This past week, I found radio stations that played the country songs popular on the radio in my childhood. The first day I listened to the 90’s and early-2000’s favorites, I estimated that at least 65%, if not up to 85%, of the songs alluded to running away in some form or fashion, usually for love. Trisha Yearwood’s “She’s in Love with the Boy,” Sara Evans’ “Suds in the Bucket,” and more taught me that running away to get married was all part of falling in love. They gave me the idea that being with the one you loved was all that mattered. If you didn’t run away with the one you love, you could end up like Jo Dee Messina in “I’m Alright”–alone and trying to pretend your life was a little better than it actually was.
I’m sure that this music would influence the characters in my story, too. I love country music, but they never connected the running-away-songs with the leaving-and-being-left-ones. I bet Dawson and Cadence, too, will struggle with understanding that not all running-away-songs have perfect endings when the guitar quits strumming.