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<\/p>\nAlcohol. Also known as the hard stuff, giggle juice, lunatic soup, moonshine, the poison, booze, and so many other names. It\u2019s the thing college kids fawn over, something parents enjoy, and every cowboy\u2019s favorite pastime. Alcohol, whether it be an ice-cold beer or hard liquor, has been the main subject of countless country songs.<\/p>\n
When it comes to drinking songs in country music, it seems like alcohol can mean only one of two things. Either the singer and his girl just broke up and he\u2019s drinking his pain away in a bar alone and sad, or the singer is knocking back an unreasonable amount of alcohol and partying like his life depends on it. Lately it\u2019s seemed like drinking songs have been solely about party drinking, which could really tick off some dry country listeners. It\u2019s even led to some injuries at country concerts, adding fuel to the anti drinking fire.<\/p>\n
Jimmy Buffet is known for his island sound and fun music. In 1977 his song \u201cMargaritaville\u201d, written by Jimmy himself, was released. This song would definitely fit into the drinking for fun category, although not necessarily the party drinking we hear about today. This song was everyone\u2019s idea of a good time, putting your worries on hold and getting lost in your margarita. I mean why not? Jimmy doesn\u2019t try blaming his drinking on a women and the beat of the song is pretty peppy, making it one of the more happy songs.<\/p>\n
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According to songfacts.com<\/a>, \u201c\u2019Margaritaville\u2019 has come to symbolize a carefree Caribbean lifestyle.\u201d This makes it a song that speaks to people who want to get away from the troubles of life and their nine to five jobs. So basically everyone. I guess you could say \u201cMargaritaville\u201d encouraged people to let loose with some tequila-inspired fun. Not necessarily a bad thing, but could this lead to some excessive drinking behavior?<\/p>\n On the other end of the spectrum are the songs about drinking until you can\u2019t feel any pain. In 1980, Merle Haggard released a song called \u201cMisery and Gin\u201d written by Snuff Garret and John Durril. This mildly depressing ballad is about a man drinkin\u2019 the pain of his breakup away and \u201clooking at the world through the bottom of a glass.\u201d Unlike \u201cMargaritaville,\u201d this is definitely not a song you would blast over the speakers of your boat while out on the lake, but it was still a successful country song. It set a standard that drinking to get over heartache was okay and perfectly acceptable, although it didn\u2019t necessarily mean you would be happy.<\/p>\n Similar to Merle Haggard\u2019s song, George Jones\u2019 \u201cIf Drinkin\u2019 Don\u2019t Kill Me (Her Memory Will)\u201d followed a similar theme. Released in January of 1981 and written by Harlan Sanders and Rick Beresford, this song literally admits that drinking can kill you, but it\u2019s okay because the memory of a lost love will do it anyway. I guess you could call his drinking excessive, I mean he even says \u201cLord it\u2019s been ten bottles\/since I tried to forget her.\u201d<\/p>\n Like in Merle\u2019s case, this song takes on a sadder feeling, you can picture George sitting alone surrounded by his bottles, drinking until he\u2019s too drunk to feel anything. Adam Wright<\/a> described these \u201cold guys as regretfully drunk\u201d which I would say sums it up pretty perfectly. Basically, these singers sent a message that drinking out of heartache was acceptable, but yet they still found no peace.<\/p>\n In stark contrast to Merle and George is Alan Jackson\u2019s song \u201cIt\u2019s Five O\u2019 Clock Somwhere.\u201d Released in 2003 and featuring Jimmy, this grammy winning song was written by Jim Brown and Don Rollins. This fun and upbeat song embodied the good time aspects of drinking something \u201ctall and strong\u201d in the middle of the work day because \u201cit\u2019s five o\u2019 clock somewhere.\u201d This song also has the\u00a0island sound that “Margarittaville” has. Jackson talks about taking a Jamaican vacation and getting away. It\u2019s a song about everyone\u2019s dream of picking up and going on a trip, and a dream that my college self has just about every day. The song is described as being \u201cvery much Buffet\u201d because of the \u201cacoustic guitars and steel drum samples,\u201d so it was a different sound for country singer Alan Jackson, according to an article by Erin Duvall.<\/a><\/p>\n Enter the bro-country subgenre of country music, which became prevalent around 2010. Bro-country is known for drum machines, bass and electric guitar, and even a little keyboard. With Brad Paisley and Luke Bryan exemplifying every bro aspect of the subgenre, country drinking songs changed from the drunk and sad sounds of Merle Haggard and George Jones, to being proud of being drunk. The idea that drinking makes you cool and everything is better when you have a beer in your hand become leading themes in the music of this genre.<\/p>\n![\"giphy\"](\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/10\/giphy-300x189.gif\")
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