10 Songs That Prove Not All Country Music Is For Kids

That's what she said.

This past summer I was a nanny to a six-year-old girl: playing with her, taking her to do fun activities, and carting her around to her different camps. While driving we would switch from radio station to station, trying to find something appropriate for her young ears. Many times we would land on one of the local country music stations because they seemed the safest and most "family friendly" of the options. Little did I know some of these seemingly harmless tunes had underlying innuendoes that even I didn't want to hear. This made me question if country music—a staple of every backyard bar-b-que and pool party—should even be something we expose our children to. Should parents guard the country music they listen to just as much as they may guard rap and hip-hop that is so highly stereotyped to be inappropriate? Here is a short list of just a few of many songs we assume are appropriate for children but actually may change your mind about what should go into their ears.

“The Fireman” by George Strait 1985

Via countryweekly.com

This song is a clever one. Good old George Strait is very proud of his job as local fireman of the town. Any kiddo would hear lyrics such as: "making my rounds all over town/ putting out old flames" and "with a little mouth to mouth she was ready to go" and automatically assume George is a true hero who selflessly saves the lives of many. ~Props~ to George for paralleling his sex life to a job only the bravest men are willing to do. I'll admit this neo-traditional country song is very catchy and rising to the top of my favorites list. You go George.

"Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks 1989

This is one of the only country music songs I knew and sang along to as a little girl. My older brother would blare it in the car on the way to school and I would mumble my way through the lyrics I only half-understood. The song is not particularly off-putting or as inappropriate as most songs but little did my 8 year-old self know that I was singing about drowning my sorrows with alcohol: “cause I've got friends in low places where the whiskey/drowns/ and the beer chases my blues away” No regrets for singing this one, honestly. What a jam.

“Guacamole” by Texas Tornadoes 1992

Warning: this song is very catchy. It was described by wide open country as a "fun" tune in their list of songs with innuendos. I hadn't heard of it before I did a little search on songs with double entendres. The video is very suggestive, yet to a young child the lyrics would clearly and humorously (10/10 would recommend giving it a watch) depict the making of guacamole. Just one of many questionable lyrics clearly suggests they are not just talking about making Texas' favorite appetizer: "She reached for my pepper/ I grabbed her tomatoes" Any child would easily catch on and start singing these words without any knowledge of the meaning.

"Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under" by Shania Twain 1995

Personally not a fan of this song but it sure is catchy. The melody is the kind of upbeat that I would square dance to at a hoe down. In the music video Shania asks all of the men of the town who they have ~been~ with. The title speaks for itself on this one. A kid would hear this song and like it because of the tune but maybe not fully understand the reference she makes. Children under the age of 12 tend to not fully understand when sex is being discussed casually according to an old (but timeless!!) survey taken in 1983. It should be a good thing they do not understand innuendos, however kids are so influenced by media that it can have a huge impact in the future.

"Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" by Trace Adkins 2005

Y'all a honky tonk badonkadonk is a rear end. (drops mic). This is such a jam and kids for sure would love this song--kids dig songs about rear ends for some reason. The music video is quite a sight and some of the lyrics are just so odd I can't not quote them: "shut my mouth, slap your grandma" (excuse me my grandmother is a nice, respectable lady). The whole song centers around Trace's inability to take his eyes of the booties of the beautiful women in the bar: "it's so hard not to stare/at that honky tonk badonkadonk." We get it. Trace is a butt kind of a guy...but that doesn't mean our kids' sweet ears should be hearing this just to turn around and sing it to their equally as impressionable friends.

“Little White Lines” by Shooter Jennings (written by Waylon Jennings) 2006

This old Americana style country discusses a whole other issue that can be sensitive to young ears. It's play on words title (little white lies…get it?) deals with substance abuse—specifically with cocaine. "And now those little white lines/ little white lines gonna sizzle up my brain" Thankfully this song has not made it to any local radio stations but if any child were to listen to this they might not fully grasp the meaning of little white lines. This song could give children the idea that a lifestyle of substance abuse is okay. The New York Times blogs section even discusses the widespread issue of today's youth being overly exposed to the use of illicit substances in music. "Studies have long shown that media messages have a pronounced impact on childhood risk behaviors." Yikes!!!

“Big Green Tractor” by Jason Aldean 2009

This song is basically the country version of 90s hit song "Pony" by Ginuwine (which is ironic because the "Pony" music video is set in a western bar). I used to jam openly to "Big Green Tractor" when I was younger. It wasn't until this past week when someone brought to my attention the meaning behind the lyrics that I finally realized exactly what I was singing. "We can go to town but baby if you'd rather/ I'll take you for a ride on my big green tractor" It doesn't take too much imagination to understand exactly what Jason is referring to when he suggests going for a ride on this large piece of machinery. Here's hoping his tractor is not actually green…

“Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck” by Kip Moore 2011

Kip Moore’s famous tune may be the least of our worries on this list but he continuously inserts many sexual innuendoes (yes he refers to the birds and the bees) that might change a parent's mind on letting their kid listen to it. His brocountry style (I hyperlinked brocountry just in case you actually want to know what that even means) finds a way to somehow tie his truck (and not luck I might add) to the reasons he gets laid. It is as if he uses his truck to assert his masculinity. “And there’s somethin’ ‘bout a kiss that’s gonna lead to more/ On that dropped tailgate back behind the corn.” These lyrics are not a parents’ worst nightmare as compared to so many other songs but it is suggestive. Any child might sing along to this tune thinking the song is just talking about a guy and his truck and not realize why he is singing about the truck "leading to more."

“Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line 2012

I’ll admit this song seems pretty harmless in the chorus so I would probably allow the girl I nanny to hear it. Some of the verses however lead into ideas that they are doing more than going for a drive down a long country road: ”Fire it up/let’s go get this thing stuck.” A lyric like that might get completely miscommunicated to a young human. They would not really pay attention to it but might sing along oblivious to any underlying meaning (The underlying meaning being that more than the truck is going to get stuck tonight…get it?!).

“Follow Your Arrow” by Kacey Musgraves 2013

This bold song highlights several controversial issues, which, although highly critiqued, is definitely a breath of fresh air to the current monotony of country music today. It seems like a perfectly catchy tune however is this the kind of material our children need to be taking in at such a young age? "If you save yourself for marriage/ you're a bore/ If you don't save yourself for marriage/ you're a whore-able person" The song goes on to say that regardless of what you do people will judge you so do whatever you want. If I were a child listening to this song I would take it as a go-ahead to basically do whatever I want. I would live with the mentality that "my parents are going to always say I'm doing something wrong so I might as well just do whatever I want regardless of the consequences." According to Billboard Biz many question if this song is appropriate to play on radio stations, especially in the south.

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Much of the reason parents feel comfortable playing country music around their children is that children do not quite process lyrics as well as adults do. I reminisce back to when I was a child singing along to popular songs of the day—changing the words to what I thought they said and humming when I didn't even know the words. Like much of today's media parents filter things according to their parenting style so it is really up to them to determine what is appropriate and what is not for the children to listen to. But even so it is safe to say that country music is not always just a bunch of meaningless lyrics for all ages—but a genre that discusses familiar and sometimes uncomfortable subjects for adults.

And now here is cute video of a child I found on Facebook....