Learn 3 Writing Techniques with 6 Country Songs
Country songs can easily get a bad rap for focusing on themes such as whiskey, dive bars, trucks and neon lights, but there’s more to these down home songs than appears at first glance. Many are lyrical marvels, intertwining storytelling with literary devices that wrap around your emotions like a fuzzy blanket on a rocking chair.
Bust out those ear pods as we learn just three literary devices (a.k.a. writing techniques) with country stars as our guide. Yeehaw!
1 — Repetition
The country-star turned pop-star turned breakup-anthem singer-songwriter turned intergalactic star-- Taylor Swift, y’all – has used pretty much every literary device in the book ten-fold. But this song goes back to her debut country album, which garnered instant stardom. She wrote a song about a girl and a boy who knew each other since they were young and loved each other ‘til old age. Every country girl’s dream, right?
Mary’s Song (Oh My My My) by Taylor Swift
She said, I was seven and you were nine
I looked at you like the stars that shine
In the sky, the pretty lights
And our daddies used to joke about the two of us
Growing up and falling in love and our mamas smiled
And rolled their eyes and said oh my my my...I'll be eighty-seven; you'll be eighty-nine
I'll still look at you like the stars that shine
In the sky, oh my my my
“Oh my my my” occurs at the end of each stanza in this ‘story song’ so the listener anticipates the pattern and feels a comfortable connection to the story being told.
Her exposition of repetition in the phrase “oh my my my” is the hook that the listener constantly returns to. It anchors the song as the story progresses through key periods of the couple’s relationship: children, teens, getting married, having kids and finally reaching their silvery eighties.
Additionally, the way in which she sings this repeated phrase changes throughout the song; it grows more emphatic over time and finally retreats, ending soft and sweet. Brilliantly done, Taylor...brilliant use of repetition!
Continuing with country stars, up next is none other than Kenny Chesney! His use of repetition is immense, as this self-titled song includes a version of the phrase “I go back” 17 times!
I Go Back by Kenny Chesney
I go back to a two-toned short-bed Chevy…
I go back to the feel of a 50-yard line…
I’ll go back, I’ll go back…I go back to the smell of an old gym floor
The taste of salt on the Carolina shore
I go back to watchin’ summer fade to fall
Growin’ up too fast and I do recall
It’s a comforting song that can’t help but encourage the listener to join in the reminiscing of past life events and complete the phrase with their own memorable moments. Repetition really drives home the notion of taking time to fondly remember your story – your history – and maybe even share those memories with your loved ones. Thanks for the reminder, Kenny.
2 — Allusion
Allusion is a literary device where a well-known phrase is used out of context; it alludes to another famous literary work. For example, if you hear “We the people,” you are familiar with this phrase because it’s from the Constitution of the United States, however, a writer may finish that sentence with an idea that is especially significant to them. Because the phrase is already familiar, it demands the attention of the reader, and the concept will be much more emphatic, as the reader anticipates what is to come at the end of that familiar phrase!
Here are three short examples of country songs that allude to other popular works of art: a book, a movie and another song.
-
“Old boat, new boat, red boat, blue boat
Only thing better than one is two boats.”
References “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” by Dr. Seuss -
“Miror, mirror on the saddle
Hear my rhinestones rattle.”
References “Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose the greatest of them all?” from Snow White -
“Jack and Diane painted a picture of my life and my dreams
Suddenly, this crazy world made more sense to me”
References Jack and Diane by John Cougar Mellencamp
Bonus! Or...just listen to the song “Keith” by Kaylee Bell. How many Keith Urban songs does she allude to in her tribute to the Aussie country star?
3 — Irony
According to Wikipedia, “Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected.” Furthermore, there are three types of irony:
Verbal irony
Dramatic irony
Situational irony
Miranda Lambert is the long-standing country queen of irony, only rivaled by Taylor Swift’s suave singer-songwriter prowess. Lambert emanates a romantic rural imagery of paradoxical bliss in her irresistibly twangy, sassy drawl that could lull anyone into a sleepy daydream on a smooth-gliding porch swing.
Here are excerpts from two Miranda songs that perfectly demonstrate her paradoxical view on the world; the first is clearly her pandemic anthem, while the second is a slightly older song about an uncertain heart that has ties to both city and country living. It’s a real nail-biter!
“Strange” “by Miranda Lambert
Coyotes on my left and wolves on my right
Sun keeps shining in the middle of the night
Urban feels suburban
Main street ain’t main, yeah
Times like these make me feel strange”Money on a Maytag and the thing won’t spin
Couple hundred dollars feels more like changeCountry don’t twang
Rock and roll ain’t loud
Every elevator only ever goes down
In this song, our queen of country irony lyrically embodies the use of situational irony, that is “where a character finds themselves in the exact opposite situation of what's normal for, or expected of, them.”
Line after line, it’s paradox: sun shining at night, urban feels suburban, main street ain’t main. You even buy the expensive washer that’s meant to last, and it stops working!
The obvious country twang is amiss.
Even stereotypically loud rock music is hushed.
And if it couldn’t get any more backwards...elevators only go down!
Yep, that’s the world we lived in for a couple years during the worldwide pandemic. And it clearly struck a chord with this artist because she sings attention to many of the ironies we all experienced in her own sassy-classy style. Thanks for getting that off your chest, Miranda!
“Settling Down” by Miranda Lambert
Should I give up sunsets for marigold mornings?
Should I look for rainbows or wait for the rain?
Is happiness on the highway or it is parked in the driveway?
Should I lean on you, babe, or should you lean on meAm I looking for comfort?
Am I looking for an escape?
Am I looking for you?
Am I looking the other wayI'm a wild child and a homing pigeon
Caravan and an empty kitchen
Bare feet on the tile with my head up in the clouds
One heart goin' both directions
One love and a couple of questions
Am I settlin' up or settlin' down?
Am I settlin' up or settlin' downI could plant a pretty garden, just send myself flowers
Be a jet-set Friday or a Sunday hometown girl
I could stay a little lonely or let you get to know me
Yeah, I could love a picket fence if it wrapped around the world
If this song couldn’t be the basis for the next Hallmark Movie summer rom-com, I don’t know what could. It’s the hopeless, young, female daydreamer who has an opportunity in each hand and is weighing her options: Should I settle down in the country or be a bespoke, lively city girl forever?
Paging Nicholas Sparks... We need a farm girl novel, pronto!
Throughout the song she ponders if she should settle up or settle down…
“Is happiness on the highway or it is parked in the driveway?” - city vs. country
“I'm a wild child and a homing pigeon” – scatter-brained or focused, daydreamer or goal-oriented
“Be a jet-set Friday or a Sunday hometown girl” – busy and on-the-go traveling or a weekend homebody
And my favorite line…
“Yeah, I could love a picket fence if it wrapped around the world”
What a lyrically ironic way to compare the feeling of being trapped in one place to the desire to see the world! If only our little part of the world could just contain the whole dang thing!
And that completes our Tour de Irony a la Miranda Lambert. Bittersweet, wasn’t it!