Blog 3031 – 02.17.2924

Friends In Low Places

When I first started singing karaoke songs todays’s Garth Brooks hit song was one of the most popular and often sung karaoke songs. Having been over exposed to country music as a boy growing up in Tennessee I long avoided the genre, preferring light rock, folk, pop, classical, and practically any other type of music to country/western. I am grateful to karaoke for reacquainting me with country music and helping me to find a new appreciation of its variety. Despite David Allan Cole’s’ definition that songs must mention trains, trucks, jail, getting drunk, and mother to be true country songs that just really is not the case.

Friends in low places is a country song and though it does mention getting drunk that is the only one of the above boxes it checks off. Even many of DAC’s songs do not meet his jokingly listed criteria about what makes a true country song.

I admit my long avoidance of country music made me quite ignorant of many of the country songs and artists who became popular after the nineteen fifties and sixties. For a long time I thought Friends In Low Places was introduced by Hank Williams Junior and not a Garth Brooks. Pardon me, fans of country.

When my Mom and Dad married and had me Hank Williams Senior was the king of country music and honky-tonk its driving force. Why, today even Beyoncé sings country music. Growing up in Florida after he lost his sight as a young boy Ray Charles loved to listen to country music. His country music album is classic. I believe that all true music lovers and especially singers should have several country/western music songs at their command and not just Rawhide like the Blues Brothers. That scene from the movie always brings a smile to my heart and lips as does today’s song, “Cause I’ve got friends in low places.”

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FZplsh9gdHPYdZg2IhCz949FoyGiNeaM/view?usp=drivesdk

Friends In Low Places