Is Country Music bad for depression?
Asked by
LuckyGuy (
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November 19th, 2010
OK, I’ll admit it I am an NPR kinda guy. I could listen to the likes of Diane Rehm and Terry Gross all day. I find Fiona Ritchie’s accent is so hot I’m spent after listening to any of her interviews.
I don’t usually listen to country music.
Recently, I was on a road trip without XM and spent the time scanning radio stations. Without NPR and skipping the religious, rap, and loud rock left me with country. Any station I switched to, no matter what state, no matter what time, was playing songs about Honky-Tonks, and pouring “me something tall and strong” or “long necked bottle let go of my hand” or “friends in low places” or “one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer”. It occurred to me that recovering alcoholics might have some trouble with this. Does it entice you back to the bar?
Then there’s the romance/love angle. “Let’s roll with it” or “Farmer’s daughter”, “How’d she get them britches on?”, etc. If you are just out of a relationship does every song seem like it is talking to you and does it bring back painful memories?
Should Country music come with a warning label? ~
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30 Answers
Just neutralize it with something like this
or this
entertain your friends with a drum solo on the dash board!
Country music makes me feel suicidal, but that’s because I hate the stuff. Diane Rehm? Really? I can’t listen to her. One of the worst things I ever heard was Diane interviewing someone with a stutter. Between the two of them, it was painful.
Needless to say, i am not a fan of country music.
I have always told my wife that country music is “suicide music”. some of the songs make you want to grab a gun and blow your brains out. never have liked it, never will.
As a child, i was forced to listen to the Grand Ole Opry. that was torture.
Does anyone know how rock and roll music landed into country music? i have had mixed drinks that were a lot better than this combination.
There’s plenty of more upbeat country songs, and personally I find other genres can be much much more depressing than country.
I think it’s dangerous for some with depression. Some people commit suicide while listening to it if they’re already depressed. Personally, I think the lyrics are terrific.
I have to say that of all genres of music, I like country the least.
Country music makes me depressed. I don’t like the way it sounds. It’s my least favorite genre of music.
@syz Ok, I’ll grant you, Diane Rehm’s voice is not the best. But I sure do like the way she treats her guests and callers. She is fair, firm and very classy.
(I guess I’m easily amused.)
As I my normally high spirits began heading toward depression, I passed by DC and managed to pick up some fresh air from WAMU. Whew.
Country music is bad for just about everything.
Well, except for crossover artists who do something a little bit new. And even Terry Gross interviews the great country stars, which means it can’t be all that bad, right? Or is she holding her nose while she does it?
I reckon most of those fuckers…..singers ride the bipolar express themselves. Gittin in touch wiv their souls XD
@Cruiser I’m not clicking on that link, but I trust you know what you’re talking about. GA!
@wundayatta At least bookmark the link…it comes in real handy.
@Cruiser I clicked that link and LMAO. It’s like he discovered the Rhyming Dictionary and read it out loud.
Pick a word, then go for it. Um… “Cars”
I love rusty beat up cars.
Stinky smelly bars
And cigarette tars.
“Broccoli”
I love heads of broccoli,
My girlfriend on my knee,
And…
I can’t listen to it as it depresses me. Ever hear “Feed Jake”? About a guy leaving to go to war and if he dies, feed his dog Jake.
Country music does make me really sad. It all seems to be about losing love, or how much a parent loves their child, or about how much growing up sucks. It’s not really about the style of music (although I’m not crazy about that either) – just the storylines in the songs are always so depressing.
Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar is very cheerful. And I like it.
Does Rocky Mountain High count? Then no, it’s not all depressing.
^^^^^^^^ No; I wouldn’t call RM High C&W.
There is nothing depressing about “Brand New Girlfriend.”
or “Beer for my Horses”
or “Ol’ Red”
or “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue”
or “Redneck Woman”
...(I could go on)
You want depressing though, look up Seasons in the Sun (and no, it’s not Country)
@Winters Terry Jacks – Seasons in the Sun. I can’t believe I know that. And yes, it’s very depressing.
Bobby Goldsboro – Honey. Very depressing and not country either.
I quite enjoy my country…though it doesn’t exemplify the genre today. My country is mostly about horrible things like, cocaine, murder, incest, murder, sinners, murder, outlaws, murder & damnation. Frankly I like country because it has the capacity to be more gothic than any other genre.
Yeah there are sad country songs…but there aren’t many in my country collection. I think it’s just a handful a Johnny Cash songs really. Honestly, they’re too maudlin me to take very seriously.
I just adore this question because I wrote a short story about driving to country music. Sad stories, baby left me stories… It is so true. There is a “zone” where you get nothing but that or evangelist talk shows.
Just keep going on the interstate. keep hitting search on the tuner…. eventually, you will find a college station or the local NPR.
edit. my dad said I have to add this link girl with the far away eyes
@Blueroses That’s a great Idea for a short story. Nice.
Thank your dad for me. The Stones singin’ Country. Who knew? Spot on and very funny:
‘the preacher said, you know you always have the
Lord by your side
And I was so pleased to be informed of this that I ran
Twenty red lights in his honor… Thank you lord!”
@Aster That’s another great alcohol/bar example “I love this bar”. As they laugh at someone getting pounded.
Mustn’t forget, 10 Rounds with Jose Cuervo It’s catchy and fun to sing along with but, he’s:drinking Jose Cuervo and buying a round for the whole bar! No wonder he’s depressed.
I think I might have the solution! After work, go straight home to your s/o and tell her you love her instead of blowing your paycheck on drinking. Life would be a whole lot better.
But 40 radio station would suddenly pop off the air waves.
@YARNLADY Sure, you can count it if you like. It is pleasant, except for the depression that arises when you consider how John Denver died at age 53 – killed in his experimental Rutan Long-EZ plane when it crashed into the Pacific.
A lot of it is very negative and saddening. I can only listen to it when I’m severely depressed. So if you come to visit me and you hear Joe Nichols on the stereo, that means it’s probably time for an intervention. ;)
@john65pennington Poor you. That sounds like my childhood. The Grand Ole Opry is torture. We should’ve told our folks that that was a violation of our constitutional rights, because it’s cruel and unusual punishment! ;)
I’m a recovering alcoholic and I had to stop listening to it! The song that got me was called, what else, Alcohol by Brad Paisley.
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