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How Bout Them Cowgirls
I felt the rush of the Rio Grande into Yellowstone
And I've seen first-hand Niagra Falls
And the lights of Vegas
I've criss-crossed down to Key Biscayane
And Chi-town via Bangor, Maine
Think I've seen it all
And all I can say is
Chorus:
How 'bout them cowgirls
Boys ain't they somthin'
Sure are some proud girls
And you can't tell them nothin'
And I tell you right now girls
May just be seven wonders of this big, old round world
But how 'bout them cowgirls
She's a ridin' colts in Steamboat Springs
Bailing hay outside Abilene
She's trying hard
To fit in some city
But her home is 'neath that big, blue sky
And the Northern Plains and those other wide open spaces
Chorus
Boy, she don't need you and she don't need me
She can do just fine on her own two feet
But she wants a man who wants her to be herself
And she'll never change, don't know how to hide
Her stubborn will or her fightin' side
But you treat her right and she'll love you like no on else
Yeah, how 'bout them cowgirls
Boys ain't they somethin'
Sure some are proud girls
But you can't beat their lovin'
And I'll tell you right now girls
May just be seven wonders of this big, old round world
But how 'bout them cowgirls
How 'bout them boys
Now, I make no secret that I listen to country music and in fact that it's my preferred style of music to listen to most of the time. But what I usually like about country is the sound - the instruments, the harmonies, the rhythms, the tonal quality of the vocals, etc. There are not that many country songs that I actually identify with. They tend to sing about subjects that I have no experience with or concept of, or even topics I outright dislike: monogamous romance, lifetime promises, cheating, broken hearts from truly atrocious behaviours, christianity, nostalgia for a simpler time that includes things like "cribs covered in lead-based paint", the meaning of a "man" and a woman's "place". The party songs are fun, but even those are outside of my preferred state, like drinking and casual sex.
But every once in a while I hear a country song that really speaks to *me*, who is way outside the country music demographic. Like this song by George Strait. I was born and raised in a big city, but I worked on a ranch for a couple of summers and I certainly had my share of bailing hay. I love a lot about the big cities like 24-hour shopping, a wide variety of dancing, diversity in cultures. But I was raised in a little subdivision in that big city that felt like a small town: no traffic, kids could play in the street, we knew all our neighbors - and I like all that. But one of the best things about that city was its proximity to other places. The beach, the mountains, the desert were all within a day's drive. In fact, the mountains were only 30 minutes away where I could lose myself among the pines and redwoods and climb to where the air was thin and look out over the horizon and see nothing touched by man. I love the city, and I think Orlando is too small-town, but without those "wide open spaces" nearby, I feel cramped, stifled.
One of the things I like best about this song is that it acknowledges and even celebrates a woman's sense of independence. It actually says that the girl doesn't need a man, but wants one who likes her for who she is. I so often meet people who confuse "independence" with "emotional walls", and who don't appreciate the distinction between *wanting* a partner and *needing* someone. I wrote a post a while back with a quote from a book that sums up my thoughts on this particular subject. I'm going to quote it again:
A playfellow I'll be, but no man's toy. A partner, helper, but no one's servant nor slave. I will be captain of my fate and commander of my destiny, though the path I may share and the course I chart be followed by others. What I have, I'll share, but I'll not give it over. What I am, I am, and I'll not change it What I will be, I will be, by my own will and no other.
~Mercedes Lackey, The Fairy Godmother
Many country songs sing about needing someone, their lives aren't complete without this other person, they are only whole because of the presence of someone else, life would end without this someone special. I think that's not only bullshit but dangerously pathological. I *want* a lover, I *desire* love, my life is enriched by my partners. But I will not die if they are no longer in my life. I am not incomplete. I am more fulfilled by them, but there is nothing wrong or lacking in me if they aren't a part of my life. For once, this song recognizes that a person can feel that way and it's not a bad thing. This song understands that a woman can survive out from under the shadow of a man, and still feel love completely and unreservedly while being a complete person herself - that independence is not a defense mechanism designed to keep intimacy at arms length, that you can have independence and love and intimacy all at the same time.
The girl in this song is strong, independent, willful, stubborn, physically active, proud of herself and unwilling to pretend to be anything she is not. And the guy thinks that's wonderful. I think *that* is wonderful.
