TITLE

"STAND BY YOUR MAN/THERE AIN'T NO FUTURE IN THIS" THREE DECADES OF ROMANCE IN COUNTRY MUSIC

by

S. DIANE WILLIAMS

Presented to the American Culture Faculty at the University of Michigan-Flint in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Liberal Studies in American Culture

Date

98 8AUGUST 15 988AUGUST

Firs t Reader

Second Reader "STAND BY YOUR MAN/THERE AIN'T NO FUTURE IN THIS" THREE DECADES OF ROMANCE IN COUNTRY MUSIC

S. DIANE WILLIAMS

AUGUST 15, 19SB TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction - "You Never Called Me By My Name" Page 1

Chapter 1 — "Would Jesus Wear A Rolen" Page 13

Chapter 2 - "You Ain’t Woman Enough To Take My Man./ Stand By Your Man"; Lorrtta Lynn and Tammy Wynette Page 38

Chapter 3 - "Think About Love/Happy Birthday Dear Heartache"; Dolly Parton and Barbara Mandrell Page 53

Chapter 4 - "Do Me With Love/Love Will Find Its Way To You"; Janie Frickie and Reba McEntire F'aqe 70

Chapter 5 - "Hello, Dari in"; Conpempory Male Vocalists Page 90

Conclusion - "If 017 Hank Could Only See Us Now" Page 117

Appendix A - Comparison Of Billboard Chart F'osi t i ons

Appendix B - Country Music Industry Awards

Appendix C - Index of Songs

Works Consulted PREFACE

I grew up just outside of Flint, Michigan, not a place generally considered the huh of country music activity. One of the many misconception about country music is that its audience is strictly southern and rural; my northern urban working class family listened exclusively to country music.

As a teenager I was was more interested in Motown than

Nashville, but by the time I reached my early thirties I had became a serious country music fan. That loyalty continues t od ay'.

The concept for this thesis began as a term paper for a course on the American character. In that paper I looked exclusively at the work of Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.

The instructor, Dr. Nora Faires, encouraged me to expand the paper into this study. I would like to thank her for her guidance and encouragement during this project.

I would like to thank my family for their support, for understanding my absences at various family gatherings, for their proofreading skills, for cooking their own meals, and often mine. But most of al1, I would like to thank them for their faith in me; they believed that I could complete this project, even on days when I had serious doubts.

Additionally, I would like to thank Tom Samoray of radio station WKCQ in Saginaw, Michigan. I interviewed Mr. Samoray early in the project and he was generous in sharing his knowledge and insights about country music and offering helpful information concerning other resources.

The Bowling Green State University Music Library staff was most helpful in assisting me in gathering a variety of statistical data, as was the staff of the Country Music

Foundation in Nashville, Tennessee, where the bulk of my research was done. "YOU NEVER CALLED ME BY MY NAME" INTRODUCTION This study examines gender roles as portrayed in the lyrics of country music songs, looking specifically at the ways in which men and women are shown interacting in their romantic relationships. Further, the study will examine whether the portrayal of these relationships has changed during the last three decades, and if so in what ways.

If we are to analyze country music, we must first determine how it is to be defined; what it is and equally important what it is not. What unique characteristics does it possess? What issues does it speak to and to whom are those issues addressed? These questions will be the basis of this study.

Country music has been the subject of other academic studies, which have generally described it as being shallow, simplistic, sexist and having lyrics that are consistently mundane. (McKern P.106.) This image has not gone unnoticed among those inside the music industry. Singer David Allen

Coe’s 1978 hit, "You Never Called Me By My Name" addresses this issue on two fronts. At the surface level this song discusses the lack of respect that certain lesser-known country artists receive;

Well it was all that I could do to keep from cryin’ Sometimes it seems so useless to remain But you don’t have to call me darlin’, darlin’ You never even called me by my name.

You don’t have to call me Waylon Jennings And you don’t have to call me Charlie Fride

Page 1 And you don’t have to call me Merl Haggard any more Even though your on my fightin’ side.

And I’ll hang around as you long as will let me And I never minded standin’ in the rain But you don’t have to call me darlin’, darlin’ You never called me by my name.

Well I’ve heard my name a -few times in your phone book And I’ve seen it on signs where I’ve played But the only time I know I’ll hear David Allen Coe Is when Jesus has his -final judgement day.

