Girls, Guitars, Guns, Gasoline and God: Country Music & Neurodiversity

The first thing to mention about musicians but also other creative artists is that they all struggle with something. You need something to say and happiness is dull. The last few months have made me wonder whether any of them are not neurodivergent. Many of the people mentioned in this article have spoken about neurodiversity and mental health either in interviews or in their lyrics. Another benefit of music therefore is as a reassurance. You are not alone. You are not weird. And if you are, you are in exquisite company. This article is about this playlist, and many other things indeed.

I have written a few things about music recently. I find I turn to music at times of distress or upheaval and it has not been different in 2025. Many insomniacs make the mistake of getting out of bed. Well, if it works for you then it's not a mistake. But I don't do that now. I cannot move around silently so I do not move. Small earbuds work for me so I can lie on my side, and then the choice is simply spoken word or music. Down me likes words: podcasts, audiobooks, the shipping forecast. Up me prefers music, but not too loud. And this was the year I discovered Americana or roots, a soothing sort of American Country. Americana is narrative songwriting for adults, not poppy. It sleeps next to blues.

In my work I have always incorporated America. Novels such as From Beyond Belief / The Playground and Kicking Tin take place in England and America both. Ernest Zevon, the eponymous hero, is based on Warren Zevon. The Gun Slipped series of pot boilers is based in England but is written in the American noir style. I could go on, but for any child of the 1980s the best TV and the best film was American. This is not true, but we were made to feel as though it were.

Favourite artists such as Fleetwood Mac are Anglo-American. Tom Petty loved England and spent time with George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and other British legends. Maria McKee was born in LA yet blew up in England before anywhere else and is said to live in London now. You can find one of her masterpieces, Never Be You, on this playlist. She has spoken at length about her bipolar disorder.

One thing about mental health challenges, neurodiversity and what are sometimes called spectrum disorders is that you think they happen to the ugly geeks. That kid with glasses so thick you can't see his eyeballs, with the ripped coat and the spots. He's definitely got something wrong with him. This is far from true of course. These conditions can afflict anyone. What I have been reminded of this year is that sometimes the most beautiful, successful, famous and confident-seeming individuals can be equally afflicted. No, they can be afflicted even more because if you encounter all of those things in one person it can lead to devastating loneliness, envy even. Loneliness of course compounds any other issues.

Kacey Musgraves is one of the most successful country singers of her generation. She has almost 3 million followers on Instagram, is so beautiful that I had to remove all the colour from this image to protect your eyes and screen, sings like an angel, and has ADHD. Flower Child is one of the first songs I chose for the playlist. Cop an eyeful of this:-

ADHD and a ring in your nose
You roll out of bed and you make it up as you go
People say you've got a thorn or two
Well, that's alright, there's nothing wrong with you

If Kacey can do everything she has achieved with ADHD then so can you. I want to reword that. I suspect that everything Kacey Musgraves has achieved has been shaped by her ADHD. Those feelings so intense that you cannot breathe are required for art. Sleepless nights can, for some, prove highly creative and productive. Do not make the mistake of thinking that ADHD is a super power. Its sufferers will not agree. It is something to be managed. But don't you all manage something or someone?

I have been listening to Cyrena Wages for a separate article, so no spoilers here. Back to the City is the last track on her debut solo album:-

I am a wild thing
Am I a mess or a work of art?
In my darkness, I ruminate
I wonder if a lover will ever stay with my heavy heart

I will not mention every song on the playlist. The music and lyrics need to stand on their own sometimes. But if you like one of these songs you will like most of them. The title comes from my English summary of what American Country can be.

One of the great strengths of Country and its folk tradition is the importance of our first G, the girl, the female vocalist, and particularly the duet. You will find several duets here. One of the attractions for me of Fleetwood Mac is the female perspective, either on its own or in harmony with Lindsey Buckingham who, famously, has a female name.

Country is also about the American South. Nashville, Memphis. They sing about guns there. Sometimes they love them and sometimes, like Steve Earle's mother, they despise them. Guns also represent crime and violence. And death. In my Crime Guy persona these things are important. Guitars need no explanation but they are the weapon of choice in Americana music, which has a stripped back acoustic sound. These girls are keeping the guitar relevant.

Gasoline? Automobiles are ever present. God is more complex than you might think. Yes, there is a religious angle to many Country artists. But God also represents blasphemy and the language of the construction site. To hear beautiful folk swear in lyrics is not for everyone. However I contend that in all the examples on this playlist, the swearing adds value. I have chosen The Last Dinner Party to demonstrate this. The version on this playlist is clean. It has nowhere near the impact of the original.

In the haunting Humble Again, Meghan Linsey speaks for us all:-

I was everybody's cup of tea
When I was everybody but me

Listen on. And remember: that confident stunner singing in a bar is a fuck sight more nervous than you.

I could pick any line from any of the songs in this playlist. One from the west coast, Los Angeles, is Ali Angel:-

I remember feeling passion, when it was raw and wild
Then I remember feeling shame for it, when I was only a child
So I controlled it, pushing and pulling, 'til it couldn't breathe