I couldn't help but to examine Leenia's thoughts further... The lyrics of the blues, which is distinctly American in origin and is usually associated with the downtrodden and financially disadvantaged, often contains both humor (albeit off-color much of the time) and hope. Perhaps most especially the latter. "The sun's gonna shine on my back door someday."

I'm not a particular fan of American country music; but I know that there are hundreds of songs that are not only upbeat, but also downright humorous. I think the honky-tonk, tears-in-my-beer stuff has tainted a lot of people's impression of country music - even my own for many years.

As for current poplular music - I don't listen to enough of it to comment.