Three Chords and the Truth
That living, breathing reason you've been looking for.
4:58pm. I zeroed out the register, paid myself for that Saturday and the last and locked up Soccer Plus for the weekend. Then, just enough time before dinner for a quick trip to Joe Nardone’s Gallery of Sound to spend some of the 20’s that were burning a hole in my pocket. I bought so many CDs in high school. So many CDs.
I’ve always loved music and have prided myself in my varied taste. I might listen to Blink-182, Bach and Braddigan all in the same day. Before Apple switched to streaming I had well over 10,000 songs in my library. I reveled in finding indie artists before everyone else knew about them. My best one was finding Bon Iver when he only had a Myspace.
But there was one entire genre I HATED. Country music. I closed my eyes when I walked past the Country section in the Gallery of Sound. Froggy101 always got skipped on the radio. “Blech. Why do people like this? Its so sappy and twangy.”
Two little feet
Something changed once we had kids though. Maybe it was Helene’s appreciation for country, maybe it was just that we could turn on country radio when the kids were in the car and not hear obscene lyrics. Maybe it was that most country songs really are three chords and the truth. I started to add it to playlists. And then seek it out. Now my favorite artist is a country music star. Oh the places we’ll go!
There is a common nostalgic theme in country music. A story that comes up often in country ballads is one of a young man who leaves the small town for the city and now misses those dusty red dirt roads and wide open spaces. City lights replaced starry nights and thoughts of “what I wouldn’t give to get the back 40, back” run through most songs. Nostalgia can be dangerous when it glosses over the hurts of the past and remembers only the highlights, pulling us out of the real present for an imagined past, but it can also be a path to remind us that we may already have what we pine for. If I long for the fields of Virginia where my kids run around chasing turkeys, what is it that I really miss? It’s my kids. And I have them.
I found myself thinking this today. Stuck in an hour of traffic in the city, I listened to Luke Combs’ new album with my daughter Ellie. In moving to the city in Japan, we quite literally left the back 40, back there. Our home in Virginia has a porch that looks out to where the green grass grows, with acres on acres of land to run and play in. Here, there’s concrete growing in the city park. There is plenty of opportunity to pine for the rural life we left, but the dangerous kind of nostalgia would pull me out of the present. The good nostalgia, as one of Luke’s songs did today, can remind me that I already have the life I long for.
You Found Yours
The song You Found Yours (linked) is far better if you just listen to it, but in case you’re like I used to be and bristle at country music, I’ll summarize the song poorly here.
A stray dog finds its way to your truck and jumps into your heart.
A hard summer job leads to a second-hand truck and the keys to freedom.
A wing and a prayer lands a girl who’s way out of your league but loves you anyway.
A fresh coat of paint turns a spare room into a nursery for two little feet running down the hall.
You’ve found yours. That living, breathing reason you’ve been looking for, when you feel that kinda feeling, you found yours. (widdly waaaoooow on the guitar)
I have found mine.
A girl way outta my league has given me her hand for life. Five pairs of feet run up and down the hall. I may miss mowing the fields in Virginia, but all I long in life is right here, right now, tantrums and all.
I have all I need and I have much to give. Country music is alright with me.
This weekend I hope the sun breaks through the clouds of spring and you can see the green grass grow. I hope nostalgia reminds you of the blessings you’ve been given and the living breathing reason you’ve been looking for. I hope that you’ve found yours. If not, I pray you do soon.
Much love,
Nate
P.S. -I did a country music thing and referenced other country songs when I talked about a country song. There are 5, comment if you can find them!
Probably three chords and the truth
Where the green grass grows- Tim McGraw