After my post “Turn the Beat Around“, a good friend of mine, who happens to be a huge
country music fan, sent me a nice note. She said while she liked it, “to defend her love of country”, I had to “give country music some accolades for recognizing addictions too”. Sounds totally fair. She gave me just a few examples of songs I should check out. Yes, she was right. In my other piece, I wrote a long list of songs romanticizing drinking. In deference to my friend, here are a few examples of lyrics from country songs that really capture the evils of addiction:
That’s Why I’m Here–Kenny Chesney
This old boy stood up in the isle
Said he’d been livin’ a life of denial
Then he cried, as he talked about wasted years
I couldn’t believe what I heard
It was my life word for word
And all of the sudden, it was clear
It’s the simple things in life
Like the kids at home and a lovin’ wife
That you miss the most, when you lose control
And everything you love starts to disappear
The devil takes your hand and says no fear
Have another shot, just one more beer
Yeah I’ve been there
That’s why I’m here
Choices– George Jones
I was tempted, by an early age
I found I liked drinkin’, oh, and I never turned it down
There were loved ones but I turned them all away
Now I’m living and dying with the choices I’ve made
I’ve had choices since the day that I was born
There were voices that told me right from wrong
If I had listened, no I wouldn’t be here today
Living and dying with the choices I’ve made
I guess I’m payin’ for the things that I have done I
f I could go back, oh, Lord knows I’d run
But I’m still losin’ this game of life I play
Losing and dying with the choices I’ve made
Some People Change — Montgomery Gentry
She was born with her mother’s habit…
You could say: “It’s in her blood.”
She hates that she’s gotta have it…
As she fills her glass up.
An she’d love to kill that bottle,
But all she can think about,
Is a, a better life, a second chance,
An’ everyone she’s letting down.
She throws that bottle down.
Here’s to the strong; thanks to the brave.
Don’t give up hope… some people change.
Against all odds, against the grain,
Love finds a way… some people change.
Thank God for those who make it…
Let them be the Light.
Hold On–Wilson Phillips
You could sustain
Or are you comfortable with the pain?
You’ve got no one to blame for your unhappiness
You got yourself into your own mess
Lettin’ your worries pass you by
Don’t you think it’s worth your time
To change your mind?
I know that there is pain
But you hold on for one more day and
Break free the chains
Yeah I know that there is pain
But you hold on for one more day and you
Break free, break from the chains
I have to admit, that’s good, powerful stuff. Thank you to my friend for sharing those with me (the last one was my own addition). In response to the songs above, I agree, I don’t have anyone else to blame for my unhappiness. When I put the bottle down, I did break free from the chains. And I’m not giving up hope, people do change. I’m a living, breathing example of that. We all live and die with the choices we make. Dr. William Glasser, the psychiatrist who developed the “choice theory” said that “it is almost impossible for anyone, even the most ineffective among us, to continue to choose misery after becoming aware that it is a choice.” There is way too much for me to say about choice here, that’s for another post. For now, suffice it to say that I choose to stay sober and I choose happiness. And yes, I choose to agree that country music ain’t so bad.