Actually, country songs as outlined above are cliches, bordering on satires of the genre. If I were a country-song writer, in fact, I'd be kicked out of the club for saying "genre."

That said, it's pretty obvious that most country songs start with a 'hook,' a lyrical catch-phrase that somehow becomes the center-piece of the song. You can take most any phrase and make it into a hook, or even take a phrase and change a word or two to make it into a hook. I tried my hand at one called, "I'm Only Resting My Eyes," where the singer is claiming that he's not "really" staring at the babe, just "resting his eyes."

Or take some other song's hook and turn it around. I heard this once while driving through Indiana, and what I recall is:

I want to thank you for leaving, Lucille.
'Cause under the crops we found oil in the fields.
And your ex-mister and little kid sister say,
'Thank you for leaving, Lucille!"

Now that doesn't scan exactly the way the original did, so I probably forgot a line in the middle, but that's an example of turning a hook into something else.

So start with a hook, include gals or honky-tonks or moonshine or trucks, but start with the hook. You can't go wrong.

Bob Clayton