I’m still working my way through the Billboard Country Airplay Charts (not the same thing as the ‘Hot Country’ charts, which are still dominated by Ella Langley). This week I want to look back at the first week of January, when Parmalee’s “Cowgirl” was briefly at the number 1 slot.
I’ll admit I skipped over this one and went to Blake Shelton’s primarily because I know and like Blake Shelton, and am not terribly familiar with Parmalee. And I think I was right to do so, because “Cowgirl” is… okay. Not great, but fine.
Specifically, it certainly fits into a long country tradition of songs about exactly this sort of thing. Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl” hits a lot of the same themes, as does John Michael Montgomery’s “Sold.” Like these songs, “Cowgirl” is catchy and has a good beat to it. Beyond that, well, let’s just say if this were the only stream of music in the Country genre then we should be concerned.
Because when I listen to “Cowgirl”, what I’m left with is a song about… not much. He likes how she looks, she (apparently) likes him, and she likes to drink, dance, smoke, and ride in his truck. He thinks maybe he’ll stay around instead of just the one night stand. And… that’s it. For a genre that celebrates specificity and narrative, this is a surprisingly empty song.
And look, I don’t want to be a killjoy. There is a place in the world for empty, fun songs. There’s even a place for songs about surface-level physical attraction. And as long as that’s just one small part of the world of Country music then it is doing its job and reflecting the world at large. Just like physical attraction can be a small part of life. Beauty is a part of God’s creation and can be appreciated legitimately, within its proper place.
That said, it is our job to maintain those boundaries and keep things proportional. We won’t know whether “Cowgirl” is proportional until the end of the year when the charts are complete, but it’s definitely an interesting starting point.
Dr. Coyle Neal co-hosts the City of Man Podcast and is an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog). He teaches Political Science, Philosophy, and History in Southwest Missouri.
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