Listen To Your Mother

A longtime friend of mine says there are only two kinds of real music: Country and Western. His pun aside, there is plenty of what might be labeled “Country Music” out there today, though most of it is just drivel with an Oklahoma accent. “Western Music,” however, is a bit more difficult to locate. It has become almost extinct in the mainstream, though in the niche market there remains some outstanding talent.

One of the last truly Western songs to top the American music charts was a tribute to motherhood, and a mom’s desire to protect her son. It was Johnny Cash’s 1959 hit, “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town.” It is a simple, mournful dirge about a wide-eyed, impetuous, cowboy named Bill. He ignores his begging mother’s advice and rides into town with his six-shooters on his hips.

Those guns, with a dose of youthful anger, strong whiskey, and…