These lyrics are about more than a country singer who is consistently called by other singers names. At issue here is the lack of recognition that country music receives as a cultural form. Country music as the song indicates has been

"standing in the rain" for a long time, waiting to be acknowledged for the contributions it has made to American culture. The remainder of the song describes the stereotypical view that many outside of country music hold about its

(Spoken) Well a friend of my named Steve Goodman wrote that song, and he told me it was the perfect country and western song. I wrote him back a letter and told him it was not the perfect country and western song, because he hadn’t said anything at all about mama, or trains, or trucks, or prison, or gettin’ drunk. Well he sat down and wrote another verse to the song and after readin’ it I realized that my friend had written the perfect country and western song, and I felt obliged to include it on this album, the last verse goes like this here:

Well I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison And I went to pick her up in the rain But before I could get to the station in my

Page 2 pick-up truck She got runned over by a damned old train.

This is probably the view that many Americans have of country music, and in some ways this parody image is accurate. But while these themes are important in country music there is much more to it than that, as this study will show.

THE AUDIENCE

Perhaps the greatest misconception about country music, is that it is a very narrowly-based genre. That it is followed only by middle-aged, white, rural, southern, and working class Americans, who have little education and even less sophistication. We might term this the Hee Haw image.

If that were ever the case, and there is little evidence to prove that is was, it is certainly not true today.

In the last ten years there has been a tremendous increase in the popularity of country music, a rise nearly unprecedented for any American cultural form. Recent demographic studies show a relatively broad based audience for country music. One such study, conducted by Simmons Market

Research Bureau in 1984, provides the following statistics:

15.1/C of adult males and 17.67. of adult females in the United

States listen primarily or exclusively to country music radio stations. Of those listeners 7.6/C of the males and 12.2/C of

Page 3 the -females were black, out o-f a total population in which

9.47. and 13.67. respectively are black. The number o-f Hispanic listeners is also in nearly direct proportion to their percentages in the population.

O-f those surveyed, sixty percent said they were listening to more country music than they had -five years ago. Twenty- two percent "hate country music" and twenty-five percent are die hard fans. The survey also showed that among country music fans, fifty-five percent were between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four. This statistic surprised many, for it has been a long accepted belief that country fans were much older than the general population (Galen P. 1.).

Despite stereotypes that country music is primarily accepted in the south, this study indicated very little difference in popularity between various geographic regions.

Perhaps less surprising, many people who are fans said they did not think their friends liked country music and consequently they remain closet fans themselves. This proved to be the case most especially among the younger more affluent

1i steners.

The Recording Industry Association of America sponsored a similar survey in 1985 with nearly identical results. In addition to the previous statistics, they also discovered that men buy 557. of all record albums and tapes in the U.S., and dominate in purchases of all music categories except twos

Page 4 country music and gospel. In the country category women make

537. o-f the purchases as compared to 377. -for women in the rock and classical music categories and only 227. -for jazz (Warner

P. 10.).

At -first glance educational attainment and income seemed to mesh with the stereotype. Yet upon closer examination of the two previous studies, in addition to one commissioned by the Country Music Foundation in 1986, some inconsistencies surfaced. Male listeners appear to fall into fairly standard categories. They are most often high school graduates, whose incomes fall into the middle to lower brackets, and who work at blue collar jobs. However 1.17. of all country music listeners have post graduate degrees and have total combined household incomes of over $50,000 annually. While this number is small, it is quite significant when compared to the 0.67. of the general radio audience who fall into this category. When you break this down by sex the difference becomes even more pronounced, with 67 of females possessing postgraduate degrees describing themselves as country music fans. Moreover, counter to the stereotype, women who listen to country music are more likely to work outside their homes than women in the general population, and they are more likely to work full time

(Radio Programming Profile P. 2.).

Page 5 HISTORY

The earliest roots o-f this southern folk music were actually transplanted to the shares of this continent by the first wave of immigrants from the British isles. These early settlers brought with them an entire repertoire of folk songs. As time passed other emigrants came, Germans, Nordics and other Europeans who added to this growing collection of folk songs, those which possessed their own cultural flavor.

