Susan’s reflection with Country Chorus

Deciding what to share with you this morning was really hard for me.  I’ve been around country music all my life, and have so many favorites, but their messages and charm don’t really come across from a pulpit, especially without the voices and guitars and fiddles. 
Then, Linton Hopkins loaned me this tiny book.  It’s “I’ve Got Tears In My Ears…” (the rest of that line is “from lying on my back in my bed while I cry over you”) by his friend Paula Schwed, who I believe is actually with us here today?  She organizes some of the best and funniest lines by topics such as “You Done Me Wrong”
NICK:  I PAID FOR THE SHOES THAT JUST WALKED OUT ON ME.
and “Drink Up”. 
KITTY:  I’M TW0 BEERS AWAY FROM A BEAUTIFUL DAY.
I’m grateful to her and to Linton for their help.
Her book reminded me of my favorite country music joke.  What happens when you play a country song backwards?  Your mother gets well, your dog comes back to life, and you get out of prison.
I want to focus on two things – an old singer and a new song – that sum up the reasons I love country music.  The old singer is George Jones, who is on every short list out there of the greatest ever in country music.  But why?  He doesn’t have a particularly great voice, though it is…distinctive.  His looks have earned him the nickname “Possum.”  And his sins are legendary.  His marriage to Tammy Wynette inspired “Stand By Your Man”, but even Tammy had to give up and move on to “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”.  His songs tell his life’s story:
KITTY:     IF DRINKING DON’T KILL ME, HER MEMORY WILL.
NICK:       SO IT’S DIVORCE, OR DESTROYING EACH OTHER.
KITTY:     LYING AND DYING WITH THE CHOICES I MADE
NICK:       JUST BECAUSE I ASKED A FRIEND ABOUT HER.
                JUST BECAUSE I SPOKE HER NAME SOMEWHERE.
                JUST BECAUSE I SAW HER AND WENT ALL TO PIECES.  
                SHE THINKS I STILL CARE.
George’s biggest hit is a classic – maudling, melodramatic, and irresistible:
NICK:       THEY FOUND LOVE LETTERS BY HIS BED
                DATED 1962
                HE’D UNDERLINED IN RED, EVERY SINGLE “I LOVE YOU.”
KITTY:     SHE CAME TO SEE HIM ONE LAST TIME
                WE ALL WONDERED IF SHE WOULD
                IT KEPT RUNNING THROUGH MY MIND
                THIS TIME HE’S OVER HER FOR GOOD.
NICK:       HE STOPPED LOVING HER TODAY.
THEY PUT A WREATH UPON HIS DOOR.
SOON THEY’LL CARRY HIM AWAY.
                HE STOPPED LOVING HER TODAY.
My parents love George Jones.   In their more active days, they traveled all around the south to see him in concert.  It was necessary to do all this traveling because George’s other nickname is “No Show Jones”.  My mother figured that they’d been to 10 George Jones concerts and seen him three times. 
But they don’t complain, and love him all the more for his problems and his honesty about them.  And therein lies one of the truths of country music.  It’s our failures and weaknesses that make us interesting and human.  That great Buddhist philosopher, Willie Nelson, is quoted as saying, “The purpose of suffering is to help us understand that we are the ones who cause it.”
Examples from other singers:
KITTY:     I’M NOT TOO PROUD TO SAY – THAT WAS THE BEST MISTAKE I EVER MADE.
NICK:       HE WEARS HIS COWBOY HAT TO COVER UP THOSE HORNS.
KITTY:     IF YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT ME, WHY AREN’T YOU DEAD?
NICK:       ONE HAS MY NAME, THE OTHER HAS MY HEART.
KITTY:     WELL, SLOE GIN FIZ WORKS PRETTY FAST
                WHEN YOU DRINK IT BY THE PITCHER AND NOT BY THE GLASS.
NICK:       I’VE FINALLY DEALT WITH MY GHOSTS AND I’VE FACED ALL MY DEMONS.
FINALLY CONTENT WITH A PAST I REGRET.
I’VE FOUND YOU FIND STRENGTH IN YOUR MOMENTS OF WEAKNESS.
FOR ONCE I’M AT PEACE WITH MYSELF.
That last one is from Rascal Flatts - “Finally content with a past I regret.”  For those of us with a skeleton or two in the closet, or on the family tree, that’s the redemption and peace country music offers.  We don’t have to be perfect, or smart, or even classy.  Honest is good enough.
So George is the old singer, representing the themes of drink and despair and yet, decency because of his honesty.  The other touchstone is a new song I heard for the first time recently, called “Love Like Crazy” by Lee Brice.  It’s about all the happy things in country music – stories, true love, home-spun advice, and fun.  It starts like this:
NICK:  THEY CALLED THEM CRAZY WHEN THEY STARTED OUT,
SAID, “SEVENTEEN’S TOO YOUNG TO KNOW WHAT LOVE’S ABOUT”
THEY’VE BEEN TOGETHER 58 YEARS NOW…THAT’S CRAZY!
KITTY:     HE BROUGHT HOME 67 BUCKS A WEEK,
                BOUGHT A LITTLE 2 BEDROOM HOUSE ON MAPLE STREET
                WHERE SHE BLESSED HIM WITH 6 MORE MOUTHS TO FEED
                …THAT’S CRAZY!
Remember this little couple, we’ll get back to them…That’s the first thing people notice about country music – it tells a story.  There are lots of examples of an entire picture painted with just a few words:
NICK:       I’LL BE THERE BEFORE THE NEXT TEARDROP FALLS.
KITTY:     DON’T COME HOME A’DRINKING WITH LOVING ON YOUR MIND.
