# Country songs that are not sad? Not downers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830 "2012-08-18T00:17:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/1 "2012-08-18T00:17:58Z")
A friend said that all country songs are sad. My woman left me, my dog is gone, my truck broke down. (Which brings to mind the joke that if you play country songs backwards, your woman comes back, your dog comes back, and your truck comes back.) So let’s give him a list of well-known country songs that are upbeat in spirit, positive in outlook. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/2 "2012-08-18T00:25:48Z")
Can’t help you. Country music always makes me sad. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/3 "2012-08-18T00:27:15Z")
Here you go. [The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD0L0nyM7OY) It’s so damn upbeat and positive you’ll want to kill yourself! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/4 "2012-08-18T00:29:55Z")
_[Big Time](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssHnkroH8tI)_ by Big & Rich ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/5 "2012-08-18T00:35:23Z")
Your problem is that you’re just looking at pop country. Folk country is chock-full of cheerful, up-beat material. The golden example here would be John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”. Then again, I’ve never been entirely sure why pop country and folk country are considered in any way the same genre. So far as I can tell, the only thing they have in common is wide-brimmed hats. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/6 "2012-08-18T00:41:29Z")
Thank God I’m a Country Boy – John Denver (It’s worth mentioning twice!) Everything Is Beautiful – Ray Stevens Dixieland Delight – Alabama Forever and Ever, Amen – Randy Travis I love this Bar – Toby Keith I love a Rainy Night – Eddie Rabbit ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/7 "2012-08-18T00:53:39Z")
[_Redneck girl_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JdbxcU-fDs) [_The lady takes the cowboy every time_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biZ4qRon-dQ) (She’s dying to do the Texas Two Step) - complete with eighties fashion You do have a point, though, as most of the songs that immediately spring to mind as being upbeat are in fact heartbreak songs (_Guitars, Cadillacs and Hillbilly Music_ and _Friends in Low Places_) ---
**Author:** ![Tad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/8 "2012-08-18T00:57:19Z")
There are like a million? I guess I’ll post a few… [Merle Haggard - Sam Hill](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwh3Q4MQnWc) [Reno and Smiley - Country Boy Rock and Roll](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IDkgBGjnWw) [David Allan Coe - Sweet Vibrations](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BCIYm0obhM) [Carter Family - Sunny Side](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbmQQ4RfzVE) [Doc Watson - Intoxicated Rat](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FHiMDEndpI) Etc, forever. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/9 "2012-08-18T02:11:14Z")
[I’ve Been Everywhere](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W47c6w46Cgc), Hank Snow Kansas City Star, Roger Miller Can’t Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd, Roger Miller Jambalaya, Hank Williams Pretty much all Jerry Reed songs. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/10 "2012-08-18T03:24:47Z")
Alabama has quite a few upbeat songs. Try [Song of the South](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch1WYOAUOF4&feature=related) [If you’re Gonna Play in Texas](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6r4E514nJg&feature=related) [Mountain Music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NshQKDfFPlw) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/11 "2012-08-18T03:58:07Z")
[Whiskey Girl - Toby Keith](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N44pIQ0fJKA) [I Love This Bar - Toby Keith](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fulz4ytZ54&feature=relmfu) [Uncloudy Day - Willie Nelson](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQzUL20-1rQ) [Rodeo Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5JSUUTO_9I) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/12 "2012-08-18T04:04:12Z")
[Dick In Dixie](http://youtu.be/wgI4Gl2fS9c) - Hank Williams III (lyrics contain dirty words) ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/13 "2012-08-18T04:10:10Z")
