Country music by women

[Aankh]

Any of you folks able to recommend some country music by female singers?

While love songs are kinda-sorta okay, they shouldn't fall into any of these categories:
(1) I'm begging you not to leave me for that whorebitch who won't appreciate you.
(2) You cheated on me and now I'll demonstrate my spunky independence by destroying your personal property.
(3) I'm a geeky teenager with a crush on Mr Popular Jock who'll appreciate my inner beauty by the end of this song.

For context, a friend will be using these in the classroom with 13 year olds. Neither of us is American or knows anything about the genre and the song charts just give versions of the above 3 themes. We're stumped.

[don't ask]

Patsy Cline (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-wJNpWgss8) should be enough.

Or Patsy Cline (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuZTk1hdpMs&feature=related).

[stpauler]

Mary-Chapin Carpenter is an amazing songwriter and while "Come On, Come On" is chock full o' hits, check out "Stones in the Road", "Time*Sex*Love*" and "Between Here and Gone".


"The Dreaming Road"
A million miles goes by in the blink of an eye
And so I cannot try to slow time down
And years are made of sand slipping through my hands
Even faster than the speed of sound
The stars are out tonight, the breeze is soft and light
As I'm walking right back to you
With nothing left to hide, the tears have all been cried
And the girl who died is walking too
Down the dreaming road, where the light is always gold
The air is never cold and always fine
And north is always true and you are always you
And I'm that girl you knew once upon a time


"Stones in the Road"
When we were young, we pledged allegiance every morning of our lives
The classroom rang with children's voices under teacher's watchful eye
We learned about the world around us at our desks and at dinnertime
Reminded of the starving children, we cleaned our plates with guilty minds
And the stones in the road we played like marbles in the dust
Until a voice called for us to make our way back home


"On With the Song"
This isn't for the ones who blindly follow
Jingoistic bumper stickers telling you
To love it or leave it, and you'd better love Jesus
And get out of the way of the red, white and blue

This isn't for the ones who buy their six packs
At the 7-Eleven where the clerk makes change
Whose accent makes clear he sure ain't from here
They call him a camel jockey instead of his name

No this is for the ones who stand their ground
When the lines in the sand get deeper
When the whole world seems to be upside down
And the shots being taken get cheaper


She's definitely more of a leftist on the country scene and while not necessarily indicative of the scene as a whole, is quite good. If you want some standard female country stuff, don't ask's suggestion of Patsy Cline is spot on.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of glurge that will be pretty much what you're trying to avoid in the mainstream country world. I can give some country that's a bit out there but it wouldn't be exemplary of common stuff here. (The Be Good Tanyas, Mary's Danish, or The Meat Purveyors)

[Krokodil]

"Travelin' Soldier" and "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks. Sounds like you've already ruled out Taylor Swift; my fifth graders in Korea love her!

[Polycarp]

Linda Ronstadt and Shania Twain straddle the border between country and pop. Both are worth a listen. I love Linda's tone and dynamics -- a fantastic voice.

Reba McIntyre sounds like the epitome of the Appalachian hillbilly stereotype, but she regularly puts out insightful, thoughtful songs sensitively delivered. She's an acquired taste, but IMO one worth acquiring.

Tricia Yearwood has a beautiful voice and an eclectic repertoire. "The Song Remembers When" is particularly poignant.

Dolly Parton (whose mammary accessories are not particularly large, by the way; it's just that they appear so on her relatively petite figure) is a singer/songwriter with much more skill than the average individual gives her credit for. Remember Bette Midler's "The Rose"? Dolly wrote it.

That's off the top of my head....

[Arnold Winkelried]

Do you want the singer to also be the songwriter?
Emmylou Harris is one of the greatest female country performers. Though on her albums there are lots of cover songs.

Here are a few samples:
Light of the Stable (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaJ5FnM0Bzo) (Christmas song) - not written by her

Raise the Dead (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhDG_2c53Ww) - written by Emmylou Harris

This song might be good for kids:
her recent song about her dog
Big Black Dog (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMEKisSx1Cs) - written by Emmylou Harris

See wikipedia for some album recommendations. There are way too many to list here.

