Who first described country music as more than just a guitar or banjo? More than a lyric or a melody. It\u2019s a feeling. Maybe Dolly Parton summed it up when she said, \u201cI think country music has been popular, and will always be popular, because I think a lot of real people singing about a lot of real stuff about real people…” Or, as Willie Nelson said, \u201cA lot of country music is sad. I think most art comes out of poverty and hard times. It applies to music. Three chords and the truth – that’s what a country song is. There is a lot of heartache in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Great country music is timeless. Timeless music sounds great. Whitehorse is back with a country album that sounds as timeless as those of the greats that preceded them. I\u2019m Not Crying, You\u2019re Crying<\/em> is filled with wonderful takes on all those classic country music motifs. The pedal steel weeps, whines, and rings true throughout. But it was the album\u2019s overarching theme that strikes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, the song \u201c6 Feet Away\u201d, with the chorus: \u201cI hope I never have to stand 6 feet away from you again.\u201d A song that also sung about washing hands and disinfecting things. Oh, COVID\u2026 this subject, this time in all our lives, that left us bruised and battered, will not leave our memories anytime soon. Many are still angry and sad about what was done. The hypocrisy, the stoked fear, the confounding frustration that weighed us down like a heavy blanket that few had the strength to shove off. The album filters those thoughts and emotions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLife gets crazy, and I get lost\u201d they sing in \u201cSanity, TN\u201d Describing the whittling away of another idle day. \u201cOxygen is my contraband. Every move a sleight of hand,\u201d is a nice line from that song. Is Sanity, TN referring to leaving Canada, for place that didn\u2019t lockdown, and maintained a certain level of personal freedom? A sane place during an insane time? There are other songs like, \u201cIf the Loneliness Don\u2019t Kill Me\u201d, \u201cI Miss the City\u201d and \u201cLock it Down\u201d which compare, being in lockdowns to being locked up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Describing the lockdowns as being locked up does not leave much room for ambiguity. And I applaud them for that. Finally, \u201cScared of Each Other\u201d ends the record. Describing all the simple things in life that they miss since we were told and conditioned to fear each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Country music is storytelling music. The stories we missed, the stories we shared, the stories we still long to tell, the stories we need to get off our chest and out of our heads. Stories of anger, sadness, love, passion, longing, excitement, forgiveness\u2026 all of it. Yes, there is still a lot of heartache in this world. I think we need country music now, to channel and process those emotions. There\u2019re feelings we still need to let go of, somehow. Whitehorse has hammered the nail on the head. They\u2019ve rolled with the punches and emerged with three chords and the truth. I\u2019m Not Crying, You\u2019re Crying<\/em> is as timely as it is timeless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n