I wouldn’t know. The arm fell off my favorite chair. Somebody threw a baseball threw my window. Things have really gone to pieces. Good stuff above. Another place to look is the other kind of music – Western. You can’t not laugh when Tommy Duncan’s nattering on about the “big ball[s] in cowtown.” ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/14 "2012-08-18T04:24:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Your problem is that you’re just looking at pop country. Folk country is chock-full of cheerful, up-beat material. The golden example here would be John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”. I would think the problem with the OP is that they’re NOT looking at pop country. The traditional “my wife/dog/truck left me” subject songs still sneak by sometimes, but for the most part FM radio country these days is vapid love songs and either overt or non-overt patriotic kitsch. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/15 "2012-08-18T04:33:58Z")
Swingin’ by John Anderson Bobby Sue by the Oakridge Boys Tulsa Time by Don Williams Settin’ the Woods on Fire by Hank Williams Sitting on top of the World by Bob Wills A Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash Jackson by June Carter and Johnny Cash You Are My Sunshine by Ray Charles and many others ---
**Author:** ![Tad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/16 "2012-08-18T04:44:17Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > I would think the problem with the OP is that they’re NOT looking at pop country. The traditional “my wife/dog/truck left me” subject songs still sneak by sometimes, but for the most part FM radio country these days is vapid love songs and either overt or non-overt patriotic kitsch. Not to mention that crap isn’t country. The 80s more or less gave country the suicide pill and the 90s shot it in the head. Now it’s just beating a dead horse, big time. Though some good stuff still managed to sneak by in the 80s. I was actually going to say Terry Allen’s Lubbock on Everything but that was 1979. But a few were kicking ass with some records around then anyway… Townes had an amazing one. Guy had a few really good ones. Lyle Lovett’s first few records were pretty okay, but it’s pure Ramsey worship. People really like Steve Earle but I’m not one of those guys. He wrote some great songs when he was a kid (Elijah’s Church) but that’s about all I like. There are some more that are evading my mind. The 90s were devoid of cool pretty much altogether, unless you like that commercialization of country rock thing. Or stone cold, soulless, over-produced, sparkly crap that got popular around then. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/17 "2012-08-18T04:58:19Z")
[Chattahoochee](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWDGYa5gvuk) by Alan Jackson [On the Road Again](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TD_pSeNelU) by Willie Nelson ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/18 "2012-08-18T05:16:02Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > [Dick In Dixie](http://youtu.be/wgI4Gl2fS9c) - Hank Williams III (lyrics contain dirty words) The people who listen to mainstream/pop country have no idea who Hank III is (or Drive-By Truckers, James McMurtry, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Son Volt etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/19 "2012-08-18T06:00:27Z")
Its a stereotype - and no more true than that every rock song is about drugs or every rap song is about gang violence. Even mainstream country. This week’d Billboard Top 10 has 9 happy songs (ok, mostly songs about romance): 1\> Love & Theft - Angel Eyes 2\> Gloriana - (Kissed You) Good Night 3\> Kenny Chesney - Come Over 5\> Little Big Town - Pontoon 6\> Josh Turner - Time Is Love 7\> Band Perry - Postcard From Paris 8\> Jana Kramer - Why Ya Wanna 9\> Kieth Urban - For You 10\> Hunter Hayes - Wanted Only #4 - Blake SHelton’s “Over” is even close to downbeat, and it’s about talking a girl into starting over again. I think you have to get to #25 - Jake Owen’s “The One That Got Away” before you really get a song that fits the stereotype. Granted, none of them are wild swings like the Tractor’s “Baby Like To Rock It” or Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishing In The Dark” (both crowd pleasers when I DJ), but there style and lyrics are hardly dirges. Compare that to Pop - WHich had Gotye’s “Somebody that I Used to Know” and Cher Lloyd’s “Want U Back” in the top 20. If anything, a better criticism of modern popular country it is that it is too sweet and relentlessly happy - there are few hints of shadows to add depth. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830/20 "2012-08-18T07:15:01Z")
“Down at the Twist and Shout” by Mary Chapin Carpenter was the first song that popped into my head. “Deeper than the Holler” by Randy Travis. “Fishin’ in the Dark” by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. “Rainbow Stew” by Merle Haggard. I only know older titles because I haven’t listened to country in years. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/country-songs-that-are-not-sad-not-downers/631830.md?page=2)