Songs have the power to bring us back to certain points in life. While some songs feel like they are speaking directly to us and our lives, others don’t fit quite as well. The remarkable thing about songs, though, is that the nostalgia they evoke works regardless of lived experience. The three iconic country songs below will hit you with nostalgia for a life you didn’t live.
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“Strawberry Wine” by Deana Carter
Everyone’s first love happens at different times. For Deana Carter, her first love came at 17, somewhere in the south, mid-July. Carter’s hit country song, “Strawberry Wine,” tells the story of that first love with keen detail and no shortage of nostalgia. Even if you didn’t have the same lived experience as Carter, you’ll still experience this effect.
Somehow, this song, being uber specific, has universal nostalgia. Perhaps it’s because of when it was released, which reminds many 20- and 30-somethings today of their childhood. Whatever the cause, Carter will have you yearning for a warm summer down south with someone you love.
“Thank God I’m A Country Boy” by John Denver
John Denver’s genre affiliations are muddled. Is he folk? Easy-listening? Listeners have different answers to this question. But, if any of his songs were firmly set in the country space, it would be “Thank God I’m A Country Boy.”
Denver sings of a slow, rural life in this hit, painting a pretty portrait for everyone listening. If you grew up similarly, this song likely hits home. If you didn’t, the visceral image Denver dictates will have you longing for that kind of life. “Well, life’s on a farm is kinda laid back / ain’t much an old country boy like me can’t hack,” Denver sings. A couple listens to this nostalgia fodder country song, and you’ll be packing up your bags and heading for the simple life.
“Springsteen” by Eric Church
Eric Church sings about an 80s childhood in “Springsteen.” Referencing The Boss, Church remembers an old love through the lens of music’s nostalgic power. These songs instantly transport him back to when he was 17, with that one special girl by his side.
“When I think about you / I think about 17 / I think about my old Jeep / I think about the stars in the sky,” he sings. Even if the listener didn’t have this exact experience, “Springsteen” brings us back to our first childhood crushes and the songs we loved that played alongside them.
(Photo by Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)
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