"Country is the last style of music that cares about words and music, that believes a song is supposed to say something - have a beginning, a middle and end - and it rhymes and it often tells a story,'' says Bob Oerman, who has written about country music for The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville for 10 years.
Country music has a tradition of being simple, funny, sad, philosophical, and/or having clever lyrics. Here are some examples of lines from some country music songs that grab your attention:
''All my ex's live in Texas, and that's why I hang my hat in Tennessee'' —George Strait.
''Papa loved mama, mama loved men. Mama's in the graveyard, papa's in the pen''—Garth Brooks
''Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life." —Bobby Bare
"You're the reason our kids are ugly, little darlin'" —Loretta Lynn
“Busted flat in Baton Rouge, headin’ for a train, feelin’ nearly faded as my jeans” —Kris Kristofferson
“She put him out like the burnin’ end of a midnight cigarette” —Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss
“Tumble outta bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition" —Dolly Parton
“Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots” —Garth Brooks
"Tell them that you finally drove me crazy and I'm somewhere untanglin' my mind" —Clint Black
"If my nose was running money Honey I'd blow it all on you" —Aaron Wilburn
When you're writing a country song, see if you can find a special way to turn one or more phrases.
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