I didn't know that "southerness" encourages suicide....

Country music usually encourages me to be homicidal toward the people playing it rather than suicidal.

ANYONE WHO WENT TO GRADESCHOOL SHOULD KNOW HOW TO SPEAK ENGLISH PROPERLY. WETHER OR NOT THEY LISTEN TO HIPHOP, IT SHOULDN'T AFFECT THEIR GRAMMAR. EVERY1 KNOWS THAT HIPHOP LYRICS ARE STREET SLANGS. I LISTEN TO HIPHOP MUSIC, I ADMIT I DO TALK LIKE THEM SOMETIMES WITH FRIENDS BUT WHEN IT COMES TO ADULTS AND PEOPLE FROM WORK OR uNIVERSITY I DONT TALK LIKE THAT. PEOPLE GROW OUT OF STREET TALK ANYWAY BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW ITS WRONG GRAMMAR. IM PRETTY SURE THAT WHEN THIS KIDS GROW UP AND GO LOOKING FOR JOBS THEY WOULDNT BE TALKING STREET TALK. A LOT OF RAPPERS DO USE WRONG GRAMMAR BUT IF U LOOK AT 2PAC SHAKUR, HIS LYRICS ARE AS GOOD AS THE WORDS WRITTEN BY WRITTERS SUCH AS JOHN GRISHAM. 2PAC IS JUST A CUT ABOVE THE REST WHEN IT COMES TO WRITTING LYRICS FOR RAP SONGS.

The research that you cited, about the link between Country Music and the rate of Suicide among the Whites has gained itself an ignoble price. See this link for more info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6144486/

Like a lot of statistical studies, this one fails to show causality: all they can do is point out a correlation - you could argue that a population with a higher suicide risk is more likely to listen to country music...

I heard an interview with Frank Skinner ('My Life In CD', BBC 6 Music), where he quoted his psychiatrist as saying that most alcoholics he'd seen to had been country music fans, so I guess serious alcohol abuse might add to the suicidal feelings.

I discovered the fundamental differences between Rock 'n' Roll, "black" music, and Country & Western (while fixing jukeboxes in bars years ago). Rock 'n' roll music is about going out and looking for a girl. Black music is about what you do with her after you find her, and, Country & Western music is about, "I was a jerk, and now she's gone."

I heard this study was out of date, but these coments are fun to read. Mitchie's one seems paticularly ironic.

i think that this statement is not necessarily true... blane larsen has a song out called "how do you get that lonely?" which describes all of the bad things about committing suicide. there are also a lot of "happy" songs that make you feel good. I listen to country music when i am down to make me feel better.

I don't know, I listen to hard metal punk-rock to cheer me up, things like Rancid, along with hippie music like the Pixies. But, that's just me.