Rucker's Songs in a Sociopolitical Context

The Lyricism and Poetry of Steve Earle

Steve Earle's lyricism has always been an important fixture of who he was as a musician. Since his first album, his lyrics have dealt with real issues, ranging from his own personal troubles to the problems of the world. The first song I am going to focus on this "This City" from the soundtrack of Treme. In this video, he explains the assignment that show creator David Simon prompted him with when writing the song.  He wanted a song that Earle's character in the show would have written about New Orleans after Katrina in 2005. What was delivered was an emotional outburst that reflects not only on the city of New Orleans but also the personality and perseverance of Earle himself.

This city won't wash away
This city won't ever drown
Blood in the water and hell to pay
Sky turned gray when the pain rained down

Doesn't matter, let come what may
I ain't ever going to leave this town
This city won't wash away
This city wont' ever drown.

The song expresses the resilience that New Orleans had after Katrina, but a song like this could only have been written by someone who encountered the same tribulations in life.  Like New Orleans, Earle had basically lost everything at one point in his life.  His drug addiction has essentially ruined his career, an his future looked bleak.  He persevered however, and never let himself drown.

The next song "Jerusalem" was off his most recent album.  After his previous album was filled with only Townes Van Zandt covers, this record is a full release of the beliefs of Earle.  This lyricism on this song displays his prudent activism.

Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then

The sing deals with basically all the turmoil in the world, but most importantly the acceptance it has amongst most Americans.  A Christian himself, he is calling out others who let the violence continue and accept it as okay.

Earle has made it an ardent point throughout his career to use his music as a cultural tool.  He knows that every song, every word he releases holds merit to his listeners. Earle takes advantage and always has a positive message in his songs that he tries to spread.

Steve Earle Live: A Changed Man

Focusing on two Youtube live performances, I want to trace just how Steve Earle has changed over the years. The two videos should be able to address his maturity, and his coming of age.

The first video is a 1991 performance of his hit single, Copperhead Road.

In his performance, Earle gives off a confident and fearless rendition of the song.  He plays the song by himself, with no band, and no accompanying music besides his mandolin.  This creates a tense balance between the high end of the mandolin and the low nature of his voice. By leaving that mid range wide open, he is essentially creating a void that lets the audience feel the emotion of the song. It is very bare boned and honest.  He isn't trying to hide anything, but instead lets all his emotions loose.

The next video is from a 2009 in store performance at Ameoba records in San Francisco. He is performing a Townes Van Zandt cover, off of his tribute album to him. Unlike the first video, he spends a lot of time interacting with the audience.

While his musical style hasn't changed drastically, his emotional release is different.  In the past, he was basically portraying a character: a reckless cowboy who wrote songs to deal with his issues.  Now, he is much more honest. Not to say he wasn't honest before, but now he just tells the audience how he feels, while still displaying his emotions in his music. He wears his activism on his sleeve and is much more vocal about it, rather than just writing lyrics about his beliefs.

Also, the two videos show how his crowd has changed.  In the late 80s and early 90s, he was a "country" star - the first performance was actually broadcasted on CMT. Since then however, he has dropped off from the country scene, and just tried to please the people that actively find and enjoy his music. He no longer tries to fit into any mold and simply writes songs that express himself.

Steve Earle: A Growing Cowboy

After reading about the multidimensional Dwight Yoakam, I wanted to pick a similar artist. Not so much similair musically, but as a person - someone who was constantly broadening their horizons and artistically challenging themselves to create something extraordinary. I chose Steve Earle, who thrusted himself into the musical world in the early 70s by writing songs for other musicians in Nashville. At first he seemed like a sort of "son-of-a-gun" country man who was fearless. As his career progressed however, he turned into a mature singer songwriter whose songs came straight from the heart.

Growing up in Texas, Earle had an early fixation with the singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. At the age of just 14, he was reportedly following Townes all around Texas, hoping to meet and possibly even collaborate with his idol. At the time, Earle was too young to play his music in bars, so he began hopping around the coffeehouse scene playing gigs whenever he could. Townes was in the same circuit, and the two eventually met and had a strong connection. They would go on to form a lifelong bond and friendship. with Townes being the mentor Earle always wanted. It was at this point that Earle decided to move to Nashville and take a shot at his own music career, right around 1974.

