Who Really Writes The Songs That Make The Young Girls Cry?

 As a business ghost blogger for hire, I take an interest, not only in the work of colleagues in that small but growing profession, but also in the doings of “ghosts” in other fields.  Take country music, for example (being a square dancer these many years has bred in me a love for country tunes). The relative importance of lyrics versus melodies in songs of any type can be debated, but you’ll have to admit that, with country songs, storytelling and “plays on words” constitute a big part of almost all the best-loved country songs’ special appeal.

Leafing through Southwest Airlines’ Spirit magazine on a recent trip, I came upon an entire feature story about Nashville, Tennessee country music stars and the songs that made them famous.  Writer Elaine Glusac comments, “The truth in this town and a secret to most music fans is that songwriters, not performers, are largely responsible for those storytelling songs about love, Grandma, whiskey, and divorce.”   Unlike on the coasts, where soloists write their own material, she explains, “in Nashville it’s the writers who feed the stars”.

Writing, adds Glusac, is generally acknowledged to be an individual sport.  But, in Nashville’s culture, they work as a team. “It’s called co-writing”, she explains.  Now, isn’t that exactly true, I thought, about the way in which a business uses a ghost writer to bring its message and tell its story to as many customers and clients as possible using the power of the Internet?  When I think about it, it’s uncanny how similar a good blog is to a good song.  The best country songs, explains the Spirit article, are short and powerful.  “When you’ve got so few words to deliver the emotional punch, each word must be laden with meaning.” Ditto and then some for blogs!

For those who can’t get to Nashville to hear lyrics sung to steel guitars, more than two thousand U.S. radio stations bring country music to 56 million listeners per week.  The amazing thing is, the World Wide Web can put your business in touch with an audience even bigger than that.  You gotta know when to blog ’em, is all!