Essay About Country Music

980 Words4 Pages

Throughout history, the art of music has been the expression and interpretation of sound. The interpretation of sound lead many artists to produce covers of other artists’ song and add their own twist to the lyrics or sound. An example of this production of music is Dolly Parton’s, “I Will Always Love You” and the cover rendition by Whitney Houston. Few people actually realized that it was not Houston who wrote the song, do to the song’s high popularity. The differences in the two pieces could have affected the popularity of the song, also the culture of their fan base varied greatly. Cultural differences between country music to pop-gospel can be stark in not only the style and sound, but also the fan base and message.
Country music has been a staple in American culture for centuries. Influences taken from early Appalachian folk music to modern pop-country music today, country music has transcended the changes throughout history. One of country’s most beloved singer and songwriter, Parton has presented many hit songs and country records (Dolly Parton, Web). Her …show more content…

The influence can be seen in the lyrics itself and the possible changes between the original and cover song. Parton shows the intense emotional passion of country music. “I Will Always Love You” was written in 1973, as a response to Parton ending her seven-year partnership with mentor Porter Wagner. The pathos is represented with the lyrics “Goodbye, oh, please don’t cry/ because we both know that/ I’m not what you need.” (9-11). The intent of the song is to be grateful for a relationship and a final goodbye. The emotional tone and meaning of the song impacts the audience and is typical of country music. Fans of the music would be able to connect to meaning of song because everyone has lost someone or something they still loved. A country love song were popular in the 1970’s and continue to be popular