I felt the rush of the Rio Grande into Yellowstone
And I've seen first-hand Niagra Falls
And the lights of Vegas
I've criss-crossed down to Key Biscayane
And Chi-town via Bangor, Maine
Think I've seen it all
And all I can say is
Chorus:
How 'bout them cowgirls
Boys ain't they somthin'
Sure are some proud girls
And you can't tell them nothin'
And I tell you right now girls
May just be seven wonders of this big, old round world
But how 'bout them cowgirls
She's a ridin' colts in Steamboat Springs
Bailing hay outside Abilene
She's trying hard
To fit in some city
But her home is 'neath that big, blue sky
And the Northern Plains and those other wide open spaces
Chorus
Boy, she don't need you and she don't need me
She can do just fine on her own two feet
But she wants a man who wants her to be herself
And she'll never change, don't know how to hide
Her stubborn will or her fightin' side
But you treat her right and she'll love you like no on else
Yeah, how 'bout them cowgirls
Boys ain't they somethin'
Sure some are proud girls
But you can't beat their lovin'
And I'll tell you right now girls
May just be seven wonders of this big, old round world
But how 'bout them cowgirls
How 'bout them boys
Now, I make no secret that I listen to country music and in fact that it's my preferred style of music to listen to most of the time. But what I usually like about country is the sound - the instruments, the harmonies, the rhythms, the tonal quality of the vocals, etc. There are not that many country songs that I actually identify with. They tend to sing about subjects that I have no experience with or concept of, or even topics I outright dislike: monogamous romance, lifetime promises, cheating, broken hearts from truly atrocious behaviours, christianity, nostalgia for a simpler time that includes things like "cribs covered in lead-based paint", the meaning of a "man" and a woman's "place". The party songs are fun, but even those are outside of my preferred state, like drinking and casual sex.
But every once in a while I hear a country song that really speaks to *me*, who is way outside the country music demographic. Like this song by George Strait. I was born and raised in a big city, but I worked on a ranch for a couple of summers and I certainly had my share of bailing hay. I love a lot about the big cities like 24-hour shopping, a wide variety of dancing, diversity in cultures. But I was raised in a little subdivision in that big city that felt like a small town: no traffic, kids could play in the street, we knew all our neighbors - and I like all that. But one of the best things about that city was its proximity to other places. The beach, the mountains, the desert were all within a day's drive. In fact, the mountains were only 30 minutes away where I could lose myself among the pines and redwoods and climb to where the air was thin and look out over the horizon and see nothing touched by man. I love the city, and I think Orlando is too small-town, but without those "wide open spaces" nearby, I feel cramped, stifled.
One of the things I like best about this song is that it acknowledges and even celebrates a woman's sense of independence. It actually says that the girl doesn't need a man, but wants one who likes her for who she is. I so often meet people who confuse "independence" with "emotional walls", and who don't appreciate the distinction between *wanting* a partner and *needing* someone. I wrote a post a while back with a quote from a book that sums up my thoughts on this particular subject. I'm going to quote it again:
A playfellow I'll be, but no man's toy. A partner, helper, but no one's servant nor slave. I will be captain of my fate and commander of my destiny, though the path I may share and the course I chart be followed by others. What I have, I'll share, but I'll not give it over. What I am, I am, and I'll not change it What I will be, I will be, by my own will and no other.
~Mercedes Lackey, The Fairy Godmother
Many country songs sing about needing someone, their lives aren't complete without this other person, they are only whole because of the presence of someone else, life would end without this someone special. I think that's not only bullshit but dangerously pathological. I *want* a lover, I *desire* love, my life is enriched by my partners. But I will not die if they are no longer in my life. I am not incomplete. I am more fulfilled by them, but there is nothing wrong or lacking in me if they aren't a part of my life. For once, this song recognizes that a person can feel that way and it's not a bad thing. This song understands that a woman can survive out from under the shadow of a man, and still feel love completely and unreservedly while being a complete person herself - that independence is not a defense mechanism designed to keep intimacy at arms length, that you can have independence and love and intimacy all at the same time.
The girl in this song is strong, independent, willful, stubborn, physically active, proud of herself and unwilling to pretend to be anything she is not. And the guy thinks that's wonderful. I think *that* is wonderful
