While the song "She'd Be California" does demonstrate the materialistic nature of the California Dream through ideals such as luxury, free spirit, material beauty, the hollywood dream of success, and a carefree party life, it also contradicts the idea that the dream is perfect. The girl in the song appears to be perfect in every way, yet she does not leave her small-town home and travel to California. "She'd Be California" reinforces the image of a utopian society found within the Golden State while simultaneously highlighting the superficiality of the California Dream and superseding it with the all-American small-town values found in the South and Midwest. Rascal Flatts is trying to say that she is better than a California girl because she remains rooted in her core values and beliefs.
This is not the way that I first viewed the song; I had misinterpreted the meaning. I can relate to the down-to-earth feel of the south, and therefore have been provided with more insight towards the meaning of the song. She can be a California girl in a small town and still remain perfect--California is not the cure-all utopia, and that is what Rascal Flatts is hoping to demonstrate. This creates almost a regional competition between the "perfect" California and the "fun" South or Midwest...Who will win?
When searching for songs to write about, I came across this country song (rooted in the South) that also shares these same sentiments. Take a peek!
When I read the lyrics of "She'd Be California," I also thought that the perfect figure in the song represented the California Dream. With the references to her "movie star smile" and "sun kissed tan," I was only able to understand the lyrics as just metaphorically describing the California Dream through a woman figure. Your new insight to the song, in that the woman represents someone who is above the myths of a California girl, is fascinating. Do you also believe that the California Dream represents a vision that individuals should attempt to entirely deem false, or should individuals utilize the California Dream and references to this California girl to become someone better?
ReplyDeleteSome love for the southern lifestyle - I prefer the idea. I find your viewpoint of the blending of the two cultures as a separate ideal above that of the California Dream as quite interesting. Instead of condemning the California Dream in its entirety, your song appears to seek a middle ground, accepting that California has positives in the midst of superficiality and myth. What aspects of California would be ideal, though? You state "perfection" of California combined with the "fun" of the southern lifestyle would create in the eyes of Rascal Flatts the ideal love, but what "perfection" from California would contribute?
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