Mother Nature has been smiling on us this past week – gorgeous sunny days, warm but not too hot, and almost cool enough at night for ‘good sleeping weather’. Just a tad too warm during the nighttime hours, but I’m not complaining, because it’s nothing compared to the heat and humidity we always endured out in Pennsylvania – at least here it does get cool, and when you’re out and about in the bright sunshine, finding a shady spot actually means some coolness vs. sticky heat. I love the Pacific Northwest!
Meanwhile, it’s Monday, and Monday means music – that’s the saving grace! This week’s theme is: “Songs about cars/riding“. Let’s do this!
First, we’re going to give thanks to those who gave their life for our country – that’s what Memorial Day is really all about.
Memorial Day, first known as Decoration Day, originated in the North after the Civil War to commemorate fallen Union soldiers. By the 20th century the holiday had been extended to honor Americans who had perished in any US conflict. I think the best way to honor the fallen is to make every effort to prevent needless deaths in the future. That means combat only as a true last resort.
This patriotic song is about the ultimate war sacrifice – the artist penned the tune with his first wife after talking with a Vietnam vet. The artist re-recorded the tune for his 2011 album with Jamey Johnson, who was a member of the Marine Corps reserves for several years, along with Craig Morgan, who is a U.S. Army veteran, and Darryl Worley. The artist was quoted as saying:
“Each of those artists, I knew the heart and the soul that they would put into the song,” Cyrus told The Boot. “When they came in to sing the song, [they] didn’t carry a lyric sheet into the vocal booth. They sung the song from their heart, they knew the words.”
Here’s Billy Ray Cyrus with “Some Gave All”:
Next is this group’s highest-charting US single and their second-highest charting UK single. The bass player sang lead on this one – when he died of Pancreatic cancer in 2000, this was played in his honor at a memorial service at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Give a listen to The Cars with “Drive”:
When this tale of youthful attraction, music, and Georgia back roads topped Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, this duo became the first duo or group to reach #1 on the chart with a debut single since Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” in December 2008.
The song left the Hot 100 in February 2013, after peaking at #16. However, after a pop crossover remix with rapper Nelly was released a couple of months later, the song reappeared on the chart this time in the Top 10. This song found a home on pop radio playlists alongside far more kinetic fare by the likes of Icona Pop, Robin Thicke, and Maroon 5.
Here’s Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly with “Cruise”:
Next up is a Bonnie and Clyde style song that as soon as the artist heard the demo, he knew he had to cut it before anyone else did. The song is about a guy and girl, falling in love in the back of a cop car while they’re getting arrested, and he’d never heard a song written from that perspective.
The story told in the song actually happened, although the reason for being put into the cop car was nothing too major; just made for a good story. One of the writers’ ex-girlfriends is the girl in the song, the one from whom he drew inspiration. He appreciated having a female perspective to bounce things off of.
Here’s the multi-talented Keith Urban with “Cop Car”:
Last, but not least, is an artist that wrote this particular song after reflecting back on his youth and how he came to the realization that owning a truck helped him pick up girls. He apparently drove what he called a ‘little box car’ during high school and college, and any time he would take someone out, they didn’t seem real interested in him every time they climbed in that little bucket car of his.
He learned that ditching the little box car for a pickup changed everything. He said it was like he became a whole new person, couldn’t peel the girls off him. He was the same person, so he figured there must be something about a truck.
Get ready to dance to Kip Moore with “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck”:
That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday! Be sure to take a moment to think of those who’ve fought so valiantly for our country, and given the ultimate sacrifice.
Now on to the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me: I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, Callie from JAmericanSpice, and our awesome friend Cathy, from Curious as a Cathy has returned full force as a co-host.
Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it and link up – don’t forget to grab Xmas Dolly…er, um, I mean her button…over at her place here. Check out Xmas Dolly’s sidebar for the random themes we sport each week – and you can always ask for a specific theme of music you like, too. Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!
Just wanted to thank you for holding down the fort and visiting everyone the last few weeks. Starting to feel better, but pretty much weak & tired. Dang, pneumonia took a lot out of me. Big hugs to all and Happy Memorial Day! Thank you again for taking care of my baby!!! 🙂 STAY HEALTHY to your whole family. That extra orange juice in the the morning helps too!
Great songs. I enjoyed them all.
Being a vet, I am always telling the people the history of Memorial Day. It is something that people have forgot about.
Stacy,
Love your tribute to our fallen! I appreciate the lesson on Memorial Day once called “Decoration Day”. That’s a phrase I grew up hearing all my life. Churches would have a big picnic spread for Decoration Day usually graveside for families to place flowers on loved one’s graves but I’m fairly certain it wasn’t for those who lost their lives in service to our country but a time to honor all who passed which confused me because I knew what Memorial Day was but I never knew why there was Decoration Day. Maybe folks in my rural community thought it was just a good time to set aside to do both. I don’t know but anywho, thanks for shedding some light on this mystery for me. I hadn’t really thought about it until now.
I love your country flavor “Car” songs, especially Florida Georgia Line. If I only watched the video then I’d think this song was about hot chicks instead of cruisin’ in a hot car. lol Thanks for revving my engine this morning. 😀
Which do you prefer, driver’s seat or being in the passenger?
An excellent tribute and mix of music and memories, and for some reason your feed for this one didn’t show in my reading list yesterday, so i’m catching up.
So you had the Linky! Just found it. Nice choices, especially “Drive”!