[Arnold Winkelried]

P.S. for a Trifecta, look at the albums Trio and Trio 2 featuring Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.
Sample song from Trio
Wildflowers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDxrQFrGipo) written by Dolly Parton

Don't neglect Dolly Parton just because she makes jokes about herself and her looks. She is a serious and talented country music singer. ETA: Like Polycarp just said.

[Aankh]

Patsy Cline (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-wJNpWgss8) should be enough.

Or Patsy Cline (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuZTk1hdpMs&feature=related).

What a lovely, lovely voice. Unfortunately, the lyrics fall into the spectrum of 'you left me and I'm pinin' away' which my friend is trying to avoid.


"The Dreaming Road"


"Stones in the Road"


"On With the Song"

The lyrics for 'On With the Song' are going to make a kickass lesson assuming the song itself is catchy. Off to Youtube I go!

"Travelin' Soldier" and "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks. Sounds like you've already ruled out Taylor Swift; my fifth graders in Korea love her!
'Wide Open Spaces' is perfect! Thank you!

As for Taylor Swift, hells yes she's popular with these kids. My friend is trying to provide an alternative while surreptitiously teaching grammar and critical thinking. Think of it as planting a seed that probably won't germinate for a while, if at all. Gotta bloody well plant it nonetheless!

Linda Ronstadt ... Shania Twain ... Reba McIntyre ... Tricia Yearwood ... Dolly Parton
Would you have any specific suggestions from their oeuvres? We're really, really ignorant of the genre and wouldn't know where to begin.

[Shakester]

Loretta Lynn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_Lynn).

Genius level songwriter. She was the first to write and sing about "difficult" topics from a female perspective. And she was the real thing; genuinely a coal miner's daughter from a shack in Kentucky.

[Shakester]

Speaking of Loretta, show 'em the movie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_Miner%27s_Daughter) if you can. Great film, and a great introduction to LL and her work.

[Aankh]

Do you want the singer to also be the songwriter?
Emmylou Harris is one of the greatest female country performers. Though on her albums there are lots of cover songs.


Don't really care who writes the song. While we can't use 'Raise the Dead' (too many references) or 'Light of the Stable' (religious), 'Big Black Dog' should work, thank you.

She needs only about 4 or 5 songs and we already have a quite a few great contenders in this thread!

[Aankh]

Speaking of Loretta, show 'em the movie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_Miner%27s_Daughter) if you can. Great film, and a great introduction to LL and her work.
Interesting idea, but the lessons aren't going to be about country music per se. The songs are more a conduit for teaching vocabulary, songwriting structure and language appreciation (spot the simile, what does xyz mean when she says... etc etc). Basically, thinking about language in a musical context familiar to them (all hail Taylor Swift) but linguistically and intellectually deeper and richer. The kids are old/smart enough to grok it, so my friend is trying to stretch them.

[cmkeller]

"Heads Carolina, Tails California" by Jo Dee Messina is one of my favorites, and it would seem to fit your criteria.

[Quercus]

Well, if you're looking for inventive language, I suppose Joan Baez covering Bob Dylan, or Bonnie Rait singing John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery"are going to be near the top of the list, even if they might be more 'folk' than strictly country. You could probably get away with Bonnie Rait as country, though.

If the lessons are about the music (chord changes, etc.) at all, then Patsy Cline singing "Crazy" (written by Willie Nelson) is a must; but the lyrics aren't very interesting, and do fall into the 'pining for a guy' category.

If you really want to get away from lyrics about weak women, how about Gillian Welch's "Caleb Meyer", which is about successfully fighting off a sexual assault. (She's on the bluegrass end of the country spectrum, but that's OK, right?). And Dolly Parton's "Wildflowers" (on the Trio album mentioned above) is about being independent and adventurous.

[Spoke]

How about Let the Mystery Be (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlaoR5m4L80) by Iris DeMent?

[Spoke]

For some country music history, there's Wildwood Flower (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewnfWoSQz3o) by the Carter Family, one of country music's seminal acts.

[Ranchoth]

Some of Grey DeLisle (http://www.amazon.com/Graceful-Ghost-Grey-Delisle/dp/B0001ENYAS)?