NICK:       A GOOD-HEARTED WOMAN, IN LOVE WITH A GOOD-TIMING MAN
KITTY:     WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I COULD HAVE LOVED YOU?
YOU CAME ALONG ONE PROMISE TOO LATE.
NICK:       TEQUILA MAKES HER CLOTHES FALL OFF
KITTY:     KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY POTENTIAL NEW BOYFRIEND.
NICK:       SHE’S THE MOTHER OF MY CHILDREN, I’M THE ROCK SHE LEANS ON. 
SO, THANK YOU, BUT NO THANK YOU.  I’LL BE LEAVING ALONE.
The story is often the set up for the next key piece – the advice or lesson.  Not always profound, but usually helpful.
KITTY:     YOU’LL DO THINGS GREATER THAN DATING THE BOY ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM, BUT I DIDN’T KNOW THAT AT FIFTEEN.
NICK:       YOU BETTER LET SOMEBODY LOVE YOU BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.
KITTY:     YOUR HEROES WILL HELP YOU FIND GOOD IN YOURSELF.
NICK:       SOME OF GOD’S GREATEST GIFTS ARE UNANSWERED PRAYERS.
KITTY:     LIFE AIN’T ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL, BUT IT’S A BEAUTIFUL RIDE.
NICK:       I DON’T BELIEVE THAT HEAVEN WAITS
                FOR ONLY THOSE WHO CONGREGATE.
KITTY:     SOMETIMES THE ONLY WAY TO OVERCOME A CIRCUMSTANCE,
                IS SOMEONE GIVING SOMEONE ELSE A FIGHTING CHANCE.
From our couple in that little house, the advice is basic as it gets.  When the
husband is asked how they made it through 6 kids and 58 years, he says:
KITTY:     BE A BEST FRIEND. 
TELL THE TRUTH.
OVERUSE “I LOVE YOU”.
NICK:       GO TO WORK. 
DO YOUR BEST.
DON’T OUTSMART YOUR COMMON SENSE.
KITTY:     NEVER LET YOUR PRAYIN’ KNEES GET LAZY.
NICK:       AND LOVE LIKE CRAZY.
Hmmm.  Be a friend. Tell the truth.  Go to work.  Another one from the song is “Never get too old to call her Baby.” Pretty basic advice that would actually avoid a lot of problems out there. 
And the best country songs also have some laughs and maybe some surprises:
KITTY:     I DON’T WANT NO MORE OF THE CHEESE, I JUST WANT OUT OF THE TRAP.
NICK:       EVER SINCE WE SAID ‘I DO’ THERE’S SO MANY THINGS YOU DON’T.
KITTY:     THIS KIND OF LOVE AIN’T MEANT FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL.
NICK:       THANK GOD AND GREYHOUND, YOU’RE GONE.
KITTY:     HERE’S A QUARTER, CALL SOMEONE WHO CARES.
NICK:       SHE THINKS MY TRACTOR’S SEXY.
KITTY:     LORD HAVE MERCY, BABY’S GOT HER BLUEJEANS ON.
NICK:       I’D LIKE TO CHECK YOU FOR TICKS.
KITTY:     DID I SHAVE MY LEGS FOR THIS?
NICK:       AND WHO KEEPS ON LOVING YOU WHEN YOU’VE BEEN LYING?
GOD DOES, BUT I DON’T. 
THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOD AND ME.
Finally, back to that crazy couple with 6 kids in the little house…what happened to them?
NICK:       THEY CALLED HIM CRAZY WHEN HE QUIT HIS JOB.
SAID THEM HOME COMPUTERS, BOY, THEY’LL NEVER TAKE OFF.
KITTY:     WELL, HE SOLD HIS ONE MAN SHOP TO MICROSOFT.
                AND THEY PAID HIM LIKE CRAZY!
So between George Jones and Love Like Crazy, we’ve got the formula for a good country song – a story, some hard-earned wisdom, some suffering, and some fun.  I think it’s the same as the formula for a good life.
I count myself lucky to have been reared around music so honest, and simple and instructive.  A friend paid me what I consider a high compliment the other day.  She said I seem comfortable in my own skin.  A steady diet of country music helps with that. 
Some final words from closet liberal Garth Brooks:
NICK:       WHEN THE LAST CHILD CRIES FOR A CRUST OF BREAD
                WHEN THERE’S SHELTER OVER THE POOREST HEAD
                WE SHALL BE FREE
KITTY:     WHEN THIS WORLD’S BIG ENOUGH FOR ALL DIFFERENT VIEWS
WHEN WE ALL CAN WORSHIP FROM OUR OWN KIND OF PEWS
WHEN WE ALL CAN LOVE ANYONE WE CHOOSE
                   THEN WE SHALL BE FREE
SUSAN:   AND WHEN MONEY TALKS FOR THE VERY LAST TIME
                AND NOBODY WALKS A STEP BEHIND
                WHEN THERE’S ONLY ONE RACE, AND THAT’S MANKIND
                THEN WE SHALL BE FREE 
11.  We’ll close with the congregation singing our benediction – one verse of “God Be With You Till We Meet Again”. The words are printed in the order of Service.  Please rise as you’re willing and able.
                God be with you till we meet again.
                By his counsels guide, uphold you.
                With his sheep securely fold you.
                God be with you till we meet again.
                Till we meet, till we meet, till we meet at heaven’s gate.
                Till we meet, till we meet, God be with you till we meet again.
Thank you for coming.  Erin’s going to play Tennessee Waltz, which should have us all dancing out the door. Go in Peace.