For the purposes of this research, "top" is defined as the most common or popular lyrical themes. Initial research identified alcohol and drinking, as well as patriotism and the military, as two top themes in modern country music.
Alcohol
- 40% of country music songs in 2017 mentioned drinking or alcohol in their lyrics, which is more often than any other genre.
- For comparison, R&B and Hip-Hop was the runner-up with only 28% of songs in 2017 containing alcohol-related lyrics.
- "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" by Alan Jackson and featuring Jimmy Buffett is a 2003 country music song about drinking.
- "Day Drinking" by Little Big Town is another song about alcohol from 2014.
Patriotism and the Military
- Patriotic songs and lyrics offering support for the military have been top themes in country music since its origins.
- According to US Veteran's Magazine, country music and the military have always had a "special relationship" with many of the former's songs containing lyrics about "patriotism, the value of American freedom, and the people in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard who work to ensure it."
- "American Spirit" by Thomas Rhett is one example of a country music song about patriotism that was released in 2016.
- Toby Keith's "American Soldier" is a country music song about the military and was released in 2003.
Proprietary Research
In addition to this public search, we scanned our proprietary research database of over 1 million sources and were unable to find any specific research reports that address your goals.