Inspire Great Music for Winter 2021

Where would we be without music? For as long as I can remember, music has played a crucial role in my life. Music connects my family. My grandpa played the fiddle and a variety of other instruments. My aunts were music teachers. My mom played the piano. My siblings and I inherited our grandpa's talent for fiddle/violin music. Every time I hear fiddle music, I travel back (in my mind) to the days when I listened to my grandpa play the fiddle while my aunts or mom accompanied him on the piano. Those were the best childhood memories.

To put it simply, music is my home, and I can't imagine my life without it. Everything changes with music. As I work (as a freelance writer and editor), I listen to music in my office. I dance and sing along to my favorite songs. It warms my heart and it gives me a sense of peace I might not find elsewhere. Music heals us. It's that simple. 

This week on the blog, I'm sharing five songs I have been listening to over and over again this winter 2021 season. I can't get enough of these songs! Some of them are new releases while others are older, but I have only recently discovered them. They're special and they make me happy. 

Maybe they'll make you happy, too. Allow the music to warm your heart during a time when we need it most.

1. "champagne problems" - Taylor Swift 

Taylor Swift (photo/Variety)

In July 2020, Taylor Swift surprised everyone with the release of a folk music-inspired album, folklore. I loved the album. In fact, I featured the song "exile" in my Fall 2020 music blog. I love that Taylor Swift has returned to her roots, producing music that made me become a fan of her in the first place. Swift writes poetry for music, and I was already enjoying folklore so much. 

Then, in December 2020, Swift shocked fans even more with the release of another studio album, evermore. A sister album to folklore, the album is essentially a continuation of the previous album. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about the new album. I was still processing folklore and then I had to focus on a new set of songs. It took me a while to warm up to evermore, but when I did, I was hooked. 

On the album, my favorite songs include: "no body, no crime," "marjorie," "coney island," "cowboy like me," "evermore," and "champagne problems." If I have to choose just one favorite song, it has to be "champagne problems." To me, this song is one of Swift's best songs she has ever written. 

The song is about a broken engagement. The song's couple were in love, but the relationship didn't work out the way it should have. The phrase "champagne problems" is a lyrical way to say "first world problems." The problems for the speaker in the song (I almost wrote poem because Swift's songs are poems) are not the end of the world. They're "first world problems." They're privileged, but they're still important to the speaker. It's a beautiful song about a troubled couple who could have had it all, but they lost it. 

Swift has outdone herself once again, and I can't wait for the next surprise. 

2. "The Good Ones" - Gabby Barrett 

Gabby Barrett (photo/Entertainment Focus)

In 2020, country music singer Gabby Barrett had her big break with her hit single, "I Hope." In the song, the speaker sings about a past relationship that ended with the man cheating on the woman. The speaker hopes that he finds someone else and that he's passionately in love with her. She hopes he proposes and plans a future with her. Then, she hopes that the woman cheats on him, just like he cheated on her (the speaker). 

It was a great country song, but I must admit that I love her new single, "The Good Ones," even more. Unlike her 2020 hit song, "The Good Ones" is a happy love song. Inspired by her musician husband, Cade Foehner, the song is about finding someone who is "one of the good ones." Someone who loves you like they should, like they wrote the book on love, and the kind where you don't even look for anyone else. The person is good all the time. Barrett sings, "He's one of the good ones, and he's all mine." 

We should all be so lucky to find someone who is "one of the good ones."

3. "Save Me" - Gotye 

Gotye (photo/TMZ)

Let's go back to 2011 when everyone was singing Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know." It was one of the biggest hits of 2011. Afterward, Gotye (the stage name of the musical artist Wouter "Wally" De Backer) hasn't had successful radio hits, but he still has a loyal fanbase. Fans are drawn to his lyrics that speak directly to their souls. 

This includes the musician's 2011 song, "Save Me." While "Somebody That I Used to Know" was the hit single from Gotye's album, Making Mirrors, "Save Me" is especially important. I was recently introduced to this song, and I'm glad I found it. The song's speaker is someone who has felt discouraged and lost. Nothing is right in their life, but everything changes when the speaker fell in love with the right person. This person is patient and gave so much love. This person helped the speaker become who they wanted to be and love again. 

This beautiful person saved the speaker--just by loving them. Love can save you. "Save Me" is a simple love song with the most powerful lyrics. 

4. "What's Your Country Song" - Thomas Rhett

Thomas Rhett (photo/Country Thang Daily)

For country music fans, Thomas Rhett's latest single is for them. In "What's Your Country Song," Rhett takes listeners on a trip down memory lane to some of the best country music anthems of all time. The song references: 

• "Drive (for Daddy Gene)" - Alan Jackson
• "Chattahoochee" - Alan Jackson 
• "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound" - Hank Williams, Jr. 
• "Family Tradition" - Hank Williams, Jr.
• "Mama Tried" - Merle Haggard
• "Dixieland Delight" - Alabama 
• "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" - Jake Owen
• "Turn Your Radio On" - Ray Stevens
• "All My Ex's Live in Texas" - George Strait 
• "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" - Hank Williams 
• "Heartbroke" - Ricky Skaggs 
• "That Ain't My Truck" - Rhett Akins (Thomas Rhett's father) 
• "Friends in Low Places" - Garth Brooks 
• "Neon Moon" - Brooks & Dunn 
• "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" - Barbara Mandrell
• "Strawberry Wine" - Deana Carter 

In the song, Rhett sings that everyone has a country song that speaks to them. It's their anthem, and it means more to them than it might to someone else. Even as years pass by, we will always remember those songs. They will always be your country songs. 

5. "Recipe for Romance" - Cry No More 

Cry No More's "Recipe for Romance" (photo/Discogs).

I'm taking us back to the 1980s with this final selection: Cry No More's 1987 song, "Recipe for Romance." Featured in the closing credits of the 1987 horror-slasher movie Bloody New Year, "Recipe for Romance" is a fun, light-hearted love song. The lyrics are simple: "Take one boy, take one girl, add a little love and shake it up, shake it up. That's the recipe for romance." 

This song just makes you want to get up and dance with your loved one. It's a classic '80s song with electric beats, and the lyrics are all about how a guy and a girl are going on many adventures together. They love each other and they don't need anyone else. They walk through life, hand in hand. That's the recipe for romance--being with your very best friend. 

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Of course, I have been listening to more than just five songs this winter season. I love discovering new songs and exploring the lyrics. Music is one of the most powerful creative forms of art in existence. It always makes me happy to hear a song I can relate to, and there's nothing else like it. 

So, listen to these songs and feel inspired. Let the music fill your heart with warmth this season. Dance and sing along to the tunes. You know I am! 

-KJL-