THAT’S COUNTRY

Restless poets find silver words while musicians and singers blend them with perfect chords and golden notes. Together they come up with a sound in music called "country! They cast this sound over the airways of this great nation and in so doing purge the very soul of this beloved country. They wring it out and hang it up to dry!

We rise each day and greet the morning sun with a song in our heart. Often the song comes from a deep sadness crying out for a distant God to draw near and mend a broken heart. Sometimes it is praise and adoration for our Creator. Other times it is like a round of applause or a standing ovation for our peers, especially for those who have met life head on and won! More often than not it will fall somewhere in between. It is touched at times with a sprinkling of the sublime and the ridiculous. It is definitely spiced with the balance wheel of life, an abundance of humor!

That my friend, is country music!

Our music and our stories are unique. They are an expression of freedom found nowhere else on God’s green earth. It is a feeling of the heart and the pulse beat of a great people reaching for the stars. Individually and collectively, we stand on the great stages of this old world and sing our songs. We tell our stories, we crack our jokes, we confess our sins and we count our blessings!

Country music gives meaning and definition to the cold gray pages of the history books. We share the loving touch of a good night kiss of a loving mother. We feel the affection and care in a hardy handshake of praise and congratulations of an involved father. We weep at the misfortunes of our friends, our neighbors and also our foes. We laugh at our own folly. Then somehow, way down deep inside we know we are not alone and that everyone is a poet, a dreamer, a lover, a comic and a friend!

I’ve seen the BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY.
Heard than lonesome CATTLE CALL.
And I met up with THE GAMBLER
On the WABASH CANNON BALL!
I got out of FOLSOM PRISON,
Bought a pair of BLUE SUEDE SHOES.
Then I wound up down on LONELY STREET
With a case of LOVESICK BLUES!

I DON’T COME HOME A DRINKIN’
With GEORGIA ON MY MIND!
And the grapes in MARY’S VINYARD
Remind me of CLEMENTINE.
Then, on RAINY NIGHT IN GEORGIA
Beneath a MAPLE ON THE HILL
I met up with a RED NECK GIRL
Who wasn’t on THE PILL!

Now I am just A COUNTRY BOY
With a jug of MOUNTAIN DEW
An OAKIE FROM MUSKOGEE
And my eyes are MISTY BLUE.
But, I don’t live in THIS OLD HOUSE,
I’m a MOTEL MEMORY
And your COLD, COLD HEART is the reason why
I sing OH LONESOME ME!

I said TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT,
I’ll live on SHORTNIN’ BREAD.
Hung my COAT OF MANY COLORS
On the BIG FOUR POSTED BED!
I kicked off my GOLDEN SLIPPERS
And then I SAW THE LIGHT.
When I asked a girl name RUBY
To HELP ME MAKE IT THRU THE NIGHT!

I wiped the TEARDROPS FROM MY EYES
As I chose to SING THE BLUES
And each lonely night is CRYING TIME
When you are BORN TO LOOSE!
So, darling please RELEASE ME
From THE LOVE THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
Before THE ROLL IS CALLED UP YONDER
And THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN!