Vintage Cowgirls Series: Dixie Chicks Review
06 Jan 2010 Leave a Comment
in Music Reviews, Vintage Cowgirls
I’m not partial to all of their politics and I’m fairly certain we’ll never share tastes in fashion, but I’m in love with one of the latest Dixie Chicks songs, Long Way Around. Before I review that particular number, let me take my own long way around this post, and review some of their former great hits.
The Chicks and I go back to 1998 with their #1 hit, Wide Open Spaces. A classic story of girl meets world, their hit became my theme song as I graduated high school and moved away from home for the first time. Sometime later, I discovered the Chicks other 1998 #1 hit, There’s Your Trouble. The line, Coulda heard a pin drop expertly describes the awkwardness I felt when I realized, at last, that he wasn’t the one. Fast forward to 2000, and the Chicks hit the charts again, this time with Goodbye Earl and Cowboy Take Me Away. I love Goodbye Earl for its unconventional lyrics about spousal abuse and revenge. And while I might insert another noun, like Fireman Take Me Away or Sexy Software Engineer Take Me Away, I agree with the singing trio–laying under a blanket of stars sounds incredibly romantic. It doesn’t surprise me that this song spent three weeks topping the country charts.
Around this time, though, I discovered other music genres and forgot about the Chicks until 2003, when they released Travelin’ Soldier. I appreciate the stark reality of this song and the death it describes juxtaposed against the faint whispering of soft country tunes. And, then, again, I tucked the Chicks into my CD case and moved on with my life. But I downloaded iTunes to my work machine so I could listen to music while I proofread. At first, my library included musical scores that had no words–music I could listen to while I fixed commas, moved modifiers, and skimmed my thesaurus. I eventually branched out and bought some of my old favorites, words and all. I rediscovered the Chicks.
I identify with Long Way Around because I’ve always gone pretty much the long way around, both literally and figuratively. I’m notorious for getting lost while trying to read a map. Eventually, I always arrive at my destination, but you can bet I took the long way around. And personally, I grew up in a small town, but I didn’t stay there and settle down. I plan to settle somewhere eventually, but again, you could say, I’m taking the long way around. I’m closing this post with a few lines from the song. It’s definitely worth listening to:
My friends from high school
Married their high school boyfriends
Moved into houses
In the same ZIP codes where their parents lived
But I
I could never follow
No I
I could never follow
Lyrics by the Dixie Chicks.
–Whitney