In addition to these new strains, the original music had already been greatly altered. The language had been adapted to suit new local customs, the themes of old songs had been changed to fit new circumstances or completely abandoned as no long relevant to the lives of the singers.

Not all that influenced these changes came with the new setters; the French and Spanish, who had preceded them, certainly had an impact on the music, and to a lesser degree, the original Native Americans. Perhaps the most interesting influence on what was to become Country Music was that of

Black musicians. Over the years Blacks and whites came into contact through a variety of circumstances and whites inevitably borrowed heavily from a variety of Black musical styles including spirituals, jazz and rhythm and Blues.

"Hillbilly Music" as it became known, continued to rely

Page 6 on themes which recounted everyday experiences; love, marriage, death, and an occasional disaster. It remained simple and easy to sing, relying on no more than an occasional

■fiddle, with a banjo, mandolin, or parlor organ when one was available. Many o-f the instruments were hand-crafted by the musicians themselves. E*oth the language and the instrumentals remained uncomplicated, and this is one of the frequent criticisms of Country Music. The audience in the beginning was musically untrained, consequently the melodies had to be simple enough to be remembered and passed on orally, this was common for musical styles of the time. As society became more complex and audiences more sophisticated, these simple styles were retained in Country Music. Long after other musical forms evolved this southern expression continued to pride

itself on its simple down-home country philosophy, its clear, unpretentious language, and its role as the music of the common man.

Religion has also played an important part in the formation of Country Music. Most social occasions in the rural south focused on the family and church. Many southerners first learned to sing in church services. Both

Black and white gospel music still has an important impact on country music, and many current country artists also occasionally record gospel albums.

This folk music eventually began to be commercialized in the 1920s, and during the intervening years Country Music has under gone numerous changes. Bluegrass was one o-f the earliest styles and continues to thrive today through concerts and -festivals. Beginning in the 1930s the singing cowboys left their imprint on country music, as did the styles of western swing and honky-tonk from the 1940s and 50s.

Rockabilly and Elvis were synonymous in the 1960s, and country pop and country rock were born in the following decades.

The history of country music is one of constant change and adjustment, to both the times and social situations; the themes and language are adapted as the society changes.

Country music meanders at times like a great river, moving first in one direction and then in another, often overspilling its banks as it reacts to the environment around it. This phenomenon has caused critics to charge that country music has no true form or direction, that there is in fact no such thing as country music; rather it is no more than a hodge-podge of songs that come together because they do not fit anywhere el se.

It is true that country music is a hodge podge, and that it incorporates many musical styles, but there is a structure. While not as rigid in form as classical music, for example, country music is rather a loose arrangement of many different aspects. In the end country music comes to look like a giant crazy quilt: an assortment of similar and yet

Page 8 different styles all bound together by the common thread of subject matter: the everyday events in the lives of adult working-class people, especially themes of love and romance.

THE STUDY

The major segment of this study focuses on six female vocalists: Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Barbara

Mandrell, Janie Frickie, and Reba McEntire. The careers of these women span the nearly thirty years of this study, from approximately 1960 to 1988 (See appendix A). They were selected for intensive study from the scores of female country singers, based on the length and importance of their careers.

The criteria used to make that decision, were "chart" positions and industry recognition. Chart position, refers to the weekly charts in Billboard Magazine, which indicate that week’s songs in order of popularity. A song’s chart position

is determined by a combination of record sales and "air play". Air play indicates the number of times each week that a given record is played on one of a group of preselected country music radio stations across the country. These 149 stations are chosen by Billboard Magazine, based on the size of the station’s audience as reported by the Arbitron Radio

Rating system.

Industry recognition refers to awards which are issued by

Page 9 a variety o-f organizations; The Country Music Association and

The Academy o-f Country Music are the two dominant groups -for country music. Both issue awards each year to top artists in a variety of categories. The women in this study have all been multiple recipients. (See appendix B)

