Songs about family and its value, importance, and centrality to a happy life are essential to country music. Many are tearjerkers. Some are story songs. There are songs about family dysfunction. Whatever their nature, country music family songs are a key strain of the genre. Little Big Town has done some wonderful and offbeat family tunes. We picked out three that we believe are among the very best.
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'Welcome to the Family'
This edgy song from 2005 is about someone intending to wed the narrator's sister. That person is treated to a litany of heavy-duty consequences if they are not good to the bride. There is plenty of delicious irony here. The phrase "welcome to the family" usually demotes warmth, conviviality, and receptiveness. In this context, however, it's at odds with the veiled threats issued to the groom-to-be. For example, he is told that "if you know what's good for you, you'll treat her right." The local sheriff is grandpa. The uncle is the undertaker. Cousin Jesse is "crazy," and the bride's parents don't sound too folksy, either. Sounds like this is a family to reckon with! Their closeness nearly precludes outsiders, even one who marries into the family. They tightly close ranks around one of their own.
'Rich Man'
When I read the lyrics to this song, I was strongly reminded of what Dolly Parton said about her father. Per The Guardian, "My daddy was a smart man and a hard worker who carved out a life for us with his hands and a strong back. He never had a formal education and worked so hard his entire life...He wouldn't go around telling us kids how much he loved us but I could always see the tenderness in his eyes."
This song is about a man just like that. The person it describes lacks material wealth, but is happy and "rich" in what counts - love, family, God, hard work, and reverence for his country, Having all that, he truly possesses the best and most authentic kind of wealth.
'The Daughters'
Released in 2020, 'The Daughters" boldly pushes back against traditional stereotypes of women in the family unit. The picture this song paints of females is one of marginalization, passivity, dutifulness, and martyr-like self-denial. It seems like the ideal woman, according to the people this song is aimed at, is a plastic Stepford wife. Perfectly groomed, always smiling, perennially tending to others while putting herself last.
"The Daughters" strives to sweep all that outmoded baggage away by pointedly using language. Co-written by Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town, it makes a powerful statement about and for women. I really love one line: "I've heard of God the Son and God the Father / I'm just looking for a God for the daughters."
Phillip Sweet of Little Big Town said, according to The Boot, "We challenged radio, in a way, with this -- I don't even know how to say it. I guess it's a moment. It's just like, hey, I know we keep talking about this, but we're just looking for a God for the daughters, and we believe that this is the tipping point."
