What Country is and what Southern isn't
This read is for Americans- particularly Black Americans and anyone's who wants to learn. I will be highlighting the differences between country vs southern, and American Cowboy history.
I saw a lot of recent discourse online about Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album and comparisons to Taylor Swift. Some say that Taylor Swift shouldn’t have started as a “country” artist since technically her origins are in Pennsylvania—a northeastern (mid-Atlantic) state. I have also seen people who were Billie's Eilish fans upset that Beyonce won the Grammy for album of the year over her. Her fan base claimed it wasn’t relatable enough or that she wasn’t country enough.
It has come to my attention that people don’t know what country really is or what even is the difference between country and southern. So what is country..? According to the textbook definition country is practically any place rural away from the city. There’s a countryside in most of the states in America.
You do not need to be southern to be country and you do not need to be country to be southern. Southern means you just come from the south or your origins are in the south. I’d like to remind people that geographically speaking, the South is still the East Coast it’s just the southeastern part of the East Coast. People tend to think it is separate but..it is not. There may be a cultural divide but it is still the same coast. I know most are not familiar with American geography and regional cultures to comprehend this. So when people criticized artists such as Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter for having a country twang or indulging in “country” culture it reminded me that they don’t understand where exactly they’re from. Pennsylvania is a mid-Atlantic state that borders the Northeast, Midwest, and Upper South. Outside of Philly, Pennsylvania is very rural and country. Both artists I used as an example did not grow up in Philly. We have rodeos here and even black cowboys in Philly. While it may be still northern it has a lot of country aspects that most states further up north don’t have.
As a Creole Black American little girl who spent time in country parts such as Lancaster, PA, and the rural parts of Harrisburg, I related to a certain extent when I saw Beyoncé’s visuals. So for the people who claim it wasn’t relatable enough maybe it wasn’t meant for you. My roots are deeply southern but because of the great migration, my family migrated up north. Black people from Georgia, the Carolinas, and DMV most likely migrated to one of those northeastern states which caused a lot of southern culture to be brought to the north. This is why metropolitan cities like Philly and NYC carried on the tradition of Black Cowboys.
I stayed and visited a lot of states like New York, Delaware, New Jersey, etc and out of all those states growing up…Pennsylvania was the most “country”. I grew up feeding animals and riding horses at cookouts in rural Pa. I chased rabbits outside barefooted. I played in the creek. I went to farms for freshly baked soft pretzels and Apple flavored Donuts. My idea of fun as a child was riding hayrides and getting lost in fields. My experience was what most people would call “country”. It wasn’t till I started going to school in the city of Philly that I realized I was immune to stuff most kids in the city weren’t immune to. When I was in Brooklyn I noticed how different things were compared to Pennsylvania. Luckily God blessed me with two parents who allowed me to adapt and be well-rounded environmentally so I just adjusted fast early on. I didn’t fully comprehend that the stuff I experienced was only synonymous with the South. I think people forget that states such as Texas, Georgia, and Florida aren’t just all rural country….they also have cities. I knew people online who weren’t too familiar with that life because they may have grown up in Atl or Miami. That country living is a lifestyle.
I knew my experiences were different when I came across a viral video of a girl from the city claiming that there was hair on her fresh corn because she didn’t know what corn silk was and she kept saying it was cause she was not from the south. I was watching it thinking girl wha da hell u talm bout? Then it hit me..she had never picked fresh corn before and probably never seen a cornfield before ever a day in her life. Though it may have been amusing to me it had me thinking hard.
Pennsylvania is such an in-between state when it comes to culture and geography. It reminds me of Maryland. It has a lot of contradictions there are parts of downtown Philly that look similar to Manhattan but other parts that look like the south so I can see why there may be confusion but there are midwestern, northeastern, and western country towns no matter the state. Chappell Roan is a perfect example..she calls herself the Midwest Princess but grew up in country small towns.
Thoughts on Cowboy Carter
When I first heard the Cowboy Carter album I related heavily to it. I’d first like to clarify that the Beyoncé album “Cowboy Carter” is NOT a country album. People only assumed because she used country-influenced visuals and instrumentals but she even said on her website “This isn’t a Country album it’s a Beyoncé album”. I already knew from listening to the album that it wasn’t strictly country. Most of the album is soul, rock, blues, and country combined. I related to the lyrics because my family roots are in the South. I loved how she paid homage to many artists and her heritage as well.
She also took inspiration from different cultures such as Spanish Flamenco music which I feel is very significant because cowboy culture origins are rooted in black American and Mexican culture. After the Indigenous Mexicans were colonized by the Spanish they were heavily influenced by that and black people were being called “cowboys”. It was a derogatory term originally used against black Americans. The black and Indigenous would come together a lot to participate in this subculture. In fact, most of cowboy “western” aesthetics are originally indigenous. From the fringe coats, and boots to the turquoise jewelry.
I see people upset about these cultures being infused. I don’t get too upset about it because American culture is a melting pot—a roux born out of colonialism and migrations…but I do get irritated when I see mainly white people call turquoise jewelry “Western jewelry”. I own “Western jewelry” not for fun but because I inherited it from my aunt. I have two Navajo cuffs with real turquoise in the middle. One is a baby cuff. I don’t usually identify as of Afro-indigenous descent because of the stigma. People tend to assume you are lying but it’s in my distant lineage so family members would collect or pass down Native American jewelry. Seeing Beyoncé pay homage to Western/southern cultures and her Native American heritage was so familiar and I loved it.
Black cowboys being portrayed more hit home for me and inspired me to embrace a culture that is often demonized. I grew up seeing Black cowboys all the time in Philly. We call em da Concrete Cowboys. I used to be reluctant to embrace that culture. Back then I wouldn’t dare wear a cowboy hat because I’d risk being called country or not country enough. I think all black girls who are connected to these roots can relate to most of the lyrics in her songs and I feel it should be celebrated more rather than criticized. It inspired me to incorporate these things into my visuals and the music I also make.
Country living is a lifestyle. It’s a natural homeopathic ritual ingrained in the living. There’s a wisdom carried on from old America and ancient cultures older than America that is kept alive in these small towns. Especially in “Amish country”. Most of the Amish live in Pennsylvania and they do things very old school. I see them riding in carriages all over Lancaster. I wouldn’t consider myself fully country I’d call myself city country jokingly because of how well I can adapt to each environment. So the next time you side-eye an artist for identifying as country you should remember it is not strictly a southern thang and EVERYONE from the south ain’t country.
Thank for reading I hope y’all enjoyed this read and learned sumn new 💗💕
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