberry when he’s about to be devoured by ravenous tigers. This song conveys a similar message, without losing the sense of irony endemic to great country music.
9. Hank Williams, “Be Careful of Stones that You Throw”—Okay, maybe three Hank Williams songs in the top ten is a bit excessive, but this Luke the Drifter recitation is so biblical! It’s a bitter condemnation of hypocrisy with a mournful chorus that alludes to the New Testament book of James and to Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in adultery in the Gospel of John.
10. Sawyer Brown, “Mission Temple Fireworks Stand”—Though Paul Thorn’s original version of this tune is much better than the cover, kudos to Sawyer Brown for taking a chance on this off the wall gospel romp and putting it on the country charts. Once you’ve been to the Mission Temple Fireworks Stand, you won’t want to go to church anywhere else.
a personal connection
I gradually grew into a serious love for hard country music. As a teen I was really resistant to country music. I had church people trying to shove Southern Gospel down my throat, telling me it was the only kind of godly music anywhere. Well I didn’t like that. But now as an adult I’m learning that there were kindly influences who didn’t push, were just kind and loving, and were the genuine article.
One old friend is the evangelist Joy Ann Silvey. She grew up in one of the original country music families of the 1930s. Her mother and aunt made up the duo “The Girls of the Golden West.” They went by Milly and Dolly but their real names were Mildred and Dorothy Good. Here’s a brief bio:
Hillbilly duo of ’30s-40s, made comeback ’60s. Millie (b Mildred Fern Good, 11 April ‘13; d 3 May ‘93) and Dolly (b Dorothy Laverne Good, 11 Dec. ‘15; d 12 Nov. ‘67), both from Muleshoe TX, were among the earliest female country singers, starting a radio career in St Louis ‘30, regulars on WLS National Barn Dance ‘33-37, then in Cincinatti on Boone County Jamboree and Midwestern Hayride ‘37-42. Records on Victor, Columbia, Conqueror; most popular songs “Tumbled Down Shack Of My Dreams’, “Home Sweet Home In Texas’, “When The Bees Are In The Hive’, “Little Old Rag Doll’. Appeared on 50-50 Club in Cincinatti early ’60s, made six albums for Blue Bonnet label ‘63-7.
http://www.musicweb-international.com/encyclopaedia/g/G133.HTM
Not just that, her father was Tex Atchison, the renowned left handed fiddle player for the Prairie Ramblers.
On Aug. 4, 1982, Atchison died at age 70 at the home of his daughter, evangelist Joy Ann Silvey, in Granite City, Ill. They brought him home to Ohio County for burial and laid his worn fiddle atop his closed casket during the service.
As a child I was introduced to the Country Gospel singers Slim and Zella Mae Cox. My parent’s ministry involved occasionally raising money on Christian television. They wanted me to learn and sing a particular song well. So Slim and Zella Mae took me over to their house and literally taught me how to sing that song well. Here’s a brief bio of them from the St. Louis radio Hall of Fame:
Almus J.C. “Slim” and Zella Mae Cox
“Slim” began his radio career in Kennett, Missouri in 1947 with Slim Cox and the Foggy Mountain Boys and several other groups. A year later he met Zella Mae and they were married in 1948.
Their first gospel radio show was on KBTM in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Later in St. Louis they first appeared on WGNU with their weekly gospel program in 1955 sponsored by Schweig Engel, followed by KXEN and WEW.
Their performances were also heard on WSM’s Grand Ol’ Gospel program in Nashville for nearly 4 years, and their daily gospel radio broadcasts have been carried by 18 stations in 4 states.
The broadcast careers of the husband/wife team of Slim and Zella Mae Cox spanned over 56 consecutive years.
In June of 1999 St. Louis’ Riverfront Times did a feature length article on them here.
When I visited my mom over the holidays last year I called Slim in lieu of dropping in and we chatted about this rich legacy I’ve only lately come to appreciate. Somewhere near the end we talked about how different his music is from whats become popular in churches these days. Years ago gospel music used to be about the struggle. Songs like “Palms of Victory” and “Wayfaring Stranger” used to be about real life. People used to feel their need for God because of the harsh realities they experienced. The popular music of overhead projectors and choruses these days is all about how Jesus feels and how close we’re all sure he is. Its less about struggle and more about victory. Its less about God and more about how God makes me feel. I told Slim to keep up the good work. Keep singing the old songs. We need the struggle. He agreed to that. God bless them.
“Are You Alright?”
ITunes is offering Lucinda’s latest single “Are You Alright?” Her new album “West” release date (Feb. 13) makes my valentine birthday that much sweeter this year.
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams is on the cover of the latest No Depression Magazine. I think of Lucinda as the “Queen of Melancholy.” Country gets no harder than Lucinda. No time for a lengthy bio here right now, but she is definitely on the list!
Countrier than thou
These lyrics have a lot to say about the nuances of country music imaging.
