For my hiraeth example I chose Meanwhile Back at Mama’s by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. This song means a lot to me. I have family in Alabama and this song reminds me of visiting them. Tim McGraw sings about missing his mother’s house. He sings about the past and how much it meant to him. He sings about how inviting his mother’s house was. The porch light was always on, inviting people in. Dinner was always ready and the fridge was always stocked with beer. He recalls the sunset in his hometown and how beautiful it was to him. His dad was always watching the game, drinking whiskey and smoking his cigarettes. He misses the small town he lived in where everyone knew everyone. He sings, “Funny the things you thought you’d never miss, in a world gone crazy as this”. As normal as these things might sound, they are what he misses the most. His mother’s house is up for sale now. He can never go back. In the song, he explains how he is trying to recreate these times with his own wife and children. He sings, “Well I found a girl and we don’t fit in here, talk about how hard it is to breathe here, even with the windows down can’t catch a southern breeze here, one of these days gonna pack it up and leave here” He’s explaining how his new home will never be the same as his original home. He’s starting a new journey in life and he’s scared. He sings, “What I wouldn’t give for a slow down, don’t you know?”. He misses when the days were slow and would give anything to slow down now. He’s not quite used to the faster lifestyle he has now. He misses his southern home. He sings “Oh I miss, yeah, a little dirt on the road, I miss corn growing in a row, I miss being somebody everybody knows, there everybody knows everybody, I miss those small town roots, walking around in muddy boots, the sound of rain on an old tin roof, it’s time we head on back”. Here he describes exactly what he is longing for. He’s older now and his life has changed. He misses the simple things. This is an example of a hiraeth for many reasons. He talks about a home that he once had, but can never go back to. He ends the song with “‘cause meanwhile back at mama’s, the for sale signs going up and I’m gonna, dump this truck and the little I’ve got, on a loan to own and a 3 acre lot, put supper on the stove and beer in the fridge, going for broke, yeah we’re gonna be rich, watch the sun settin’ on the ridge, baby tell me what you think about this”. He’s creating a new home, which will one day turn into someone else's hiraeth.
2 Comments
Sabatino
2/7/2017 04:41:52 pm
Thanks for sharing this video and for providing an explanation about how the song illustrates the concept of a hiraeth. Maybe we should show this post in class?
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Katana
2/13/2017 08:05:16 am
You're welcome!! I really enjoyed writing this one. I would be okay with showing this in class!
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