Thank you for the compliment. I also enjoy Mary Chapin Carpenter.
Willie’s definitely one of the good guys. He’s also extremely left-wing. He supported Dennis Kucinich, promotes biodiesel, and, according to Wikipedia, recorded a song called “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other” promoting gay acceptance. (I just listened on YouTube–it’s pretty awesome.)
As for “Beer for My Men,” it’s easy to see it as pro-lynching, since it’s Toby Keith, but if you just listen to the lyrics, I think it’s more about a grown-up kid wishing he could be the Lone Ranger. (Not that the Lone Ranger ever drank whiskey!) And the video puts it clearly in the context of cop-fantasy, not vigilante-fantasy.
Oh, I do listen to the lyrics, because they’re pretty interesting, musically I mean. Or maybe it’s just what Willie does with them.
But, honestly, “hang them high in the street for the people to see” from “a tall oak tree”, tha’ts a lynching.
It’s…um…metaphorical?
Find me a C&W song that used the word ‘metaphorical’ and I’ll buy it.
And nothing written by Warren Zevon counts.
Pardon the dumb question, but what is ‘cadence’?
I don’t know anything about country, but I kinda liked the song 
It’s clearly a fantasy, but it’s the same fantasy that you can find bubbling up whenever you hear of some atrocity - the rape in east Texas thread (did the whole town…?) has lots of bloody outraged rhetoric about burying people in a mass unmarked grave. We find it difficult to wait for justice, and even prison doesn’t satisfy our gut.
I think it’s the same dark vein that gives us Dexter - but they couldn’t go there, so they went with CSI - Lubbock.
( Now I need a little smiley with shades and a cowboy hat. Then a 'YEEEEEAAAHHH - HAW!)
You have no right to do that. You can’t just turn someone else’s music off and “not care what their reaction is.” You know you wouldn’t appreciate it if someone did that to you. You would think they were a genuine jerk. I’m surprised that I’m the first to point this out. How do you expect people to enjoy their tastes in music if they have to worry about a random person coming over to their stereo and turning it off for no reason?
[quote=“ILikeForeignLanguages, post:168, topic:572495”]
He’s a zombie. Zombies can do that.
Wow. WTF. ( wait, I believe wtf is a question… let me correct that…) ?
Now there's some country music Willie could be proud of!Or this one…
I’ll quit now.I’m sorry. I apologize for this rude first post. I realize I can’t delete it. Sometimes I get tempted to write rude messages, but I can usually delete them. I realize this message can’t be deleted on here. I apologize to the OP and anyone else who saw my post.
Don’t worry too much about it, and welcome to the SDMB. 
(To be candid, I had a bit of a wtf moment when I read about the guy walking into a room and turning off somebody else’s radio. I had to read it twice to make sure he hadn’t said he’d turn around and walk out of the room.)
For the curious among us, can you tell us how you found the site, and what you were looking for, when you discovered the quote to which you raised your objection?
I would never walk into a room and turn off the radio if someone was listening to country music. However, if a band of brigands walked in and proceeded to murder the listener in cold blood, rather than try to stop them or call the police I would give them a thumbs up, tell them, “Good job, guys” and go find a shovel to help them bury the body.
I know this is an old topic but I fully support this pitting.
Back in 2008 I worked security for Country Fest, an annual concert at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. We initially had to patrol the parking lots outside and deal with people tailgating. I must say, country fans can be some belligerent drunks. We broke up many fights, we had multiple concert-goers try to start shit with us in security, and we had to send multiple teenagers away in an ambulance due to alcohol poisoning. Worst yet, one guy stabbed somebody. I had to stand outside of that scene and prevent people from walking through and disrupting the police/EMTs, and of course more than a few had to be told why walking through what was basically the scene of a recent crime was a bad idea.
Eventually the concert started and I was assigned to the handicapped section. I was assigned with the girl and I spent less time enforcing the policies of the handicapped section and more time pushing off wasted idiots trying to kiss/molest her.
Finally, Kenny Chesney (the headliner) is about to go on and I’m reassigned to stand right in front of the stage. Thankfully this was the easiest part, although I did get stared down by a member of the Red Sox because the supervisor made me tell his friend to put out his cigarette.
That’s only some of the fun I experienced that day (I’ve got more stories if you want to hear them). Point is, any time someone tries to explain how country music is so “wholesome,” I tell them about my experiences that day.
God Bless You Always!
Perfect example of how country music softens your brain.
I don’t remember when I first discovered this site…but I do remember stumbling across this particular thread one day (I may have been googling something that contained the words “country music”) and disagreeing strongly with the turning off someone else’s radio remark. I wanted to respond, but saw I couldn’t…so I finally got to the idea to create an account for the sole purpose of responding to the OP and sharing my feelings…but now, of course, I have apologized for that. Probably wasn’t a good idea/reason to create an account.
On the other hand, you’ve been here two days; you’ve been responding to comments; and you write in complete sentences. Welcome to the Straight Dope. Glad to have you here.
There is not just good country music, but great country music.
Don Williams has been knocking it out for years. Dwight Yoakum, Randy Travis, Charlie Pride, Alabama and Asleep at the Wheel (yeah, more western) and George Strait to name some.
The problem is that the Nashville machine just cranks out copies. They all look the same and sound the same and half the time, the music is the same. They are young, good looking and have an accent that would shame even a south Alabamian.
Like anything else, 90% shit and 10% golden.