Robby Fulks
Album: Georgia Hard
Song: Countrier than Thou
countrier than thou
countrier than thou
you whatdnt raised in a shack
so you better not act so countrier than thou
some people just don’t understand it
if you come from where the kudzoo grows
they think the south is like a planet
of peckerwoods and bozos
when i was young i picked some tubers
even took a swig of moonshine
but i never saw so many goobers
until the day i crossed that line
countrier than thou
countrier than thou
you wasn’t born in a cave
so you better not behave
so countrier than thou
down at the bar a spinnin haggard
he wore a johnny red tattoo
overalls, he spat and swaggered
lord, he was boston jew
he loved bluegrass, oh, brother
when I said shania he sneered
that’s a word I wouldn’t utter
we like to keep it downhome up here
countrier than thou
you ain’t never read your bible
tell me was your bi-ball ?
countrier than thou
rock!
yeah, home is nice
and dixie is nice
and everyone likes a thang that’s nice
but everybody likes you better by far
when you are what you are
not a hillbilly dilettante
fairweather hick
gimmee cloth foam faux fox
well read neck
robert e come lately
hayseed wanabee
undercover yankee
mississipPihD
alabama you’re
50% less tarheel
armchair arkansan
He’s got a ranch. He wears to stetson
he’s a hip shooting ex-oil king
even talks like buddy epsen
but he’s sitting in the west wing
frankenstein, i’m well aware of
but won’t somebody please explain
how you get a county sherrif
walking with a frat boy’s brain
countrier than thou
countrier than thou
well you went to andover
what’s the banjo for
countrier than thou
lost white trash!
What is hard country?
What do I mean by “hard” country? Good question. No easy answer. Well, I want to be inclusive with this description of a genre within a genre. I have two sources of definition in mind. First is Barbara Ching’s book Wrong’s What I Do Best: Hard Country Music and Contemporary Culture, NY: Oxford, 2001. Second is the work of Tex Sample, sociologist of religion and director of the Network for the Study of US lifestyles.Tex has written a small library of books on Hard living music, people, and culture. I have in mind to use his work as a ready resource. Hard Country music is lifestyle music. Its about hard living that usually involves hard drinking, broken relationships, intense sorrow and loss.
country, an intro
There’s something completely existential about country music. It is a stream that has fed pop, rock, and folk for years and has been fed by them. As my collection has expanded over the years I’ve come to realize how diverse the music really is. I myself am another erstwhile songwriter, and when listening to a song I’m usually listening for outstanding lyric craft or a unique blend of music. But its very rare that you get both together. In fact most of the time you’re not listening for a song with both. So that’s why when you hear a song crafting both well it just makes your heart jump.
Hard country music as with any other art form requires a modicum of apperception to understand what is really happening in the music. This is not what I’d originally been led to believe. Country has a serious stereotype attached to it: hayseed and hillbilly music. The uninitiated response to a “foot stompin number” is “Yeeeeee Haw.”
Believe it or not, country is a very inclusive form of music. To peer through the ‘History of the Grand Ole Opry’ for instance is to become acquainted with a most eclectic blend of human songcrafting. Its easy to see country as white hats, starched shirts and line dancing. Whats harder to picture is the impact of Charley Pride (country’s premier African American artist), former felons David Alan Coe and Merle Haggard, the man in black Johnny Cash, and on the bluegrass side Bela Fleck, Jerry Garcia, and David ‘Dawg’ Grisman. Its actually easier to talk about what is accepted within country than what isn’t or hasn’t been. Because country is so inclusive the tendency is for critics and fan clubs to try to represent “True Country” based on their tastes, calling it Classic Country, Americana, Alt. Country, etc. So it really boils down to personal taste. With the rise of internet culture buying habits among music shoppers have become much more personal. Its now possible for even the poorest music collectors to find classic recordings on cd for affordable prices.
One way to get into country is through the themes. Love, rejection, returning, leaving, freedom, bondage, sin and salvation. Personally I listen for love songs that explore love, the earthly and the spiritual, the dirt and the glory, faith in the real world. Country provides a unique atmosphere for songs about social problems and injustice, giving up and starting over, failure and forgiveness, faith and confidence, and thankfulness and security. When you’ve really heard your share of country and I’d like to use the bluegrass genre as an example (because it’s the most familiar), it becomes clear that the music is, if anything, all about reading the heart and exploring its inner activity. Many of the songs are no more than “Dear John Letters” and when you think about it that is very unique today and out of place, except maybe in the Blues. That theme, heard ad nauseum within the music is not one aptly explored anymore. These are the days of music filled with overwhelming emotion about nothing in particular. Songs are so nebulous that they can mean anything to anyone but nothing in particular.. The music itself has lost the need for character because the voices now are overdubbed over synthed music made on computers. Bluegrass on the other hand emphasizes the natural skilled work of each musician in its four to five piece band along with the ability to harmonize in variation.