Or more Patsy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH9UmrBzyxc) Cline (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOCBKRFludo).

[Spoke]

OK, I'm just gonna say it: much of Patsy Cline's music wasn't really country. It was pop. The strings, the background harmonies...it was all part of a (successful) effort by Nashville to sell records to pop audiences. There really is nothing country about her sound. She even hides her Southern accent when she sings.

[Arnold Winkelried]

A sample song from Loretta Lynn:

Don't come home a-drinkin' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBnkAkmLtaw

It sounds like you want songs with lyrics to analyze in class.
Aside from stpauler's suggestions from Mary Chapin Carpenter, she also sings
The Bug (written by Mark Knopfler) which has some lyrics that kids could relate to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXrujgbVQxU
(you can find the lyrics by searching for "the bug" knopfler lyrics)

[Spoons]

Wow ... we got this far, and no mention yet of Kathy Mattea. I'd suggest two from her work: "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses," and "Where've You Been?" Both shouldl fit the OP's criteria, as while they are love songs, they both deal with long-term relationships.

Another vote for Mary Chapin Carpenter. Try also her "This Shirt."

Martina McBride, like some of the others, straddles pop and country. Recommendations would include "Independence Day," "Concrete Angel," "God's Will," and "For These Times," but I'd also suggest that the OP look through all her YouTube offerings.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Michelle Wright. I haven't heard much from her lately, but she had a string of great tunes back in the 90s. If you can find them, I'd suggest "Take It Like a Man," "He Would Be Sixteen," "Nobody's Girl," and for a change of pace, "Guitar Talk."

[Arnold Winkelried]

For someone closer to their age, there is 16-year-old country singer Courtney Stodden, who has been getting a lot of press recently. ;)

[Susanann]

Loretta Lynn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_Lynn).

Genius level songwriter. She was the first to write and sing about "difficult" topics from a female perspective. And she was the real thing; genuinely a coal miner's daughter from a shack in Kentucky.
Another vote for Loretta Lynn. If you want Country, then you want Loretta.

[Attack from the 3rd dimension]

How 'bout Lucinda Williams 'Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ainIBDO6a8E&feature=related)'. No relationship issues at all, but clearly country.

[multimediac17]

Remember Bette Midler's "The Rose"? Dolly wrote it.

You might be thinking of something else, 'The Rose' wasn't written by Dolly.

[Bridget Burke]

You've had some good Country suggestions. Loretta, of course. Most of The Carter Family lyrics were traditional or stolen from old hymns & parlor tunes & credited to A P Carter. But I seemed to remember that Mother Maybelle & Sarah wrote You Are My Flower (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIGwPxn7-Fw). (Hey, maybe so (http://www.countrymusictreasures.com/storybehindthesong/you-are-my-flower.html)!) Did the style echo the Mexican tunes they were hearing late in their career, as the Carters broadcast on border radio (http://www.honkytonks.org/showpages/carterfamily.htm)?

Let's not leave out The Other Kind of Music--namely, Western. How about Patsy Montana's I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE2U2j3ZKgA)? With the lyrics provided. (Or watch her sing it here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77_cb_83l3c&feature=related).)

[Ephemera]

How about Let the Mystery Be (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlaoR5m4L80) by Iris DeMent?

I second this one. I love this song.

[Arnold Winkelried]

Yet another thought. Since you want the students to analyze the lyrics, pick any of the songs from either of Nanci Griffith's albums Other Voices, Other Rooms or Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful). Nanci Griffith chooses wonderful songs for her two albums of cover versions.

For example Wall of Death (from Other Voices, Too), written by Richard Thompson, would be a fun one for kids to talk about, using carnival sideshows/attractions as metaphors.

[Little Nemo]

While love songs are kinda-sorta okay, they shouldn't fall into any of these categories:
(1) I'm begging you not to leave me for that whorebitch who won't appreciate you.
(2) You cheated on me and now I'll demonstrate my spunky independence by destroying your personal property.
(3) I'm a geeky teenager with a crush on Mr Popular Jock who'll appreciate my inner beauty by the end of this song.If you're looking for songs that don't center around a man, there's always Chely Wright.

