Lonestar was playing in the background as I drove my 13 year old son to school this morning. He was singing along to My Front Porch Lookin' In when an instrumental break began, and an interesting conversation ensued.

James: “This song is REALLY well written. I love how it's so poetic. I mean, it's actually really beautiful. It's not just a bunch of words that rhyme, you know?”

Me: “That's one of the reasons I love it so much. And it has a great message, too.”

James: “But only country music does that, besides church stuff, I mean.”

Me: “Well, it's not JUST country music that does that. More pop groups are starting to put a stronger emphasis on great lyrics, but I think country music has had an effect on that. As more country songs cross over to pop radio, they make more of an influence.”

James: “Yeah, but they don't talk about Heavenly Father or families the way they do in country songs.”

For the most part, he's right. And it's only been recently that pop songs with more subtle Christian/pro-family messages have really gotten any airplay. In fact, typically, if a pop song mentions God, it's usually in derogatory terms.

We listen to a wide range of styles of music in our home. Rock, pop, Contrmporary Christian, Sacred, Bluegrass, Classical, Opera, R&B and some of the earlier American classics like Nat King Cole and Dinah Washington, gotta love it!

But the positive, pro-family, pro-God messages are one of the things I love about country music. Of course, country music also has it's “dark side”. Darth Vader seems to stick his foot in everywhere, right? For every good country song about God, country, hard work or family, there's a song about getting drunk at the bar or cheating on a spouse. And actually, it probably really is that way. Four good to every one or two bad. But that ratio isn't too shabby when you compare it to the other genres. And you'll be hard pressed to find anything like this in a #1 pop song playing on the radio.

My Front Porch Lookin' In
Richie McDonald, Frank J. Myers, Don Pfrimmer

The only ground I ever owned
Was sticking to my shoes
Now I look out my front porch
At this panoramic view
I can sit and watch the fields fill up
With rays of golden sun
Or watch the moon lay on the fences
Like that's where it was hung

My blessings are in front of me
But it's not about the land
I'll never beat the view
Of my front porch lookin' in

There's a carrot-top that can barely walk
With a sippy-cup of milk
A little blue-eyed blond with shoes on wrong
‘Cause she likes to dress herself
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
Yeah, the view I love the most
Is my front porch lookin' in.

I've traveled here and everywhere
Following my job
I've seen the paintings from the air
Brushed by the hand of God
The mountains and the canyons reach
From sea to shining sea
But I can't wait to get back home
To the woman He made for me

‘Cause everywhere I go
And everywhere I've been
Nothing takes my breath away
Like my front porch, lookin in

There's a carrot-top that can barely walk
With a sippy-cup of milk
A little blue-eyed blond with shoes on wrong
‘Cause she likes to dress herself
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
Yeah, the view I love the most
Is my front porch lookin' in.

The music video that goes with the song is also a great one. The band is playing on the front porch of a home, with onlookers coming by to listen. As the camera pans through the front window into the house, you see the singer's family. But then as the onlookers also look through the window, they each see their own families and loved ones.
Now THAT'S a message I'll take any day!