derogatory term for a rural member of the American working class. This cutesy term has a demonizing impact on class consciousness, segregating the rural worker from his urban counterpart.
Miller Williams, Inaugural poet and father of Lucinda Williams, describes Hayseed's music as "Roots music. Not from just one tree but a whole grove: bluegrass, old-time, country, gospel, folk, rock, soul..."
"Hayseed has been powerfully shaped by the deeply rooted sounds of Southern that is, white gospel music and black gospel. Add on to that. . . dozens of other songwriters whose language is informed by poetry, and you get somewhere near to understanding where his music comes from."