White Stetson twang

Yeah, I admit it. I'm a country music fan. There is something about the twang and rhythm that gets me.

The odd thing is that although I was a country music fan before coming to Europe, I seem to be even more of one now. Don't get me wrong - I still love salsa, rock, techno and classical. But here, country music seems to be a little piece of home. When you think about, there's country music for almost every situation:

Patronizing classmates? "How'd you like me now" by Toby Keith
A hard day at school? "Honey, I'm home" by Shania Twain
Reading e-mails from friends at home? "Me and my gang" by Rascal Flatts
Lonely moments? "You'll think of me" by Keith Urban
Ridiculous Europeans? "That don't impress me much" by Shania Twain
Going out? "Save a horse, ride a cowboy" by Big and Rich
Patriotic moments? "Clearly Canadian" by George Fox
More ridiculous Europeans? "When" by Shania Twain
A hard day in general? "Jesus take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood
Sunny Sunday afternoon? "Would you go with me?" by Josh Turner
More patriotic moments? "Alberta Bound" by Paul Brandt

It's odd really. As much as I feel at home here in Europe, country music speaks to me. The twang seems to bring the dust, the sunshine and the white Stetson to life.

As a little girl I lived in the city. One summer my neighbour was re-shingling her house and the workers were blasting country music. I was in my room supposed to be taking a nap. Instead, I opened the window and sat against the wall listening. I remember thinking, "Wow. There's more than my-girl-left-me-and-my-truck-broke-down-and-my-dog-just-died. This isn't what I'd expected."

That was one of my first experiences with country music. I'd been introduced to a world where men sang about their feelings. Sang. Didn't scream, didn't drink, didn't hit. They sang. Yes, maybe they sang about screaming, drinking and hitting but they sang. I was fascinated. My family was/is very loving and I grew up in an average middle class white neighbourhood, but no family and no neighbourhood is ever perfect.

Now as I walk through cobbelstone streets past buildings hundereds of years old I find myself humming "Country roads, take me home...". There are some things that stay with you for the rest of your life - country music, I believe, is one of them.