The backgrounds and lifestyles of these six women are

living examples of country music’s diversity. Loretta Lynn was born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, the daughter of a coal miner, married at 13, the mother of four by IS, and a few

years later her first song hit Billboards charts. Loretta taught herself to play an old guitar and eventually become a prolific songwriter. Tammy Wynette grew up in Mississippi in a family of share croppers. She has had five marriages, one to country music great George Jones, and had recorded sixteen number one country songs. Large crowds still fill concert

halls all across the country when she appears. Dolly F'arton hails from Tennessee’s Great Smokey Mountains; she is one of twelve children raised in a two bedroom house. She began

playing the guitar and mandolin at age seven and has become a

talented song writer. She has starred in a number of motion

pictures, and in addition to her many country hits, she has had several of her records reach number one on the pop charts. She has made a point of keeping her personal life personal, including her marriage to a man who at times seems

almost invisible. This certainly is a contrast to the

F'age 10 marriages of Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. Barbara Mandrell is a city girl, raised in Houston, Texas. Her middle class background may be responsible -for her leanings toward pop music and her success there. She prides herself in a strong family life, and could easily be described by the title of a recent album, "Clean Cut." Janie Frickie grew up on an

Indiana farm and later graduated from Indiana State University with a degree in education. She has never married and maintains a very low profile in her personal life. Reba

McEntire was raised in Oklahoma, a true cowgirl, she spent many of her early years on the rodeo circuit with her family.

She earned a silver buckle of her own for barrel racing. She wore that buckle to the Country Music Associations 19S4 Awards show, where she received her first "Female Vocalist of the

Year" award.

Country music is as diverse and complex as these six women. Like them, country music has many facets, many nuances. There are many areas of common ground for these women, as there are for the various segments of country music, but there are also tremendous differences.

It should be apparent by now that to try and define

Country Music in any narrowly focused manner would be a mistake. Not only do the various artists exhibit individual differences, many of them sing from an entire range of styles and address a variety of themes. (For the readers reference,

Page 11 appendix C provides the complete lyrics of each song discussed

in this study.)

What is Country Music then? For the purpose of simplification, when we refer to Country Music it will mean

all of those songs which would ordinarily appear on Billboard

Magazine’s Country Charts, whether rockabilly, swing, country

pop, country rock, or hard country.

A Look Ahead

Chapter one discusses country music’s ability to reflect

some of the concerns of the greater society through the lyrics

of its songs, specifying what sorts of subject matter may or

may not be addressed. Chapters two, three and four focus on

the recordings of the six female vocalists; in an attempt to

determine if during the careers of these women, there have

been significant changes in the way in which romantic

relationships are portrayed. Chapter five analyzes the work

of a variety of top contemporary male vocalists and their

interpretation of modern romance and how that contrasts with

what the female vocalists have been singing.

Page 12 CHAPTER ONE "WOULD JESUS WEAR A ROLEX"; COUNTRY MUSIC AS A REFLECTION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY Country Music has the marvelous ability to absorb current trends and issues in the larger society and to incorporate

them into the lyrics o-f its songs, without losing its

distinctive country style. I will refer to this phenomenon as

"Plasticity," the ability to remold and reshape itself under

differing circumstances; to take on a wide variety of ideas

that reflect concerns of the entire society. There are limits

to this plasticity; some subjects are more likely to be

incorporated than others and some are unlikely to be included

at all. Moreover, the perspective used to present these

issues will most often be conservative and working class.

COUNTRY VALUES

There are certain attitudes or values which country music

has traditionally supported in its lyrics, attitudes which reflect a conservative point of view. An analysis of the current music indicates certain recurring themes that might be

labeled country values.

The working class is frequently hailed in country music, songs not only about the kinds of jobs workers perform, but about the purportedly superior life style of these people.

Who are these working class folks? Alabama gives us a list of likely prospects in their "Forty Hours A Week": There are people in this country Who work hard every day Not for fame or fortune do they strive But the fruits of their labor Are worth more than they're paid And it’s time a few of them were recognized.

Hello Detroit auto worker Let me thank you for your time You work a forty hour week for a livin’ Just to send it on down the line.

They continue the song with a list of other occupations; steel

workers, coal miners, farmers, clerks, waitresses, and mechanics are all mentioned. No executives or politicians are

on the list, however. In another Alabama hit "Roll On" the

life of a truck driver is hailed:

It’s Monday morning He’s kissin’ mama goodbye He’s up and gone with the sun Daddy drives an eighteen wheeler And he’s off on a midwest run Then three sad faces gather round mama And they ask her when daddy’s cornin’ home Daddy drives an eighteen wheeler And they sure do miss him when he’s gone But he calls them every night And he tells them that he love them And he taught ’em this song to sing.

