Hank Williams On, Sadness Gone: Country Music and Mental Health

A new study conducted by the healthcare company Tebra, links country music with better mental health among its listeners. Natalia Bostan/Shutterstock

Comedian Gabriel Iglesias once stated that you “don’t find country music, country music finds you.”

After going through a particularly rough break up, the entertainer turned to the genre for the first time in his life. Much to his surprise, he found immense comfort.

Iglesias expanded on his statement during a 2022 standup special, and Wide Open Country featured his remarks:

“Country music has at least one song that will speak to your heart directly because you feel like the artist wrote that song specifically about you and your life because of how detailed the songs are.”

Iglesias’s first embrace of the genre brought him significant mental relief. A new study shows he’s not alone. Conducted by the healthcare company Tebra, the study results show that country music is a top genre linked to better mental health among its listeners.

The study, which was published in September 2024, also highlights the many positive effects music in general can have on people’s health.

So, just how much of a mental health boost can we get from music? And how do we go about getting it? Whether going through a rough patch like Iglesias or in need of a little everyday wellness support, one may not have to look any further than their local country radio station.

A Popular Genre

Country music mural by Wes Hardin, 2017, in Dothan, Alabama. (L-R) Hank Williams, Hank Williams Jr, Audrey Williams, Dixie Hatfield, John Helms, Lamar Morris, Curly Chalker, George Jones, Lew Childre, Stonewall Jackson, Jimmy Watford, Billy Dean, Daryle Singletary, Charlie Monk, Boudleaux Bryant, and Ray Kirkland. Library of Congress. Public Domain

Country music took the No. 1 spot in Tebra’s “Healing Harmonies: Top Music for Mental Health” study. According to the results, reggae tied with country music among listeners who reported having a “good mental health” outlook. According to the study, “people who listened to country and reggae reported the best mental health, with 52 percent of each music fandom indicating strong well-being.”

In addition to country music being a top genre for good mental health, it is also an incredibly popular genre, even outside the United States. Data shows that about 45 percent of Americans listen to country, and the UK is one of the genre’s biggest markets outside of the United States.

Not only does the study highlight the link between country music and a positive mental wellness, but it also digs deeper into the individual ways music leaves us feeling better, more connected to others, and more optimistic about the future.

Cover for the 1954 album "I Saw the Light" by Hank Williams. one of country music’s defining compositions, “I Saw the Light” contains a comforting message for countless people looking for healing, peace, and redemption through music. Internet Archive. Public Domain

The Healing Power of Music

The key to understanding music’s health benefits is to first grasp how frequencies can positively impact us mentally and physically.

Music itself is frequency. According to a study featured on ScienceDirect, “From the point of view of physics, music is made up of sounds that are generated by waveforms whose frequency is expressed in Hertz (Hz).”

Many conducted studies have focused on music frequencies ability to help patients with everything from anxiety and insomnia to chronic pain. A widely published study at the National Library of Medicine shows that participants achieved greater calming effects when falling asleep to music of a certain frequency. Feed.fm, a licensing and music curation company with a focus on health and wellness, covered the study’s results:

“Lullabies are a time-honored method to help children relax and fall asleep at bedtime gently. As lovely as lullabies are, what if there were a way to make music for sleep even more effective? In a research study published in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, it was found that playing music at the frequency of 432 Hz for daytime napping participants stimulated significantly increased alpha brain wave activity at the onset of sleep as compared with no music.”

Hank Williams singing to his son Hank Williams Jr. on the cover of “The Legend of Hank Williams in Song and Story,” 1973. Internet Archive. Public Domain

In the Tebra study, 79 percent of participants said they use music as a tool for getting through trying times. Sixty-one percent reported it helps tamp down anxiety, 74 percent said music is an effective mood enhancer and 73 percent found that listening to music reduces stress. Other benefits include an increase in happiness, better focus, more energy, and improved sleep.

Healthcare providers have long understood music can help their patients. They also know it can help them, too. According to the study, 37 percent of medical professionals report listening to music while performing surgeries or procedures, and while seeing patients.

For the study, Tebra utilized the responses of over 1,000 Americans and healthcare practitioners, as well as Spotify analytics on more than 68,000 songs, many of which were included in playlists geared towards mental health.

With all the health benefits music can offer, why is country music at the top of the list?

Olive Branches in Song

Songwriter Harlan Howard (1927–2002) is credited with saying, “Country music is three chords and the truth.”

Country singer and songwriter Harlan Howard listens to his wife Jan play a song, circa mid 1960s. Graphic House/Getty Images

Truth is vital to good mental health. And while country music has plenty of fun, celebratory tunes, songwriters and artists of the genre aren’t afraid to wade into deeper waters. The subject matter tackled is universal, from friendships and family to work and play. And the lives of courageous yet humble individuals are retold—both their triumphs and their struggles.

Country music site Whiskey Riff featured remarks Iglesias made while filming his standup special and talking about his discovery of country music:

“Country music knows when you’re sad. Country music knows when you’re weak. Country music knows when you’re vulnerable and need something to fill the void … and it’s not until you experience a certain time in your life that it makes sense.”

Sad songs are like olive branches. They can create a sense of belonging, which is vital to happiness. It’s cathartic to know someone else has been through what you’re going through, and that their words and melody can help you through it.

Hormones like prolactin and oxytocin released while listening to mournful tunes like Hank Williams’s “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” provide a sense of comfort and relief. Slower-paced ballads, or Alabama’s early 1990s hit “I’m in a Hurry (And Don’t Know Why),” encourage leisure, which helps with self-reflection, an activity essential to working through achieving fulfillment.

The Importance of Good Values

Album cover and insert from Alan Jackson's 2002 "Drive," featuring hit song, "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning." Internet Archive. Public Domain

“Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us. And the greatest is love.”

Country musician Alan Jackson sings these words in his moving single, “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).”

Honoring the men and women who died on 9/11, Alan Jackson performed “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards, 2002. Drawings by children showing the twin towers is displayed as a background. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Perhaps most beneficial to country music listeners and their mental health are the values that are found throughout the genre’s repertoire. Like the values mentioned in Jackson’s track, other universally important values can be found throughout country music. These range from the value of true friendship or a supportive family to the value of a strong community.

These values, often communicated through country music, highlight a culture that understands what is important to fostering and maintaining good mental health.

When asked about the true meaning of country music, hit-maker Garth Brooks said, “True country music is honesty, sincerity, and real life to the hilt.”

From Hank Williams’s “I Saw the Light” to Lee Ann Womack’s crossover hit “I Hope You Dance,” the rich tapestry of country music is steeped in truth, and it can help you feel better by reorienting you to what’s important in life. Loretta Lynn’s classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter” speaks to the importance of valuing one’s family history, including one’s humble beginnings. Contemporary country artist Cody Johnson’s spirited “’Til You Can’t” speaks to the importance of chasing a dream. The values the songs promote are ideals worth embodying when striving to cultivate a balanced mental state.

Country musician Loretta Lynn,1962, and the cover for her 1973 album “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Lynn’s song speaks to the importance of valuing one’s family history, including humble beginnings. Public Domain

Listening to country music and connecting with the values the songs represent can be a powerful tool in one’s wellness kit that fosters a healthy, positive outlook. This creates a stronger sense of purpose for oneself, and a better connection with those around you. Two equally important objectives for a mind at peace and a heart that’s full.

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