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| Photo from https://www.bradpaisley.com/ |
The soundtrack of our life has a lot of Country music in it. We have loved Country music since college. The catchy melodies, simple lyrics and dramatic stories captivated us and because the background to many of our memories.
One of our favorite Country artists is Brad Paisley. You could describe him as a lyrical columnist. More than most, he creates and performs music with big ideas and analysis that isn't that common in any genre. In the process he shares his mind and heart in memorable ways that stay in the conscience of every listener. Now he has plenty of songs that wouldn't fit in this description as well. There is a fair share of drinking and girl-chasing songs that aren't our favorite. But let's focus on an example of one that dives deep.
His latest single, "Same Here" (co-written with Lee Thomas Miller), is an excellent example of a lyrical column. The song was released on the 1 year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. In the song Brad makes the case for why we are not that different than those suffering through the war in Ukraine. The song is designed to help people realize that they have more in common with those who they perceive are different than they imagine.
In the first verse, Brad challenges his audience to realize how much like someone from the West Coast (California specifically) they really are. This is an effort to bridge the divisions between Red and Blue States in the United States. Many Country music listeners (but not all by any means) struggle to relate to people on either coast in the US. Brad paints the picture of a group of friends gathering at a bar to connect and "solve all the worlds problems," and challenges his audience to realize that the same thing happens in a California town as happens in a town in Nebraska, Minnesota or Tennessee.
The second verse tackles another significant point of disconnect in the United States, our neighbors to the South. Many people in the United States look at people from Mexico, Central America or South America through the lens of the issue of immigration. Brad highlights how people in the United States and Mexico are very similar through the story of a wedding on a beach. His words highlight a common human emotion, "Though I didn't know the language, I recognize the tears people cry within they're happy..." By connecting us a that level, Brad highlights that no matter the divisions and struggles we have, we all cry tears of joy at a wedding.
Finally he builds to his main point in the third verse. He introduces someone in a country far away who's "...got his own kind of football team that lets him down every year." That someone is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine. Brad makes the case that while there are many different cultural and circumstantial differences between people in the United States and Ukraine there are also many similarities. At the end of this verse President Zelenskyy comes on in a taped interview with Brad. Powerfully, Zelenskyy translates the name of the song, "Same Here," into Ukrainian (те ж саме) and speaks passionately about the hopes and dreams of the people of Ukraine and how they are not so different from the hopes and dreams of others.
Reflecting on the song in an interview, Brad describes why he wanted to write such deep songs, “I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t sort of swing for the fence with things like this,” Paisley said. “For me, I’m happiest dealing with stuff as a songwriter that’s very true and very, very passionate. And sometimes I don’t know if you’d call it risky, but it’s more like it’s bigger than me.”
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