Living a Country Song: a Walk Along Nashville's Broadway

Walking down Nashville’s Broadway on a Saturday afternoon, neon signs above our heads and country music pouring out of every door, I felt completely at ease, like I’d been there a hundred times before.

If you know me, I’m sure the fact that I felt comfortable in country music’s capital is anything but news to you. After all, I am the girl who wears cowboy boots on football game day in one of the most liberal places in America and the only Toby Keith fan to ever grow up in Tahoe. I was in my element, and that was absolutely to be expected.

What did catch me off guard was the odd sense of deja vu that washed over me as bouncer after bouncer blocked us from entering bar after bar. Under twenty one and hoping to experience the live music for which Nashville is known, my boyfriend and I found ourselves listening from the sidewalk as the search for an underage-friendly venue stretched on. All the while, I wondered why this whole ordeal felt so known to me. The energy of the street, the excitement, and the disappointment all mingled into one great feeling that felt intimately familiar.

My realization was as nostalgic and sweet and the voice that sings the words to my favorite country song. As we finally came upon a venue that would take us (and soon become one of my favorite places in Nashville) it came to me. We were living out the words to that favorite country song of mine. 

When the band on stage played their cover of Eli Young Band's "Even if it Breaks Your Heart", I couldn't help but sing along as the words I was living spilled out before me.

Downtown is where I used to wander
Old enough to get there but too young to get inside
So I would stand out on the sidewalk,
Listen to the music playin' every Friday night

Oh, I can hear em playin'
I can hear the ringin of a beat up ol' guitar
Oh, I can hear em singin,
"Keep on dreamin', even if it breaks your heart"