Oxford Dictionary defines emotion as a strong feel of emotions derived from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others. Luke Bryan is the most acclaimed name in Country today. His songs vary from good times which make people want to stand up in dance, to heartbreak of losing a loved one. Bryan has a rough life which dates back to the beginning of his career on his road to the trip. Luke’s music reflects the passing of Luke’s siblings at huge moments in his life.
Luke’s songs relate to many who go through hard times with money, passing of a loved one, or having a good time through his albums “I’ll Stay Me”, “Crash My Party”, and “Tailgates and Tan Lines”. Luke also relates to the “regular Joe” or working man with his father working as a peanut farmer in the small Georgia town that he grew up in. The human emotions act different to arts, situations, and surroundings. Music gives people a emotion that we cannot feel from many other things. Luke’s songs show how emotions can change due to music and the sychology of music through strong emotional bonds and powerful lyrics. Luke Bryan’s hometown is strongly reflected in his lyrics. Luke is from a small Georgia town called Leesburg. In the song “Dirt Road Diary” on the “Crash My Party” album Luke sings “Just ride around my little town and you’ll see how I wrote my dirt road diary. ” (Crash My Party, Luke Bryan) Luke is Reflecting on the Southern small town in Georgia that he hails from. Luke shows that his whole life is in that small little town and the dirt roads that he drove down throughout his life.
Whether it be with his friends or his family it is like his own personal diary because of all the memories that the roads hold. The town Luke grew up in is a reflection of him and who he is today. In an interview with Southern Living, Luke said, “My Georgia roots are 99% of what my music is about. ” (Luke Bryan, Southern Living) Luke admits here that through his music, he reflects on his home town. The son of a peanut farmer from the small town of Leesburg, Georgia that has fought for a career in music, who puts his heart and soul into every lyric he sings in his songs.
Not every aspect of Bryan’s life went well for him, when the unexpected death of his two siblings occurred. Luke’s music reflects on his small hometown in Georgia but Luke’s music also shows how to deal with grief. Luke Bryan has had a extremely difficult life when it comes to the topic of death. Bryan, the night before he was going to move to Nashville to pursue a music career, lost his brother Chris unexpectedly in a car accident. Luke stayed home with his parents until his father, at the time his boss, told him if he did not move to Nashville he would fire him, without this Luke would not be were he is today.
Luke’s dad realized his potential and did not let him sit around and mope but to follow his dreams. So that is what Luke did, he moved to Nashville and had his first big performance in front of his whole family including his sister Kelly. Kelly died of unknown causes the next night. Luke again was devastated. The only two siblings Luke had were taken away from him at such young ages. Yet, Luke still pursued his dream and is now the entertainer of the year, country’s biggest award . Luke discusses this in an interview with 20/20” “My older brother, Chris, was unexpectedly illed in a… car accident,” Bryan said. “I’m kind of hyperventilating talking about it. … You never truly… move beyond it” (Luke Bryan, ABC News ) Luke is devastated by the loss of his brother and sister but has to move on from it. Luke knows that one can never pass over the memory of a loved one especially his brother and sister, but expresses his grief through his music.
This can be an example for others who are mourning to express the sorrow through other forms of art. In Luke’s number 1 hit “Drink A Beer” he sings “So ong my friend, until we meet again, I’ll remember you, and all the times that we used to” Luke talks about how he is upset about his departed loved ones, but knows that one day he will see them again. Luke will never forgot the times he and his siblings had together growing up. As stated above, Luke knows he cannot pass over the deaths of his loved one but he reminisces of the good times that they had together. Bryan reminisces about the good times he has had with his loved one in his music . He talks about how the times he had with his loved ones will never leave him.
