Coping with Country
Music can make any occasion better and any emotion bigger. It's an amplifier. So I know I'm not the only one who finds music to be therapeutic when life gets tough.
When I find myself in those hard, life defining moments, I often think to myself, "There's a country song for that." Whether its the death of a relative or a painful heartbreak, there are likely a dozen country songs that will speak to your heart.
I cope with country music. Hence, the inspiration behind this post.
Country music is the people's music. It just speaks about real life and about truth and it tells things how they really are. - Faith Hill
Recently, I was driving to work and instinctively hit the CD button on my dash. And I'm not sure why, considering I haven't burned a CD within the last 5 years. A few songs deep, I realized the CD I had long abandoned was a country-music-break-up-mix I made back in high school. Suddenly, so many forgotten emotions came flooding back as I listened to songs, like White Horse and Why Ya Wanna, that described my life as a 16-year old experiencing heartbreak for the first time. With those lyrics, I could remember so vividly what my memory had failed to recall after all these years.
Today, my heart is whole. Thanks to an incredible man the concept of heartbreak feels foreign, but that doesn't mean hardship -- or the need for country music -- isn't present in my life.
Life changes.
As I said goodbye to my childhood home of 18-years this summer, The House That Build Me was stuck in my head on repeat. You leave home, you move on and you do the best you can. Again, I found solace in the words sung with twang:
Mama cut out pictures of houses for years from 'Better Homes and Garden' magazines. Plans were drawn, and concrete poured, and nail by nail and board by board, Daddy gave life to mama's dream.
The Playlists
I've compiled some of my all-time favorite country songs into three different playlists, categorized by different seasons of life. One for when you're devastated, heartbroken and confused; one for when you're ready to pick yourself up, brush off the hurt and move on; and one for learning to accept all of life's unexplainable twists and turns.
Scroll down for the tracks, but feel free to follow the playlists on Spotify for your convenience.
Heartbreak | Moving On | Life Changes
Enjoy!
Better Man, Little Big Town | Break Up In A Small Town, Eli Young Band | Came Here to Forget, Blake Shelton | Colder Weather, Zac Brown Band | Come Back.. Be Here, Taylor Swift | Every Little Thing, Carly Pearce | Ex To See, Sam Hunt | High School, Kelsea Ballerini | How Not To, Dan + Shay | Human Diary, Danielle Bradbery | I Almost Do, Taylor Swift | I Could Use a Love Song, Maren Morris | In A Song, Hunter Hayes | It Ain't Pretty, Lady Antebellum | Keep It To Yourself, Kacey Musgraves | Left Side Of Leavin, Brett Young | A Little Bit Stronger, Sara Evans | Make You Miss Me, Sam Hunt | Mercy, Brett Young | Middle of a Memory, Cole Swindle | Over You, Miranda Lambert | Peter Pan, Kelsea Ballerini | Rewind, Rascal Flatts | She Wouldn't Be Gone, Blake Shelton | Someone Else Calling You Baby, Luke Bryan | Stay, Sugarland | Stay, Florida Georgia Line | That Don't Sound Like You, Lee Brice | Tomorrow, Chris Young | The Truth, Jason Aldean | Vice, Miranda Lambert | White Horse, Taylor Swift | Why Ya Wanna, Jana Kramer | You Ain't Here to Kiss Me, Brett Young | You Won't Find This, Carrie Underwood | You'll Think Of Me, Keith Urban | You're Not Sorry, Taylor Swift
That's why I fell in love with country music: it made me feel something. - Cole Swindell
Bartender, Lady Antebellum | Best Days of Your Life, Kellie Pickler | Bye-Bye, Jo Dee Messina | DONE., The Band Perry | Drunk Girls Don't Cry, Maren Morris | Getting Over You, Jackie Lee | Hell on Heels, Pistol Annies | I Look So Good, Jessie James | It Don't Hurt Like It Used to, Billy Currington | Kiss Somebody, Morgan Evans | Like I Loved You, Brett Young | Love Don't Live Here, Lady Antebellum | Lover, Lover, Jerrod Niermann | Meant to Be, Florida Georgie Line ft. Bebe Rexha | Miss Me More, Kelsea Ballerini | No Such Thing As A Broken Heart, Old Dominion | Payback, Rascal Flatts | Red High Heels, Kellie Pickler | Rich, Maren Morris |Settlin', Sugarland | Should've Said No, Taylor Swift | Somethin' Bad, Miranda Lamebrt + Carrie Underwood | That's When You Know It's Over, Lee Brice | Undo It, Carrie Underwood | What Do You Want From Me, Jerrod Niemann | Xo, Kelsea Ballerini | You Broke Up With Me, Walker Hayes
My music is about being strong, even in your vulnerability. - Miranda Lambert
American Honey, Lady Antebellum | As If, Sara Evans | The Climb, Miley Cyrus | Don't Blink, Kenny Chesney | Don't Forget to Remember Me, Carrie Underwood | Downside of Growing Up, Maddie & Tae | Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain), Gary Allan | Every Time I Hear That Song, Blake Shelton | Everyday Is A Winding Road, Sheryl Crow | Follow Your Arrow, Kacey Musgraves | Heart Like Mine, Miranda Lambert | The House That Built Me, Miranda Lambert | Humble And Kind, Tim McGraw | I Drive Your Truck, Lee Brice | If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away, Justin Moore | In Between, Kelsea Ballerini | Lessons Learned, Carrie Underwood | Life Changes, Thomas Rhett | Mississippi Girl, Faith Hill | Mr. Misunderstood, Eric Church | New Strings, Miranda Lambert | Noise, Kenny Chesney | Nowhere Fast, Old Dominion | Ready, Set, Don't Go, Billy Ray Cyrus | Real Life, Jake Owen | Record Year, Eric Church | Road Less Traveled, Lauren Alaina | Square Pegs, Kelsea Ballerini | These Days, Rascal Flatts | When I Get Where I'm Going, Brad Paisley + Dolly Parton | When It Rains, Eli Young Band | Who You'd Be Today, Kenny Chesney | You Should Be Here, Cole Swindle | You're Gonna Miss This, Trace Adkins | Young, Kenny Chesney
My definition of country music is really pretty simple. It's when someone sings about their life and what they know, from an authentic place. - Taylor Swift
What are your favorite country songs? Let me know in a comment below!
