Figurative Language, Hank Williams Jr., Garth Brooks, and Chris Stapleton

Hank Williams Jr., from Shreveport, Louisiana, is one of my idol songwriters in country music. He created his own musical existence, through connecting country with Southern rock and blues. Originally, Hank Williams Sr. wrote and recorded, “There’s A Tear in My Beer”, in 1951, but later rerecorded by his son Hank Williams Jr. in 1988, after the unexpected passing of Hank Williams Sr. in 1953. His music style creates imagined stories that sprout life on stage, leaving his audience emotionally connected with each lyric he sings.
 

One of my favorite songs,  "Tear in My Beer" on the album Pink Cadillac, The Williams sing,

 

“There’s a tear in my beer / ‘cause I’m cryin’ for you, dear / you are on my lonely mind.”

 

The classic song is an example of an idiom, because “There’s a tear in my Beer”, gives you a glimpse into Hank Williams Sr. loneliness and emotions as his fallen tears drip-drop into his beer. He’s telling you why he is upset “cause I’m cryin’ for you, dear”, expressing the depth of his hurt and why he cries out for the one gal he loves though his tears. Inside his mind is where he keeps thoughts of her and even through his loneliness, one thing remains the same, “you are on my lonely mind”.

 

 

 Another favorite, Chris Stapleton, uses a strong drink image to describe his admiration for a women in the song,  "Tennessee Whiskey" on the album Traveller, Chris delivers the verses,

 

"You're as smooth as Tennessee whiskey / You're as sweet as strawberry wine / You're as warm as a glass of brandy"

 The simile here, indicated by the word “as” is used to compare the word “sweet” to his lover like a tall glass of “strawberry wine”, she is “as’ smooth  “as” Tennessee Whiskey that leaves you feeling “warm’ as a cup of Brandy does when it is consumed.

   
Lastly, Garth Brooks, sings with great meaning, and has a poetic vibe about him in,  "The River" on the album Ropin' the Wind, Garth sings the lyrics,

 
“You know a dream is like a river, ever changing as it flows / And a dreamer's just a vessel that must follow where it goes / Like a bird upon the wind, these waters are my sky”.

 

The word “like” is used as a simile, to compare a "dream" to a "river" in which dreams differ from dream to dream, like a free flowing river changes paths. In a similarly manner, life can always change paths and directions just a like a river, but in the end, you are forced to overcome those hurdles just as a stream would defeat a rock in its path.