The consistent message in these songs is that working class

families are tough and have lots of love if not money. John

Conlee’s 1.983 "The Carpenter" not only talks about the work of such a man, but about his attitude. This song, like many in country music, has a spiritual feeling to it:

Let us now praise the carpenter And the things that he made And the way that he lived by the tools of his trade

Page 14 Well I can still hear his Hammer singin’ ten penny time Working by the hour till the day that he di ed.

This is about a work ethic that many believe is disappearing in Americas

He was tough as a crowbar He was quick as a chisel Fair as a plane Lord, and true as a level He was straight as a chalkline He was right as a rule He was square with the world He took care o-f his tools.

The implication is that working class people still know how to

put in an honest day’s work, that working at manual labor is

some how more redeeming than other sorts of work.

Whatever the trade of working people they inevitably have

to deal with authority figures, as John Conlee’s sings about

in his 1984 "Working Man":

Boss is in his usual mood Not one thing does he approve Sometimes you can’t keep him satisfied Up and down the assembly line Worried faces much like mine Showing the wear and tear in their eyes.

These authority figures are not restricted to those on the

job, the government provides a number of its own in various

uni forms:

Big policeman in his prime sits behind his billboard sign Aims his radar gun right straight at me Letter from the IRS said boy your taxes are a big mess Is this the way the good life’s supposed to be.

Page 15 The frustrations o-f working and living in a society in which they have very little control„ often leaves working folks fantasizing about Johnny Paycheck’s suggestion in "Take This

Job And Shove It." (It is worth noting that this song was released in 1977, before the period of recession, plant closings, and layoffs began):

Take this job and shove it I ain’t warkin’ here no more My woman done left and took all the reasons I was workin’ for You better not try to stand in my way As I walk out the door Just take this job and shove it I ain’t workin’ here no more.

These authority figures who are making life intolerable have

lost the true meaning in their own lives. That can happen even to working class people under some circumstances, as

Waylon Jennings suggests in "Luckenback, Texas":

Let‘s go to Luckenback, Texas With Waylon and Willie and the boys This successful life we’re livin’ Got us feudin’ like the Hatfields and McCoys

at • • So baby let’s sell your diamond ring Buy some boots and faded jeans and go away This coat and tie is chokin’ me In your high society you cry all day.

There is a consistent thread which runs through country music,

it proclaims that to move away from the working class roots is to lose all that is really of value. George Jones and Tammy

Wynette’s "Two Story House" repeats this message:

We always wanted a big two story house

Page 16 Back when we lived in that little two room shack We wanted fame and fortune And to live the way the rich folks do.

We worked and never stopped Not much time for you and me We had to reach the top We bought that big two story house And soon became the envy of the town.

m m m We filled the house with everything But somehow left love out.

Fame and fortune almost always bring disappointment in country music. Barbara Mandrel 1 recognizes that in her hit record

"Fast Lanes And Country Roads":

There's an eight-lane highway out in L.A. headed nowhere Every day is a rat race They’re fighting for first place It’s like a nightmare It’s a life of mass confusion and it’s a heavy load I’m ready to trade the fast lane for a country road.

There’s a New York skyline But there’s no sunshine down on Broadway Watching the stocks rise keeps ’em paralyzed up on Park Place It’s a Fifth Avenue illusion digging for the gold I’m ready to trade the fast lane for a country road.

The imagery is strong, the city means stress, money grubbing, and unhappiness, while in the country you can relax, enjoy the scenery, and leave your front door unlocked, or so the myth goes.

John Conlee says in his "Common Man," that he does not intend to abandon this simple life, not even for love:

Page 17 As the maid poured wine And we prepared to dine I knew I was feeling out of place At a table as large as a river barge And "X love you" written all over your face.

I’m just a common man Drive a common van My dog ain’t got a pedigree If I have my say Gonna stay that way ’Cause high brow people lose their sanity And a common man is what I’ll be.

As important as love is in country music, even that is nothing without your country values. The message seems to be that rich folks can not be happy and poor people just naturally are. Dolly Parton’s "Poor Folks Town" carries this notion to an extreme conclusion:

The work is hard and the hours are long The money ain’t much but we get along We’re rich in things that life can give That can’t be bought with a dollar bill.

