But Country??? Nope. Not this girl.
Yeah, well. Hearing it all day, it has grown on me. Some of it. Brad Paisley has some good songs, and Carrie Underwood could sing me the phone book and I would cry.
But I do spend time listening to lyrics, and my mind insists on analyzing them.
Take Trace Adkins', "You're Gonna Miss This."
Don't you find it interesting just what each person advising this hapless girl is missing?
Mom tells her she's going to miss high school. The days when Mom and Dad pay the bills, and she is free of any sort of emotional entanglement:
She was staring out the window of their SUV
Complaining, saying I can't wait to turn 18
She said I'll make my own money, and I'll make my own rules
Mamma put the car in park out there in front of the school
Then she kissed her head and said I was just like you
You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These Are Some Good Times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this
What does Dad know she's going to miss? Early married life, with plenty of sex and no kids or mortgage.
Before she knows it she's a brand new bride
In a one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her It's a nice place
She says It'll do for now
Starts talking about babies and buying a house
Daddy shakes his head and says Baby, just slow down
You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These Are Some Good Times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this
Does the silly girl listen to either of them? Of course not! The last person to tell her about missing something is a plumber. He tells her it's OK to have screaming kids, because eventually they grow up and leave you with a really quiet house. His kids are 13 years apart in age. that makes me wonder, right there...
Five years later there's a plumber workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin', one kid's screamin'
She keeps apologizin'
He says They don't bother me.
I've got 2 babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
Huh, it's hard to believe, but ...
You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These Are Some Good Times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this
You're gonna miss this
Yeah, you're gonna miss this
I just thought it was interesting, that Mom thinks she's going to miss the freedom of girlhood, Dad thinks she's going to miss being married before children, and the plumber figures it will be the screaming pre-schoolers.
Am I reading too much into this?
No--you are hearing it right.
ReplyDeleteOver the last couple of years I have also taken an interest in country music, I dont know why since I always hated it and thought it was stupid.
Now it makes me cry.
I actually paid money to go and see Carrie Underwood. I took Vanessa, but Mike had to pay for his own ticket, coz he drools.
ReplyDeleteI actually like this song. I think it's an accurate rendition of what older people tell younger people. Often I've heard women tell new mothers, "Appreciate these years, you'll miss them after you realize how brief they were."
ReplyDeleteI never meant to imply that I didn't like it...I do. I just think it's very telling that the mom thinks she'll miss the time when she was heart-whole and fancy free, and the dad thinks she'll miss the time when she is married but without the responsibility for house and children. The plumber is just there to round out the Rule of Three.
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