President Obama Waxes on Country Music At The White House

I caught only part of last night’s country music event at the White House: it was streamed live, and but by the time I tuned in, Charley Pride and Alison Krauss & Union Station had already performed. Brad Paisley, however, was charming — performing a love song and a hard-luck song, and talking about some changes the U.S. has gone through. At one point, he referred to Michelle Obama’s great- or great-great grandfather, a slave, and the camera captured her emotional reaction.

Mrs. Obama, in contrast to the jazz event, apparently made no remarks at either the afternoon workshop or the evening event. President Obama did, at the evening concert. Here’s what he said:

I know folks think I’m a “city boy” — but I do appreciate listening to country music because like all Americans, I appreciate the broad and indelible impact that country has had on our nation. It’s touched countless lives, it’s influenced all genres of music, it’s helped us make the American people more hopeful, it’s captured our restlessness and resilience, and told so much of our story in the process.

After all, that’s what country music is all about — storytelling. It’s about folks telling their life story the best way they know how — stories of love and longing, hope and heartbreak, pride and pain. Stories that help us celebrate the good times and get over the bad times.  Stories that are quintessentially American. After all, name me any other country that would have produced a Hank Williams or a Willie Nelson. 

And like all great art, a great country song also has a commitment to truth — to telling the truth like it is, without pulling any punches. And generations of performers have honored that commitment. Harlan Howard proclaimed country music “three chords and the truth.” Garth Brooks said it’s “honesty, sincerity, and real life to the hilt.” And Dierks Bentley called it “the best shrink that 15 bucks can buy.”

At the afternoon workshop with students, Krauss and Paisley talked about the importance of family in their career choices, according to the pool report. Krauss’s mother told her, “If you can sing it, you can play it,” and Paisley’s grandfather gave him a guitar and told him, “If you learn how to play this, you’re never going to be lonely.” They were preaching to the choir, though, because the middle- and high school students in the room already had an interest in music.

There’s no word, so far at least, on what Arne Duncan, Education Secretary, said about music and education in general in his remarks.