Abstract

Music is the common language of mankind, and this "language" is cultivated in social and cultural soil. Music can give people spiritual enjoyment. And the language of music, which is the form, the lyrics or the rhythm of the music, can also tell us the social and cultural changes which brew this particular musical changes. From this perspective, the change of music content, form, theme and other aspects reflects the  social and cultural changes to some extent.

With the continuing rise in the popularity of American music in the world, most people have a rough idea of the classification of the American music. But the cultural implications and history of the music are not understood by the public. As a traditional type of music, country music plays an important role in the history of American music. Country music has several sub-genres and each of them has different styles and characteristics. Those features of the sub-genres are determined by particular social and cultural background. In turn, by analysing those different changes and features we can get a closer understanding of the social background of country music.

In this dissertation, I try to achieve a particular goal by researching the social background and cultural implications of each growing and change of country music, including the social and cultural motivations, the reader can obtain a deeper understanding of the history and culture of American country music.

Key words：country music, growth and development, social motivation,cultural motivation

摘        要


音乐是人类共通的语言，这种“语言”发酵于一定的社会文化土壤中。倾听音乐，能够给人以精神上的享受，而音乐语言通常还能够告诉我们：是什么样的特定的社会文化土壤酝酿了这种特定的音乐语言。从这一角度讲，通过对音乐的内容、形式、主题等各方面流变的梳理，可以从侧面反映该时期社会、文化的变化。
随着美国音乐流行度在全球持续上涨，国内人们对于美国音乐的分类有了大概的了解，但一般大众对于各类音乐的深层次文化含义却不够了解。作为一种极富感染力的音乐种类，乡村音乐在美国音乐史上占有重要地位。在美国社会文化发展过程中，乡村音乐凸显出不同风格和特点。这些特点由当时的社会大背景决定，反过来，这样的变化也能够充分反映社会文化发展阶段中的突出特点。
本论文的目的在于，通过梳理美国乡村音乐史上不同阶段突出特点，考察其变化背后的社会及文化动因，从而以音乐为载体，以期读者能够更深刻地理解美国乡村音乐背后的历史和文化。



关键词：乡村音乐，发展变化，社会动因，文化动因