Earle enjoyed some critical success once he broke out of just ghost writing. He released two albums, Guitar Town and Copperhead Road that solidified him as a popular fixture in the country world. After his bout with success however, he became highly addicted to drugs, especially heroin.  This caused a huge demise in production and he was eventually dropped from his label.  With the help of close friends, and Townes Van Zandt, he was able to fight the addiction and work towards sobriety.

He has gone on to release several works of both fiction and non-fiction, and has had two important roles on HBO shows The Wire, and Treme. Earle continues to make records, but his approach has been simplified and his sound has been condensed to a more traditional folk sound.  He has an important place in country music as an artist who has consistently risen above adversity and stayed true to himself along the way.

Hank III - The Outlaw's Songs

Hank III

An Outlaw, A Rebel, A Songwriter

Hank III’s album Straight to Hell, considered his masterpiece, created an influx of punk and metal fans into his fan base, and into country music in general, meeting in the middle with his self-coined style of hellbilly. While plenty of groups have tried to marry punk and country to varying degrees of success, Hank Williams III’s extreme nature and approach to the cross pollination of genres takes him over the top and into brand-new territory. His music sounds for the most part like it could have been recorded in 1963, but in its execution it is rougher and rowdier than country ever has been. Today, the traditionalists and metal-heads are face to face over what foundation they think Hank III’s music should retain, and Hank III has gone from being the most revered man in underground country to being one of the most polarizing. Somehow, however, Hank III has figured out how to strike a balance between warring forces, and not forget that the way for him to write the best songs he can is to listen to his heart. He reinvigorated the ‘hell raising” attitude in country. His production isn't overdone, and the heavy metal elements blend with the country elements smoothly. This is Hank III. This blend is his contribution to country music.

While the previous Williams' music has been a little more subtle with references to drinking, smoking, gambling, and the usual run-of-the-mill country outlaw regimens, Hank III pulls no punches with his lyrics. He says what is on his mind and in doing so, he became the first country artist to have the infamous "Parental Advisory" label slapped on his albums, throwing his label and the country music machine in a stupor. Since making his solo debut with 1999's Risin' Outlaw, Hank Williams III hasn't been shy about voicing his displeasure with his once contract bound label, Curb Records. Insisting that the executives at the label stifled his creativity (they spent years hesitating at the prospect of a proper album from Assjack, Williams's metal band, before finally releasing their debut in 2009), Williams channeled his rage into the creation of a fully realized persona built on equal parts spite and vice. Fortunately for Williams, that persona has translated into some tremendous music: Straight To Hell, boasts the same hybrid of traditional country conventions and punk ferocity that has made Hank III a worthy heir to his famous lineage.

His album, Straight To Hell, is a work that straddles the hallowed ground between Bill Monroe and Mötörhead, even though at some point in a first run through of the record, it’s realized that not one distorted guitar can be pointed out. The album is punk-rock in attitude and execution, the tempos being so hasty, but all the while, Williams chases his rough whine of a voice with keening country fiddle, a driving tick-tack beat, plenty of tasty Martin and Telecaster guitars, as well as a nice helping of steel guitar and Dobro just like all the old country albums that many “purists” grew up on. The playing is unruly but clean - as fiery and precise as it gets, raising a storm without needing over-driven amplifiers. Straight to Hell is what an essential country album should sound like. There is no stripped-down "pop" songwriting, there isn't any over-production, and there definitely aren't any sappy love songs. Straight to Hell is a venture into Hank's thoughts, beliefs and experiences. He isn't afraid to say what's on his mind, though the lyrics sometimes are a bit simple minded and cheesy, they get the point across.

