Rise and ‘Get Your Shine On’ with Country in the Morning

When you wake up in the morning and open your blinds, if the first image to greet you is a cloudy sky with drizzle pecking at the window, I can assure you that your attitude about the day ahead will be dismal. In contrast, if that first image involves beaming sun rays glistening through the blinds and onto the floor, leading a trail of gold to your door, I can only imagine whatever lies ahead in the next few hours may entice you; it may even excite you.

Our senses not only inform us of what we see, smell, hear, touch and taste, but they also clue us in early on how our day is going to proceed based on what we experience and how it affects our brain. Similar to what we lay eyes on, the sounds we encounter throughout our day can, and usually do, affect our moods as well. That being said, if I’m looking for music to start my day off right, I find myself putting rap and hip-hop on the back burner and typing Luke Bryan or Brantley Gilbert into my YouTube search engine.

When discussing different genres of music, country seems to have two extremes–you hate it or you love it. Not only has country music developed as a genre, but it has also become a lifestyle. A few stereotypes I’ve picked up are that country music is about losing love, your house, cars or farms. This rings true in certain songs, but take a closer look at rap and hip-hop. Have you ever sat down and paid attention to most of the tracks that get so popular? Drugs, sex and money come to mind.

I will never deny that rap and hip-hop songs can have clean lyrics and put out positive messages. However, it is hard to deny that many tracks are vulgar and often degrading towards women. This can easily get overlooked in a bar or club when the bass is turned up and overpowers the actual lyrics, which really don’t matter anyway at that point. This genre of music may get you moving, but so can country.

For the last few weeks or so, I have dedicated my time to finding ways to make myself happier. Yoga is something I had always heard about, so I tried it and checked that one off my list. Country music, however, is something I stumbled upon by chance. My sister had always been a fan. Me, not so much. I was always looking for the latest pop, rap or hip-hop craze to dance to with my friends.

It wasn’t until I was looking up “Bottoms Up” by Trey Songz that I came across “Bottoms Up” by Brantley Gilbert. I enjoyed the song so much that I pressed the link on YouTube that brought me to a playlist of songs similar to Gilbert’s, where I was introduced to artists like Luke Bryan (there is more than just shaking it for him, I assure you), Blake Shelton (who has some “voice”), Jason Aldean, David Nail, Billy Currington and more. Not only was the tune danceable, but I found the lyrics to be pleasurable as well. It was so nice to sit back and listen to a song without having to hear about violence and women in a degrading manner. I listened to songs where men appreciate their women, I could easily recognize a storyline, and although it might have been a sad song, I found myself feeling calm anyway.

I find myself gravitating toward songs with depth as well as a catchy tune, and that is embodied in the country music genre. I have not only felt more energized for the day after listening to a few tracks during breakfast, I’ve had a better attitude overall each and every day I have made the decision to choose country over rap. I enjoy rap and hip-hop music when in need of a night out or during a run when I need to feel in the zone, but when it comes to making or breaking your attitude for the day, take Florida Georgia Line or Dierks Bentley into consideration.

jhorniac@ramapo.edu