[Peremensoe]

If you're looking for songs that don't center around a man, there's always Chely Wright.

Well, except her back catalog (http://www.metrolyrics.com/single-white-female-lyrics-chely-wright.html).

[PlainJain]

Tammy Wynette. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwBirf4BWew)

Or for something a little different...
Dixie Chicks. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRdrBCamno0)

[Tangent]

Suzy Boguss (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUTFWqkFf98&feature=related) has, IMHO, one of the most beautiful voices (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux1VpP0bZio) ever. Her biggest commercial success was in the early 90's, but she's still a very talented and well-respected performer.

[The Man In Black]

I would recommend the Jessica Andrews song, "Who I Am"

Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd9zYKLepCw

Lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/j/jessica+andrews/who+i+am_20070668.html

[Aankh]

For someone closer to their age, there is 16-year-old country singer Courtney Stodden, who has been getting a lot of press recently. ;)

Really? I pounced on this because, you mentioned she's close to their age group, but she sounds pretty awful to me. The first link on Youtube for her name was this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOrD5kqyov0) and I kind of gave up on her at that point! :dubious:

The Man In Black, that last Jessica Andrews suggestion has all the production values (and bee close-up shots?!) kids these days fall for. My teacherly gut instinct tells me it's going to get used. :)

Thank you all for your suggestions, guys. They're all going in a big Word document I'm forwarding to my friend later today. I have a feeling she'll easily get a week's worth of lessons out of the material here.

[PapSett]

Really? I pounced on this because, you mentioned she's close to their age group, but she sounds pretty awful to me. The first link on Youtube for her name was this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOrD5kqyov0) and I kind of gave up on her at that point! :dubious:


I had never heard of her, so clicked on that link; listened to about 30 seconds and left. Country that ain't. Nowhere close. THAT, to my ears, a talentless little twit.

God, I feel old.

[canterburyales]

Here is Bonnie Raitt covering John Prine's Angel from Montgomery:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhe3vb0z7mY

I'll leave it to you to decide how appropriate it is.

[Zeldar]

Since others have already mentioned the names near the top of my list, let me toss in a couple that may stretch the boundaries of "country" and may fall outside the parameters of the OP:

Shelby Lynne - Telephone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTtPG3BygaU)

SAMMI SMITH -- SAUNDER'S FERRY LANE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNRzzHtUNi4)

[The Man In Black]

I had never heard of her, so clicked on that link; listened to about 30 seconds and left. Country that ain't. Nowhere close. THAT, to my ears, a talentless little twit.

God, I feel old.

He was joking. He mentioned her cause in another thread here it was mentioned that she at 16 just married a 51 year old man. And a guy on TV who was talking about her misread her name Courtney as Country and thought she was a country singer.

[The Man In Black]

The Man In Black, that last Jessica Andrews suggestion has all the production values (and bee close-up shots?!) kids these days fall for. My teacherly gut instinct tells me it's going to get used. :)




Kool. That's a song I like a lot.

[Arnold Winkelried]

He was joking. He mentioned her cause in another thread here it was mentioned that she at 16 just married a 51 year old man. And a guy on TV who was talking about her misread her name Courtney as Country and thought she was a country singer.
Yes, sorry about that. It was a joke. More Courtney Stodden goodness in this Cafe Society thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=613483).

[Aankh]

Oh ha! And here I was on my high horse, mentally wrinkling my nose at your taste in music. :D

Having listened to a whole bunch of the songs mentioned in this thread, I have to say that country music has seriously diversified from the somewhat yodel-ly form I've always associated with it. I have exactly one song from the genre in my music collection: Hank William's 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry' which typifies the effect I'm talking about. I mean, the throat-drop thing is still there, but in a much more gentle, mellow manner.

[Sam Stone]

Patty Loveless is pretty good:

You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMrFzpbjJcs) is one of my favorite country/bluegrass songs.

Then there's the great Allison Krause:

The Lucky One (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBs2N1UCvY4&feature=related)

When You Say Nothing At All (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bNfay6HiUo&feature=related)

Down to the River to Pray (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbgfQ48hWuY&feature=related) - wonderful performance

Carolina on My Mind (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83w8SkdJtPM&feature=related)