Why Country Music Can Be Popular for so long?

这篇essay介绍了乡村音乐在很长的一段时间里一直是最受欢迎和最具影响力的音乐流派。乡村音乐开始在1920年代在美国南部。乡村音乐的起源是白人的民间音乐,工人阶级的美国人,这被认为是“乡村音乐”。乡村音乐一词流行起来之后,在1940年代,“乡村音乐”。谁能想到,乡下人的音乐将成为流行音乐流派如此之久?本文将重点从不同的时间通过分析流行乡村音乐歌曲讨论它的流行的原因。

Country music has been one the most popular and influential music genres for a very long time. Country music started in Southern United States in the 1920s. The origins of country music are the folk music of mostly white, working-class Americans and it was considered as “hillbilly music” at first. The term country music gained popularity later in the 1940s in preference to “hillbilly music”. Who would have thought that the music of hillbilly would become such a popular music genre for so long? This paper will focus on discussing the reasons for its popularity by analyzing popular country music songs from different time.
For the sake of analysis, a proper definition of country music is needed since country music is a very broad music genre. “Country music often consists of ballads and dance tunes with generally simple forms and harmonies accompanied by mostly string instruments...”(From Wikipedia). The key words in definition of country music in this paper are “ballads and dance tune” and “simple forms and harmonies”, so the country music referred in this paper should be songs with story-telling and descriptive lyrics and simple tune and harmonies. Although the definition of country music is not specific enough, it should be enough for the discussion of its long-time popularity. In the song list I compiled, there are popular country songs from 1920s to 2010s. They are all hit songs at their time. By analyzing why they were popular in their time, one can see the development of country songs through time and know why country song can keep its vitality for so long.
The first country song in my list is Will the Circle Be Unbroken, which originally is a Christian hymn. This song was remade by The Carter Family to be a ballad with simple tones and harmonies in 1920s. At that time, religious belief was a major part in people’s life especially in the southern America. Religious song naturally was the main stream in music world. A religious song coupled with simple tones and beautiful harmonies would definitely be a “hit song” at that time. With the development of the industrialization and more openness in society, people started to liberate themselves from rigorous religious belief and pay more attention to their own feelings and the environment around themselves. There are a large number of popular country songs describing country lives and the beautiful view of countryside. Country Road, take me home is one of the most well-known country songs in this aspect. Lyrics of the song described the idyllic rural scenery and feeling of coming home, which struck a chord for a lot of people now living in cities from countryside. Other two songs, Sugar Town and Blue Moon of Kentucky, are also songs of similar themes. It is easier for country music singers to express common feelings among people through simple music instruments and descriptive lyric, which is why so many people like listening to country music.
Country music always keeps abreast of trend of the time and it keeps developing by putting features of other music genres to make new types of country music, which is another reason for its great popularity. The next two songs, Everybody Loves a Nut and Burn Your Playhouse Down are quiet different from the previous songs in the list. You can tell that just by comparing the titles of these two songs to the previous ones. Country songs at that time were more or less influenced by other music genres such as Rock and Roll. Although they still used guitar and banjo and the tunes were still simple and frisky, these song are more passionate in tones and lyrics and singers are more imaginative and expressive in singing. County songs at that time also had some changes in its themes. Instead of songs describing country lives and scenery, country songs at that period focused more on people’s feeling and thinking. This change is crucial because music for people is not longer only a recreation but more of a tool for people to express who they are and how they feel. Only songs that speak people’s mind and feelings can touch people and country songs are just doing that.
Then as the music industry saw more varieties in music genres, country music still kept open to integrating with other music genres. Blue, R&B and Soul music were finding their ways to influence country music, especially in terms of using such music instrument as bass, piano and electric guitar and the ways singers presented the songs. Hotel California and Driving my life away are two examples in point. Lyrics are still descriptive and tones and harmonies are still simple and easy to remember but the use of bass and electric guitar gives these two songs a little bit toughness as in rock music and the way singers present the songs have some similarities as R&B and Blue singers. Then in 1990s, we have country songs like Don’t Rock the Juke Box, which still strikes you as southern America country music. However, when we hit fast forward to present time, country music for lots of people means Taylor Swift, her boyfriends and teenagers. No more southerner accent and no more easiness but more mainstream culture and complicated teenager school life and love life. Songs like Mean, I know You Were Trouble and Need You now becomes hit songs. It used to be country singers in cowboy hat and jeans who paly guitar and sing. Now it is Taylor Swift in her beautiful gown and make-up sings songs about love and boys and teenagers are screaming and crying under stage.
Country music has indeed came a long way from being southern hillbilly music to being the music genre loved by millions of people. It has a lot to do with the simple and easy form of country music and the direct expression of people’s feelings and emotion, which makes it more accessible to people and more easier to strike a chord with listeners. However, what I think is more important in country music’s success is that country music is inclusive and has open attitude to new things, it takes in elements from other music genres, changes itself in accordance with the trend and always find new perspectives to interpret music. For anything to keep vitality through the changes of time, open attitude to changes and improvement is always the key. It is true for country music and it is true for all the things that have been around for a long time.
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