Hank III drops names frequently all throughout Straight to Hell but it’s never for self-promotion. Instead, it’s another weapon at his disposal, a way of further exposing the way the current generation of country stars have betrayed not just what came before them but the very essence of the genre. This is especially notable on two of the album’s most well-known songs, “Country Heroes” and “Dick in Dixie.” The former is a down tempo celebration of the comfort that can be found in “Getting wasted/ Like all my country heroes,” Hank III’s declaration that “I want to hear them old songs/ Nothing of the new” less a thrown gauntlet than a statement on the lack of real camaraderie in modern country. But “Dick in Dixie” is far more deliberate in its intentions, buoyed as it is by Hank III’s confession that “Well, some say I’m not county/ And that’s just fine with me,"

Williams seems to instinctively understand that this dance with the dark side is what gives a lot of the best country music its power. This is undoubtedly noticed in the bleak song "Country Heroes," where he takes the standard country song themes of drinking and respect for your elders to a creepy new level, singing "sometimes I feel like I'm out of control... and I'm here getting wasted, just like my country heroes." Considering that his grandfather, Hank Williams Sr., drank himself into his grave at age 29 and George Jones, prominently name-checked in the song, has consumed tragic-heroic amounts of booze in his time, it's a little unsettling that Hank III is so intent on getting plowed. "Country Heroes" is the ultimate lonely country song, exemplifying the fact that there's nobody around but Hank and the men he's listening to.

Hank III - Country Heroes

Well, oh what a feeling 
that burns down low
when you ain't got no where to turn, 
or no where to go
It makes me feel like sometimes 
I'm outta control
So I'm gonna get wasted 
with all my country heroes

I'm drinkin' some George Jones, 
and a little bit of Coe
Haggard's easin' my misery 
and Waylon's keepin' me from home
Hank's givin' me those high times - 
Cash is gonna sing it low
I'm here gettin' wasted - 
here with my country heroes

I'm drinkin' that whiskey 
out of that glass
and if that ain't country, 
boy, you can kiss my ass
I wanna hear them old songs - 
nothin' of the new
'cause this might be the last time 
I'm gonna see you

So I'm drinkin' some George Jones,
and a little bit of Coe
Haggard's easin' my misery
and Waylon's keepin' me from home
Hanks givin' me those high times -
Cash is gonna sing it low
and I'm here gettin' wasted -
just like my country heroes

I'm here gettin' wasted -
with all my country heroes

The thing that really sets Hank III apart from the pack is his anger. The same anger that he numbs down while "drinking with all [his] country heroes", also shows up as a fierce defense of traditional country, against well-scrubbed newcomers and the “Yankees”, as he put it. He dedicates his other popular tune "Dick In Dixie" to the high purpose of putting "the dick in Dixie, and the cunt back in country."

“Dick In Dixie” is easily one of the highlights of Straight to Hell. It is an angry tirade against pop country and a way for him to lash out against critics. In the song, Hank states what he claims we “already knew all along”-that “pop country really sucks.”

We are then invited to kiss his ass. Williams states again and again that he can't stand the new breed of country musicians "kissing ass on Music Row" who have replaced the "outlaws that had to stand their ground" and he can't listen to country music in the same room as "some faggot looking over at [him]."

Hank III - Dick In Dixie (Live)

Well some say I'm not country 
and that's just fine with me
'Cause I don't wanna be country 
with some faggot looking over at me
They say that I'm ill-mannered 
that I'm gonna self-destruct
But if you know what I'm thinkin' 
you'll know that pop country really sucks

So I'm here to put the "dick" in Dixie 
and the "cunt" back in country
'Cause the kind of country I hear now days 
is a bunch of fuckin' shit to me
They say that I'm ill-mannered 
that I'm gonna self-destruct
But if you know what I'm thinkin' 
you'll know that pop country really sucks

Well we're losing all the outlaws 
that had to stand their ground
and they're being replaced by these kids 
from a manufactured town
And they don't have no idea 
about sorrow and woe
'Cause they're all just too damn busy 
kissin' ass on Music Row

So I'm here to put the "dick" in Dixie 
and the "cunt" back in country
'Cause the kind of country I hear nowdays 
is a bunch of fuckin' shit to me
And they say that I'm ill-mannered 
that I'm gonna self-destruct
But if you know what I'm thinkin' 
you'll know that pop country really sucks

And if you know what I'm thinkin'
you'll know that pop country really sucks

The sheer attitude of these songs is what makes them so profoundly great and enjoyable. Some of the music is a little repetitive in its composition, but the musicianship is above par. Plenty of “country-shred” is featured in the songs of this album, be it from a fiddle, a guitar, or a banjo, the simultaneously blazing and crooning stringed instruments in these songs are enough to make even John Petrucci blush. Hank III's vocals are not the best in the world; at first his nasal whine could be a total put-off to some, but like many unorthodox singers, his voice grows on you and becomes seamless with the music.

