Tongue in cheek: get drunk, screw around, get divorced, lose it all to settlement and tax lawyers, ride around in a bus and write about it all.

On a more serious note: country music often takes a bad rap because its lyrics often focus on sad themes. But really it's just another, maybe sentimental, way of commenting on life's setbacks. Some of the best lyrics, in my opinion, are those that deal with small town life, situations, and characters. If you can evoke a sense of nostalgia or sentimentality, I'd say you are well on your way to creating a good country song.