I Have a Confession To Make.

I love country music. I have a near-encyclopedic knowledge of the artists and their hits that were all over the radio during the 1990s and 2000s. And while I’ll swear by Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn and the greats, there’s a reason that a portrait of Dolly Parton is in my office.

I love the cheesy, over-the-top, pun-filled hits. I love Dolly — who you could argue is as artistic as anyone — but I also adore Garth Brooks, as wackadoodle as he can be in his personal life. I’m obsessed with Miranda Lambert and want her to be my friend. Hell, I have an entire playlist of songs about drinking just because I wanted to see how many songs I knew about drinking (hint: it’s a lot.)

I love country music and I’m not ashamed of it. (As well as 38 Special, REO Speedwagon, and the uncool version of Starship, but that’s another story.) And in the last couple of years, I’ve realized that my hobby, my love — my obsession — actually pays off in my writing.

Because country music, especially during the 1990s and 2000s?

Highly commercial. People LOVED that era of country music. 

Lots of people who wouldn’t be caught dead listening to country music were Garth fans, Shania Twain fans (bless their hearts), and in the 2000s, Taylor Swift fans. People would say things like, “I hate country music, but I like that song,” or “I don’t usually like country but I like her.” 

In fact, I would argue that a country artist who was smart about the lyrics but didn’t try to be an artiste during that era are some of the most commercially successful entrepreneurs of all time. That’s why you see pop artists occasionally doing country projects or doing little forays into the country charts. Country music is big business because it appeals to a lot of people.

And that’s what being “commercial” is — appealing to a substantial audience. It’s not about being smart. A lot of people dismiss country music because they think it’s stupid. Some of it — especially the “bro” country of the past decade — is. 

But good country music needs words. Lyrics. Stories. In a way that other musical genres do not. That’s part of the reason musicians from other genres usually appreciate country — it’s a harder art form to master. 

Like books and publishing, country artists and songwriters need a narrative. These writers use all the exact techniques that writers like you or I do.

When Kenny Chesney describes a beach, he’s got to show listeners what it’s like — not tell. If Carrie Underwood has a lesson she wants to teach, she’s going to share that in the active voice (and with a killer range). 

Country stars are great at branding, too. 

When I say Dolly Parton, you know exactly who she is and who she is not — without even having to be a fan. I could go on, but you get the point. 

The biggest takeaway I learned from country music — that I want to share with you — is that effective storytelling sells. But, if you do choose to listen, there’s a lot more to learn about three-act structure, surprise endings, turns of phrase . . . 

. . . And that puns (which build rapport) are always worth sneaking in somewhere.