Yes, while most of the lyrical content in these songs is angry, stubborn, and a little cheesy, they communicate Hank’s opinions and feelings simply and effectively. Hank’s songwriting lays the foundation for an under toned sentiment that not only relates to his audience but is also based on real and actual occurrences in the hellbilly’s life. Will Hank III be writing songs to be remembered like his father and grandfather before him? When it comes to his approach towards country music in contrast to that of the mainstream country music machine, probably not. but what makes this album so appealing is the fact that most anyone can listen to the lyrics of these songs and take something from it brings Hank III and his music “closer to home” for the audience, making the rowdy and rude attitude some people may find distasteful in him, irrelevant. It's fair to question his taste: His un-ironic respect of a clan of honest-to-God sociopaths is a major talking point from the recent documentary The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. But the quality of his song craft and arrangements speaks for itself. In other words, Williams knows what he's doing.

Hank III in The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

In a book called High Lonesome: The American Culture Of Country Music, Cecelia Tichi writes about how country music became popular in part because it served to re-invent a shared (if largely fictional) down-home shared heritage for an increasingly displaced rural population in the middle of the 20th century. Tichi argues that during the Great Migration of the 1930s, when it seemed like half the population of the grain belt washed up in California, songs like "The Old Folks Back Home" helped to bring together migrants from Oklahoma and Alabama alike in a new culture that they could all share, built from shared impressions of the old life they had left behind and that they still held out hope of returning to (Tichi).

That is to say, a major job of country songs has always been myth-making - creating for listeners a more perfect, even idyllic past that they can share even if they have never even been to, say, Texas or Tennessee. Examples of this sub-genre might be the Carter Family's "Clinch Mountain Home," Dolly Parton's "Tennessee Mountain Home," Loretta Lynn's "Coal Miner's Daughter," standards like "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and "Home on the Range," and even newer songs like Alan Jackson's "Chattahoochee."

In a way, Hank Williams III is the just end point of a long trend in outlaw country, pushing away from idyllic stories about church and simple folks and falling in favor for stories about toughness, hard living, and defiant integrity. Home is the bar and church is, well, a place you go to have your weekly realization and recognition of the hell waiting for you. “The more I try to do right it just seems wrong, I guess that’s the curse of living out my songs.” The statement isn’t as much a chicken and egg scenario—which came first, the party or the partier—but rather a questioning of how much he’s honestly influenced by the style he projects. And that’s a hell of a reflection when considering both his well documented lifestyle and his thoroughly rugged songs.

“Some folks say I'm ill-mannered and that I'll self-destruct, so the song "Dick in Dixie" best explains what I do. We're a dysfunctional family and that's what people say about us all of the time. People say "he's a loose cannon and he ain't gonna make it very long." Well, I've beaten down this road for 12 years. So what if I'm not one of those guys who stepped right into the game, didn't pay any dues at all, and still got embraced by the Country Music Association.”

The sound of Hank Williams III wallowing in inherited misery makes for great listening. In fact, his self-indulgent tendencies give his songs a focus and power that any other set of new-old songs about drinking, drugging, and women would probably lack. Whether Hank Williams III's preoccupation with his own legacy manifest as a rant against Yankee 'faggots' crowding up Music Row or a creeping (and slightly creepy) obsession with walking in the footsteps of his idols, it makes for seriously compelling music.

Straight To Hell is both a fascinating and feckless record; raw, rambling and “full of piss and whiskey”. What Hank III demonstrates isn’t just punk rock going country, but rather real country, old school country, getting “punked up” from within. Hank III’s songs are country's ragged edge, and it doesn’t sound like that will be changing anytime soon.

