This will be an interesting week, with a holiday day on a Thursday, no? How many of you have taken Friday off to turn the one-day into a 4-day weekend?

Meanwhile, it’s Monday, and Monday means music! For the month of July, our Spotlight Dancer is our bloggy friend and regular Monday’s Music Moves Me participant, John of Driller’s Place! He has chosen the theme for this week, which is “Songs of independence personal or national. Get creative and have fun!” Let’s get this party started!

Let’s start with a song from a new album the artist has said is the most “traditional country”-leaning record she has ever released. The country icon said that the tracks on the record take her back to her early days of performing in dance halls and honky-tonks, and remind her of the kind of country music that she grew up listening to and loving.

Among all of the songs on this album, the artist says that she selected this song as the project’s first single because of its overarching relatability. She was quoted as saying:

“Everybody was unanimous on [this song] being the first single, because it’s an anthem. When you first listen to it, some people might think it’s a patriotic anthem, but once you listen to the words, you know it’s an anthem for this woman finding true love. And I think a lot of people are going to be able to relate to it.

I want everybody to be able to relate to these songs. That makes a very successful song and a very popular song, when they can relate to it, when they come back and say, “Oh my gosh, she wrote this song for me.” Or, “That’s my life story.” Or, “Me and my best friend can relate to that.” That’s what makes a really good song.”

Here’s the inimitable Reba with “Freedom”:

Next up is an uptempo anthem about dreaming beyond your surroundings.

We dance and we laugh ’til we all fall down / We keep kissin’ boys, tryin’ to figure it out / Stretchin’ for stars on our tiptoe hearts / Tryin’ to get our big dreams off the ground / Like every girl in this town

The artist described this as a song that will hopefully encourage fans of all ages to “dream big” and not be afraid of failure. The single art conveys the song’s message with a childhood photo of the artist standing on a table outdoors, her arms outstretched as she smiles at the camera.She was quoted as saying:

“It’s okay to make mistakes and not be perfect. I wanted it all. I was a little girl in a small town dreaming big, as evidenced by so many photos of me in dress-up, or like this photo… standing atop the picnic table in my stylish suede green shoes with the yellow smiley faces on them.”

Give a listen to Trisha Yearwood with “Every Girl in This Town”:

More than a decade after releasing her first album, this artist made her Hot 100 debut with this empowerment anthem. This song is the fruit of 12 years hard graft – after all those years of working hard for so long, she didn’t think it was ever going to happen. She thought maybe she’d have to revert to Plan B and figure something else out – that moment bred this particular song.

This song came because she had to make a decision – and because of this song, she finally got some amazing opportunities. The song gained early exposure thanks to its placement in the December 9, 2014 (my birthday) in a Christmas-themed episode of ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars. It was also featured in an trailer for the TV series Supergirl, and in an ad campaign for Ford.

Obviously it’s a good thing she didn’t opt for Plan B and hang up her guitar. She was quoted as saying:

“I just needed it at the time, you know, I needed that reminder that I believed in myself no matter what.”

Taylor Swift gave this song a big boost when she brought out the artist to duet on the song at her June 13, 2015 concert in Philadelphia. Taylor met the artist a week earlier in Pittsburgh, and the pair had some fun singing the song backstage at Taylor’s concert. Taylor posted a clip of the hangout to her Instagram feed, which at the time had over 34 million followers. Boom!

Give a listen to Rachel Platten with “Fight Song”:

Last, but certainly not least, is a brand new song from another favorite artist from his fourth studio album that will be released July 26, 2019. He was quoted as saying:

“I have been labeled the positive guy for my entire career. The truth is that I am. But the positive guy is way more three dimensional than the world gives him credit for. Unfortunately, the word positive comes with the after taste of – simple, sweet, and NAIVE.

To me, optimism is a full on war that’s fought everyday. It’s hard to stay positive when so much around us is negative. The word positive to me feels way more rebellious, persistent, heroic. This album digs into the story behind the smile. If it’s stupid to see the good in everything, then lord help me please, to be NAIVE.”

Without further ado, here’s the fabulously talented Andy Grammer with “My Own Hero”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday! See you on the dance floor! 

Have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July!

Now on to the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me:   PhotobucketI have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, and while our beloved Callie of JAmerican Spice is taking a break, our friend Michelle from Musings and Merriments with Michelle is helping out with hostess duties!

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!

INTRODUCING OUR “SPOTLIGHT DANCER”:

John From Driller’s Place



7 Comments

  1. I didn’t get the message of theme until just right now-oops. Hope my choices fit into it. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.

  2. Stacy,

    Let me apologize I goofed with the 4M lineup on my page. I failed to put today’s date up as a ‘your choice song picks’. But, that doesn’t matter much because your mewsic selection is great especially with the 4th a few days away. 🙂 You get a free pass and welcome to blame this all on me. *blush*

    Reba’s song ‘Freedom’ reminds me of another song but it now escapes which one. Oh well…I like her song very much and it has a catchy melody. Have a safe and boogietastic week celebrating our nation’s independence! 😉

  3. Every time I see Reba McEntire, I’m reminded of why I’m in love with Reba McEntire. And then you follow it up with the pride and joy of Monticello, Georgia, Trisha Yearwood…

  4. Just wanted to thank you for holding up the fort with Cathy… you’re the best. Hope all is well and hopefully I’ll see you next week.

  5. The Andy Grammer song is blocked, both on your blog and on You Tube (I tried doing a search on You Tube generall) but the other songs gave me more than enough empowerment – I loved both Trisha and Reba. Hey, this theme really worked for this week regardless of if it was the “right” theme – it was the right theme for my listening today. Nicely done!

Comments are closed.