1. What is the song’s title and artist?
The name of the song is BBQ Stain by Tim McGraw.

2. What emotional mental responses did you have to the song the first time you listened to it? Why do you think you had this response?
Initially, my response was “Uh-oh. Corny alert. Change station”. If I were to pin point why I had that response, I would probably say it’s the voice of all country singers.

3. While listening to the song, what happened to your appreciation level? Did it increase or decrease? Why?
On some levels my appreciation has gone up due to the fact that I am listening to genuine music. What I mean about genuine music is that these apparently sing about everything and anything that goes through their mind.

4. In your opinion, what was the message (theme) of the song?
If they really must know, the message is about getting a barbeque stain on his white T-shirt.

5. What about the song that most surprised you? The lyrics? The actual music? Your like or dislike of the song? The artists voice?
When I first heard this song, I thought, “Wow! Country has run out of ideas.” But of all things that surprised me it was the fact that this song became really famous, and made number one.

6. If you HAD to say that you gained or learned one positive thing from this song, what would that be?
Country singers, no matter what song they sing about, sing real songs from their heart.

7. From memory, list at least two, statements, comments, or quotes from the song.
“Barbeque Stain on my white t-shirt.” And “I said a heart don't forget somethin' like that
Oh like somethin' like that.”

Now using the following ESSENTIAL CORNERSTONES from page 8 of Chapter 1, consider how becoming a more effective listener can help you with each.

A. By enhancing my listening skills, I can become more open-minded by:
Listening to everything at least once. I may not like the content, but I might learn something new. B. By enhancing my listening skills, I can become more creative by:
Anticipating new and emerging issues by figuring out all their possible solutions.

C. By enhancing my listening skills, I can become more knowledgeable by:
Taking in information from various professionals to make into your own. D. By enhancing my listening skill, I can increase my resourcefulness level by:
Becoming an opportunist; I would be able to visualize, incorporate, and apply new ways of solving problems.