Works Cited

Barringer, Jeff. "CD Review: Hank III - Straight to Hell." Club.Kingsnake. N.p., 22 May 2006. Web. 01 Dec. 2012.

Becker, Travis. "Hank Williams III - Straight to Hell Review." Rocknworld.com. N.p., 28 Feb. 2006. Web. 01 Dec. 2012.

Hanover, Nick. "Rediscover: Hank III: Straight to Hell." Spectrum Culture RSS. N.p., 02 July 2012. Web. 01 Dec. 2012.

Maki, Greg. "Reviews - Hank III - Straight to Hell." Live-Metal. N.p., 13 June 2006. Web. 02 Dec. 2012.

Murray, Noel. "Hank III: Straight To Hell | MusicalWork Review." A.V. Club. N.p., 21 Mar. 2006. Web. 3 Dec. 2012.

Tichi, Cecelia. High Lonesome: The American Culture of Country Music. Chapel Hill: University           of North Carolina, 1994. Print.

Two song from Lady A

Brian Leonard

Lady Antebellum

12/03/12

Two Mainstream Hits

            Lady Antebellum’s first major hit was “Love Don’t LiveHere Anymore”. The song peeked at number 3 on the country charts and 53 on Billboard’s hot 100. The song uses an electric guitar heavily and has Charles Kelly on lead vocals. The song is a catchy tune that has a distinct pop sound to it but is more tied to country music lyrically, where its main subject is about a past lover who is trying to come back into the artist life but is unwelcome. Kelly sings about how he doesn’t care about the women and is telling her to just get her stuff and leave because he doesn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore.

The music video shows all three members of Lady Antebellum going on a road trip and having a good time which is just showing the whole idea of getting over the person and moving on while still not being focused on new love or any other interest. In the video they are all wearing black which is likely symbolic of the death of the relationship and how they plan on letting it die.  In the video they end up in at a small gig which is probably how they got their start and what they came up through. Like most musicians they would’ve started with little gigs before they got signed and were paying homage to that at the end of this video.

The use of an electric guitar and the mandolin for the base of the music show that they are coming out and trying to be more upbeat and pop sounding than many traditional country artists which continues to be true today. They were wearing fashionable clothes that weren’t distinctly country and they showed no signs of trying to fit into one of the troupes that defines country music. They are defiantly trying to break off into a more mainstream audience just like many other modern country artist.  

“NeedYou Know” has been Lady A’s biggest hit. It is a duet sung by Charles Kelly and Hillary Scott, which peeked at #1 on the country charts and #2 on the Hot 100 and pop charts. The song is about two people who have ended a relationship and are now feeling weak and hopeless and want to get back together. The song reminds me a lot of Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow’s song “picture” which was another major pop-country hit about a couple trying to move on after a breakup. Both songs are centered on two people who are having trouble after their breakup and want to get back together. The feelings of heartbreak and trouble after a breakup are two of the most common themes of country music, and are sung about in a very country style in these songs. In both songs alcohol is involved and they are singing in a clear, slow, depressing style.

In “Need You Now” Lady A is dressed in mostly black as they usually are. This is common attire that you see many country artist wear, namely Johnny Cash who always wore black at his concerts. In the music video they stick to their style of fashionable with a hint of country but not overtly country/western style. The song has more of a country feel than many of their other songs. It sticks to their country roots with it’s simple melodic and somber sound as opposed to the more upbeat and catchy tunes that they often go with.

This song is relatable to by many of the audience which has had heartbreaks where they want to get back together with the other person and hope that those other people feel the same too.  Many country fans enjoy this kind of song but Lady A was clearly able to give it broader mass appeal as it made it all the way up to #2 on the pop and hot 100 charts. This mass appeal is a  result of how they are able to sing in a way that is more accessible to everyone not simply blue collar working class. 

Carrie Underwood: The Hit Maker

Carrie Underwood: The Hit Maker

Carrie Underwood isn't like many of today's music artists. One difference is that she was discovered on a televised singing competition, but it doesn't stop there. Carrie has turned her stint on American Idol into a promising career that has produced numerous awards, a leading role in a Sound of Music remake, several endorsements, and of course many Billboard hits. Singing on a reality talent competition does not guarantee success, but Carrie has achieved that success. With hits such as "Jesus Take the Wheel", "Before He Cheats", "Cowboy Casanova", and others, Carrie Underwood has become a household name, not only in country music, but popular music as well.

