Country songs and pickup trucks. It’s a common marriage that’s basically become its own cliche. But according to a recent article on Forbes, all of those off-roading, fun-loving, beer-drinking country stars have done more than just write catchy tunes. In recent years, as country music has overtaken all other radio stations in popularity – country accounts for 15.2% of radio’s listener’s base – it’s also affected automotive economics. In fact, if you’re a fan of country, you are 29% more likely to drive a truck than your non-country-music-fan peers. That’s a pretty staggering ratio.
So what exactly is happening here? While I’m sure there are plenty of economists and analysts who could give you a much more scientifically-sound synopsis of this phenomenon, I think it’s pretty simple to figure out. Country songs are catchy and they portray a lifestyle that many of us would love to lead, even if we aren’t the rugged cowboy type. In fact, I’d go as far to say that the typical broken-hearted yet stoic, cow-wrangling archetype has been shifted out of the country music scene in lieu of the hard-partying, boys-club with a romantic soft spot every-man figure. Thus, when we hear the newest country song playing on the radio, we can easily envision ourselves in the song, whether we’d be:
runnin’ them red dirt roads out
with Blake Shelton, or taking a ride down sentimental memory lane with Luke Bryan:
It was huntin’ and fishin’ and football games
Then it was girls, and everything changed, in our lives
Fallin’ in and out of love, we rode in trucks
Country music offers a little bit of something for everyone – be it hard-partying honkytonk or cry-into-your-pillow-crooning.
However, if you’re a country fan and you’re also a Chevy fan, well, then you’re in luck (and probably about to get lucky). Chevy trucks seem to feature disproportionately in country songs and those Chevys aren’t just hauling cargo. While I have no hard data to back to back this argument up, I’ll just let the country songs speak for themselves as to why they have made the brand so dang popular.
First up, we have “Take a Little Ride” from Jason Aldean. After the first verse details Jason’s tough day spent baling hay and buying beer, Jason lets us know his day is done:
Well I’m just ready to ride this Chevy,
Ride this Chevy down a little backroad
Slide your pretty little self on over
Get a little closer, turn up the radio
Put your pretty pink toes on the dash
Lean your seat back
Man I swear there ain’t nothing looks better than that
Sweet tan, little thing with nothing to do
I wanna take a little ride with you
So maybe Jason isn’t just excited about driving his Chevy, but hell, it sounds like it’s shaping up to be a pretty good night for him. And although I have never baled hay in my life and I would rather drink pinot grigio than “a couple of Rocky Tops,” I can certainly appreciate the sentiment. Not to mention, this is one country song that just begs you to roll down the windows and blast the speakers… in your Chevy, of course.
Of course, if you’re trying to be a little more subtle about your Friday night plans, you can always go the Brad Paisley route:
I’ve got some big news
The bank finally came through
And I’m holdin’ the keys to a brand new Chevrolet
Have you been outside, it sure is a nice night
How about a little test drive
Down by the lake?
There’s a place I know about where the dirt road runs out
And we can try out the four-wheel drive
Come on now what do you say
Girl, I can hardly wait to get a little mud on the tires.
Hey, car buying is stressful business, and it sounds like Brad’s been pretty nervous about that bank loan – can you blame him for wanting to blow off a little steam in his Chevy? That lake sounds lovely, too.
Of course, maybe you’re more a Justin Moore fan… and he certainly doesn’t mince words when talking about his plans for his Chevy:
In the bed of my Chevy on the outskirts of town,
We can dance standing up or lay a blanket down
I can show you how much I love you, if you let me
Make a memory we’ll never forget
Whisper little words I’ve never said
I’ll pull you close when it gets hot and heavy
In the bed of my Chevy.
So yup. Basically, if you’re a country singer and you own a Chevy truck, you’re spending your Friday night either in a field or by some body of water, boozing it up and trying (and probably succeeding) to get laid. Now tell me that having that idea blasted through your head while sitting in traffic commuting to your office on a Monday morning doesn’t make you want to rush out and buy a Chevy truck? I mean, if it works for Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, and Justin Moore – most likely you’ll get lucky, too… or, of course, you could up like Alan Jackson:
Well we fogged up the windows in my old Chevy
I was willing but she wasn’t ready
So I settled for a burger and a grape snow cone
Dropped her off early but I didn’t go home
But hey, at least he got a snow cone out of it! I’d take a grape snow cone and a Chevy any day.
Regardless, I may not be an economist, but I know a selling point when I see one. Chevy appears to have cornered the country music market on the thing that everyone knows sells: sex. Forget the Ferrari, the Maserati, the Lamborghini. If you’re looking to get laid, Kip Moore wants you to know that “ain’t nothin’ bout it luck, there’s somethin bout a truck.”
A Chevy truck, to be precise.
