Happy Monday! The weekends really do fly by too fast. But at least our consolation for it being a Monday is Monday means music!
For the month of April, our Spotlight Dancer is our friend and regular participant of Monday’s Music Moves Me, Driller’s Place! The theme selected for this week is “They say April showers bring May flowers, so make it rain people! Be creative about where your source of moisture comes from.” Let’s get this party started, shall we?
Let’s start with a rainy song by an artist who was born and raised in Leesburg, Georgia. At age fourteen, his parents bought him his first guitar, and after learning to play it, he joined various local bands and began to play in local clubs.
He had planned to move to Nashville for the music industry, but his older brother died in a car accident the night before he moved, so he decided to attend a college closer to home because he felt as though his family was more important than going to Music City.
He kept on with his music career, though, by playing with local bands. In 2001, his father convinced him to move to Nashville and pursue a musical career. He decided to become a country singer while he was at college. I, for one, am so glad he did.
Here’s the always handsome Luke Bryan with “Rain Is A Good Thing”:
Next, playing along with rain is thunder – this artist sings about having big dreams of being a star on stage as a kid. He recalls being laughed by his classmates for such ambitions, but in the second verse, the frontman flips the script on those who mocked him.
Now I’m smiling from the stage / While you were clapping in the nose bleeds
The artist was quoted as saying:
“[This song] is: ‘I’m so happy for a really (crappy) middle school and high school existence and getting kicked out of college. It’s reflecting on all those things and saying, ‘Good, I’m happy for all that because that brought me to this place of being. It created angst inside of me that bred art.’”
Get ready to dance, here’s Imagine Dragons with “Thunder”:
Next up with more rain, if you’re a fan of this artist, you might find it difficult to pick which are the best (and which are your least favorite) songs. However, those who adore her tunes were surely thrilled in February 2021 when she revealed that she would be re-recording her second studio album. The updated collection boasts 26 songs, including the originals found on the earlier album as well as six previously unreleased treasures.
“I could go back to every laugh / But I don’t wanna go there anymore / And I know all the steps up to your door / But I don’t wanna go there anymore,” Swift sings in “Come In With The Rain.” She later adds, “I’ll leave my window open / ‘Cause I’m too tired at night to call your name / Just know I’m right here hoping / That you’ll come in with the rain.”
The expression “come in out of the rain” means to “show common sense,” meaning, ” … Having enough sense to seek shelter.” In this particular tune, the artist is admitting that she’ll no longer wait around for the object of her affection to clue into the fact that they could, should, or would be together if he bothered to pay attention to her. Instead, while the star “isn’t going to sing songs about him or keep trying to get his attention … sooner or later he will come to her.”
Here’s the inimitable Taylor Swift with “Come In With The Rain (Taylor’s Version)”:
Last, but certainly not least, is one of my all-time favorite artists with a song that deals with a love affair with water that began with an inflatable pool as a young boy and grew to bigger bodies of water, and eventually all the things that you can do around water that you can’t get away with anywhere else. His songs are influenced by how he sees the world through other sets of eyes as well as his own.
While he was writing this song, the artist received some advice from his wife (who I also love) to change a line to make it more ‘relatable’ – the line “grab someone who looks good in a bathing suit” was changed to “go and grab someone you want to see in a bathing suit”.
The artist has said that it’s a very good example of listening to your spouse when you’re a songwriter – his wife had told him “I like everything but that line. None of us, there isn’t a woman alive that thinks she looks good in a bathing suit.” He married a wise woman. And he’s very smart that he listens to her.
Give a listen to the always amazing Brad Paisley with “Water”:
That’s a wrap for this week – see you on the dance floor! Happy New Year – please stay safe and healthy!
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, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, Callie of JAmerican Spice, and Alana of Ramblin’ with AM!
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!
I have to admit that I like everything about the Brad Paisley song. I just wonder if any guitars were ruined in the production of this video. Have a blessed week.
you chose some very cool songs, I love the playlist.
Those are some really great songs there. Thanks for sharing them.
I especially liked “Water.”
Hey Stacy,
How’s life going on your end? We don’t get a chance to visit except on the dance floor. I hope things are going well for you and yours. I’ve come to like Luke Bryan since he started on American Idol. He and Katy are like big kids. Lionel has to calm them down on occasion which is always funny. Nice song picks you’ve got playing here today. Have a boogietastic week, my dear! xx
My favorite here is Thunder. Actually, the first few times I heard it, I never liked it much, but it grew on me. Knowing the story behind it now, I like it even more. So many of us didn’t have great times in high school, and seeing the naysayer listening to you in the nosebleed seats really is the best revenge, isn’t it?