Country Music Analysis

Take a step south of the Mason-Dixon Line and ask about music. You will find that, while all different genres of music from techno to jazz are enjoyed, the south is built on country music. Country is a genre of music that not only gives the listener something enjoyable to tap their foot to, but is often relatable. Country is a style of music that no matter what kind of day the listener is having or the mood they are in, the perfect song exists. Whatever a person is feeling, there is an artist who, through their songs, provides a sense of comfort to the listener through relatability. Although country music has drastically changed from the older outlaw style country to newer pop style heard now, it continues to impact people today. Band after …show more content…
At first glance, the lyrics are relatively simple, all relating to, as the title suggests, the south. In “Song of the South” ALABAMA describes to the listener what it was like growing up during a time of hardship and how, as common southern folk, they were affected. A morsel of this struggle is seen when ALABAMA sings, “Cotton on the roadside, cotton on the ditch / We all picked the cotton but we never got rich” (6-7). Historically, the southern states were known for agricultural production. At the boom of the industrial revolution, textile mills spread like wildfire, making cotton a major cash crop in the south—especially during the civil war. When the price of cotton drastically fell during the Great Depression, many cotton farmers found themselves out of work, and what work they did resulted in little to no profit. ALABAMA draws the listener in by presenting them with a situation they, or somebody they are kin to, can relate. Though many people were affected by the Great Depression, ALABAMA also relates to many who were not. Often, people did not farm to make a profit, but rather to sustain their families and way of life. Here, ALABAMA speaks to those who still do the same thing today, seen when they