There's a new Trace Adkins song making its way through the American airwaves. I've heard it on the country radio stations in between long sets of Waylon Jennings and Anti Gay Marriage PSAs. It's a little diddy called, "Just Fishin.'"
The song itself is simple, not too intelligent, somewhat effective, yet it makes you smile, like George Foreman on the Home Shopping Network. It's about a father going on a fishing trip with his young daughter. She has her pink rod and reel. As they sit out on the boat, she talks about her life. He tells her stories from the past. They learn about one another. They're make memories that last a lifetime.
They're having a father/daughter experience that goes deeper than baiting hooks. And the whole time, his wife thinks that they're "just fishin'."
Beautiful song. Makes me wish that I had a redneck daughter who enjoys flaying big mouth bass and singing along to old songs about trains, trucks and getting drunk.
(Digression: I used to harbor a keen dislike for Taylor Swift. It stems back to 2007. I was a PA, making runs all day. "Our Song" kept playing on every station, both pop and country. That song was a bullet hammered into my head like Ryan Gosling out for revenge. Then came her oh-so-subtle ode to Tim McGraw, entitled "Tim McGraw." Then she was in the Al-Qaeda recruitment film "Valentine's Day" and later dated Jake Gyllellellenhall. Basically, strikes three, four and five.
Yet over the past year, I have found myself acknowledging, then tolerating, then actually liking her music. She's matured, a bit like a post-Partridge Family pre-L.A. Law Susan Dey. Her current "Sparks Fly" is particularly well crafted. Chord progression is a bit pedestrian, but you can't be too picky.
I am now of the very controversial opinion that I would like to marry Taylor Swift. Yes, shocking as it may be, I would not complain if she mothered my children. They will presumably be named "Winona," "Hank Jr," and "State's Rights.") /digression
Back to Trace Adkins's song. "Just Fishin" is pure country goodness. But here's the thing: Last night as I made my way down the 405, I finally heard the song in its entirety. Previously, I had caught it midway, only hearing the last 90 seconds or so. This was the first time that I understood that Adkins was singing about his daughter. Previously, I always tuned in at this point of the song:
"She thinks we're just fishin' on the river side.
Throwing back what we could fry
Drowning worms and killing time
Nothing too ambitious...
She ain't even thinking about
What's really going on right now.
But I guarantee these memories a big'in
And she thinks we're just fishing.
We ain't only fishin'
This ain't about fishin."
If that isn't an ode to the gay cowboy I don't know what is. Going off on a fishing trip with your buddy. Saying goodbye to your wife. Packing up, and then heading out to the countryside. And all the while, she thinks that we're just casting lines and talking about sports. Heh heh. She thinks we're just fishing.
It's odd how missing a few lyrics can turn a father/daughter anthem into the soundtrack for Brokeback Mountain. But then again, maybe there's a gay love story at the heart of every country song. This is a culture where Dolly Parton is considered a demigod.
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