Carrie's "Before He Cheats" is her most successful single, and the fourth best selling country song of all time, selling over 3,314,000. It reached the top of the US Country Songs Chart and entered the top ten of numerous charts, including the US Billboard Hot 100.

"Before He Cheats" was Carrie's fifth single released overall for her album Some Hearts. The song is about a female taking revenge on her cheating boyfriend by damaging his beloved vehicle. 

Chorus:

And he don't know...
That I dug my key into the side of his
pretty little souped up four wheel drive,
carved my name into his leather seats...
I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights,
slashed a hole in all four tires...
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.

The chorus is the foundation of the song. The rhyming lyrics make it easy to remember, but it is also something that everyone can relate to: being cheated on and wanting to retaliate. Country females today aren't the submissive people from the 50's anymore. Carrie is an advocate for women standing up for themselves, even if it may involve breaking the side mirror of their boyfriend's Toyota. Many women like Carrie are supporting female empowerment, and that seems to be the main theme of the song. At the same time Carrie sings about her cheating boyfriend's bad choice in females in the verses.

Verse 1

Right now he's probably slow dancing with a bleached-blond tramp,
and she's probably getting frisky...
right now, he's probably buying her some fruity little drink
'cause she can't shoot whiskey...

Verse 2

Right now, she's probably up singing some
white-trash version of Shania karaoke..
Right now, she's probably saying "I'm drunk"
and he's a thinking that he's gonna get lucky,
Right now, he's probably dabbing on
3 dollars worth of that bathroom polo...
And he don't know...

The verses also show that today's women aren't the stereotypical females. The first verse seems to be implying that the "bleached-blond tramp" (uncool, fake woman) only drinks fruity beverages because, unlike Carrie (awesome natural blonde), she can't drink whiskey. Carrie is tougher than the average girly girl, strength wise and drinking wise. Carrie also inserts a Shania Twain shout-out. 

The video is straightforward in visually depicting the story of the song. Carrie portrays a tough leather-wearing woman who pretty much smashes a red truck to pieces. From scratching the paint to cutting the seats, Carrie destroys the truck. Towards the end of the video, her rage seems to grow so much that she gets super powers and destroys the street she's walking down. Her ex-boyfriend has certainly learned his lesson.

"Just a Dream" earned Carrie a Grammy nomination for Best Female  Country Vocal Performance in 2010.

Carrie certainly has hit songs with attitude, but she also has songs with deep meaning. Her song "Just a Dream", from her sophomore album Carnival Ride, depicts a woman who sees herself walking to her dream wedding only to slowly see it turning into her husband's funeral. Again, Carrie creates a video illustrates the lyrics of the song perfectly.

"Just a Dream" is a mid-tempo song, that has haunting violins, piano and guitars playing throughout. Carrie's vocals are very heartfelt. She has quite a few belts in the song, which seems to express her sadness. Talking about never being able to see the future with her husband, Carrie growls the word "never" towards the end of the song. Her singing the words "just a dream" is Carrie telling herself and hoping that the death of her husband isn't real.

Accessed through YouTube.com

Carrie Underwood has the ability to emote and connect with a song. She sings songs that people can relate to, even when the songs themselves are through the eyes of a female. Her songs are catchy, yet meaningful. It is no surprise that she is so successful today, and remains one of the most well-respected country artists today.

Works Cited

"Carrie Underwood | The Official Carrie Underwood Site." The Official Carrie Underwood Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com/us/home>.

"Carrie Underwood." Billboard. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://www.billboard.com/artist/carrie-underwood/657654>.

"CarrieunderwoodVEVO." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/user/carrieunderwoodVEVO/videos?flow=grid>.

"GRAMMY.org | The Official Site of Music's Biggest Night." GRAMMY.org | The Official Site of Music's Biggest Night. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://www.grammy.org/>.