Quiver & Quill

“Country Music is Three Cords and the Truth,” Harlan Howard

Country songs are great examples of how to create a memorable scene, and they directly inform the best ways to brand and position products. Perhaps their success comes from how they connect us to images we are familiar with. Whether they tap into national folk symbols , or strike a chord with a common American past, they often effectively share simple stories of love, nationalism and nostalgia. It is no wonder that country music listening surges in times of war and national crisis.

Great country songs often create these feelings immediately. I’ve selected seven examples. Each are selections from the first two lines of a notable country song.

“He was working through college on my grandpa’s farm
I was thirsting for knowledge and he had a car”
-Strawberry Wine, Deana Carter

“I was just out of the service thumbing through the classifieds
When an ad that said old Chevy some how caught my eye,”
Riding with Private Malone, David Bell

“Just the other night at a hometown football game
My wife and I ran into my old high school flame,”
Unanswered Prayers, Garth Brooks

“Johnny’s daddy was taking him fishin’
When he was eight years old,”
Don’t take the Girl, Tim McGraw

“The devil went down to Georgia
He was looking for a soul to steal,”
Devil Went Down to Georgia, Charlie Daniels Band

“I knew a man Bojangles and he’d dance for you
In worn out shoes,”
Mr. Bojangles, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

“We shared the same last name and the same color eyes,
But we fought like tigers over that old red bike.”
Brotherly Love, Keith Whitley

When asked why people appreciate country music, they often site its authenticity. Perhaps that’s why I love it as well. It makes me think of a time when I played Cowboys and Indians –before I was mindful that the game was politically incorrect.

Since that time, I’ve lived in Cowboy country twice: Dallas and Albuquerque. I remember certain things about each place: Beautiful girls clad in Diamonds and Wrangles, and tumbleweed and Mexican wedding cookies respectively. I also remember feeling bolder living there, as if the healthy ambiguities calling my moral absolutes in questions weren’t present.

Perhaps country music’s confidence and its bold ascertain of simple values provides a useful example for marketers branding and positioning products. I know it’s a great personal reminder to keep things simple.

As a final note, how popular is country?

“Country music is now playing on the radios of nearly 16 million adults between the ages of 18 and 49 each week, making it the most popular radio format in America, according to a new report from Interep, a New York City-based radio advertising sales and marketing firm.”

Welcome home. - Z

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