In a Q&A with Southern Living Bryan reminisces about “the memory of dancing cheek-to cheek with my mama in our room to George Strait’s “You Look So Good in Love”. ” (Luke bryan. Southern Living ) Luke’s mother is not deceased but that was part of his childhood. Growing up, his mother taught him how to dance and that is a bond they shared together that was so influential to him that he remembered it for this long. Another time Luke brings up a moment that from his past was in the song “Tacklebox” saying, “And I’m still holdin’ on to one wish,that God above ould let me borrow Grandpa, For one more afternoon and one more fish”. ( I’ll Stay Me, Luke Bryan)
Luke’s grandfather is gone now and that is his best memory with him. Luke used to go fishing with his grandpa and he talks about how much he used to enjoy it. Luke wishes that God would just give him one more day with his grandfather to relive that moment in time. Not only Luke Bryan’s music but all music plays a important tie to the human mind . The human mind and music have a strong bond with one another. When a person listens to music the person sometimes correlates it with specific moments in their life.
In “Responses to music: Emotional signaling, and learning” wrote by Martin Gardiner it states,” Musical brain engagement producing emotional experience may be one among many ways in which musical and other aspects of brain engagement can become deeply interrelated. ” (Gardiner, M. F. Responses to music: Emotional signaling, and learning)Music can directly be related with the brain and its emotion and its interaction with other actions that occur inside the brain. Music is so strong that it ties in with other things that the brain is performing!
Martin Gardiner also writes, ”Nevertheless, there is evidence that how the brain engages with music may well include adaptations of, and associate with, brain mechanisms not unique to music alone. ” (Gardiner, M. F. Responses to music: Emotional signaling, and learning) Music shows how to connect with certain brain mechanism to help it function. There are many other actions that also trigger these but music is an outside source that allows these things to happen. This suggests that the music and the human mind have a strong connection, but music and emotional expression does as well.
Emotional expression is key to music. Music pertains to one’s self-expression. Lyrics that fully express the artists feelings is what music is based on. In “Emotional responses to music: The need to consider underlying mechanisms “ Patrik Juslin says that that “there is a general consensus that music is capable of arousing deep and significant emotions,” (Juslin, P, Emotional responses to music: The need to consider underlying mechanisms) People in the field of science feel that music can make people feel different things. People feel different emotions out of different genres of music. If a person listens o an up-beat song that person is more likely to be happy and energetic while if that person listens to a more mellow song that person will be relaxed.
In “Why a sad song says so much. ” by Sun-Herald Sandra Garrido says In the case of music, people seem to actually enjoy feeling sad. It’s an interesting paradox,” (Sandra Garrido Sun-Herald )Sandra Garrido who has a PhD in music psychology, discusses about how sad songs make people feel better. This is in contrast to how people usually try to avoid situations that make them sad but with music people encourage sad songs. Music can also be looked at rom a Psychological stand point. Music plays a huge role psychologically. People feel more mentally sound through music.
In “Why a Sad Song Says So Much,” it states that,”Some people need a little more guidance on how to use music – particularly people with depression and things like that who will benefit from developing strategies to control their moods,” (Sandra Garrido Sun- Herald ) Music can help people with in a depression. The music can get someone to feel in a somewhat different mood and get them out of whatever the reason for their depression is. Music has the ability to help cure a mental illness.
Now music is not the same for everyone. In Individual Difference in theEnjoyment of Negative Emotion In Music: A Literature Review and Experiment written by Sandra Garrido, Sandra says that different “Individuals are different and we could therefore expect them to react differently to music just as they react differently to other stimuli. ” Music is extremely complex. Different people react to different kinds of music. Not every person is the same and have different taste pertaining to styles of music they prefer. No one has an answer why because it is too complex for most to understand.
Bryan’s Life and the Impact it had had on him, Music and Grief, Music and reminiscing of good times, Music and the Human Mind, Emotional Expression, Psychology of Music perhaps can be seen through Luke’s music. Through the many hardships that Luke went through he poured his heart out into every lyric. Bryan’s music should be included into the college curriculum due to its profound showing. In the real world it is perhaps very relatable. Many people go through hard times and look towards music for an escape or as an outlet to get those emotions out or to feel a certain type of way. Music is universal an is used everywhere in the world today.