Come on down have a look around At rich folks livin’ in a poor folks town We got no money but we’re rich in love And that’s one thing we got plenty of.

Rich folks livin’ in a poor folks town We got no carpet on the floor We got wall to wall love who could ask for more We got no big fine things to show just a place to watch our children grow.

Songs about the glories of the simple life are the staple of many country entertainers, many of whom come from just such humble beginnings. However none of these artists has indicated to date that they are willing to abandon the affluence their substantial incomes provide, to go back to

Page 18 that simple way of life.

One of the values long associated with the working class is a highly developed sense of patriotism. Lee Greenwood’s

"God Bless The USA" is aimed at that quality:

If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life And I had to start again with just my children and my wife Thank my lucky stars to be livin’ here today ’Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free And I won’t forget the men who died who gave that right to me And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today ’Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the USA.

This song was released shortly after the U.S. hockey team beat the Russians to win the gold metal at the 1984 Winter

Olympics. It was a time of heightened national patriotism and this recording became a smash hit. Moe Bandy’s "American," which was on the charts in the spring of 1988 expresses similar sentiments:

I’ve traveled all around this country In my time I thought I’d seen it all Today I took a detour down a back road Thru a little town whose name I can’t recall There were old men on benches playin’ checkers And children playin’ hopscotch on the square And high above the statue of an unknown soldier □Id Glory was wavin’ in the air Suddenly I realized what I’d too long forgotten And a chill rose up like mountains on my skin Overcome with the feel in’ I knew I was seein’ America all over again.

Page 19 This is more about nostalgia for a supposedly simpler time, about a return to our rural roots, than about America as it really exists. While it may not be very accurate, it is emotionally appealing.

Not all of the songs in country music which deal with

America are as sugar coated as these last two. Willie

Nelson’s 1985 "Living In The Promise Land" takes a somewhat cynical view of this nation and the promises it has made:

So they came from a distant isle Nameless woman fatherless child Like a bad dream Until there was no more room at all No place to run and no place to fall Give us our daily bread We have no shoes to wear No place to call our home Only this cross to bear We are the multitudes Lend us a helping hand Is there no love anymore Living in this promiseland?

The admission that the United States may no longer be a promiseland for immigrants is a very harsh contrast to the two previous offerings. Waylon Jennings 1984 "America" presents this nation in perhaps the most even handed manner of any of the songs we have analyzed:

■ • m America, America And my brothers are all black and white and yellow too And the red man is right to expect a little from you Promise and then follow thru America All the men who fell on the plains

Page 20 And who lived thru hardships and pain for America, America And the man who could not fight in a war That didn’t seem right You let him come home, America.

Waylon is expressing what many Americans feel about their country. That despite the frequent short comings, this nation can and does sometimes make the necessary corrections and right itself and then go on to be a better nation. Many find

that an admirable quality.

PROTEST SONGS - COUNTRY STYLE

In 1969 the protest against the war in Viet Nam was

raging and country music was not oblivious to that fact.

Merle Haggard recorded a song called "Okie from Muskogee," it

was Country Music’s answer to what it saw as the anti”

war/hippie movement. A movement viewed by many with a mixture

of suspicion and disgust. This song makes its points very

cl ear1y :

We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee And we don’t take our trips on LSD And we don’t burn our draft cards down on main street But we like living right and being free.

■ m m And I’m proud to be an Okie from Muskogee A place were even squares can have a ball We still wave ol’ glory down at the court house And white lightning’s still the biqgest thrill of all

Page 21 Footballs still the roughest thing on campus And the kids here still respect the college dean.

Despite the final lines, many of America’s working class young were concerned about the war. While they may not have been burning their draft cards in large numbers, they were not uninterested observers, and with good reason: they were the ones who would do most of the fighting. This song is more about style than substance. A number of radical ideas are set forth in country music, but there are certain accepted rules and standards about how that is to be done. It was not that

the traditional country audience enthusiastical1y supported

the war, it was that they disapproved of the protester’s

style.

While “Okie" mentions draft card burning, there were few

if any Country songs at that time which addressed the issue of

Viet Nam directly. In the early 1980’s however, the Charlie

Daniels Band recorded a song called "MIA." This song refers

to those soldiers believed by some, to be currently held as

prisoners in Southeast Asia, despite their legal, Missing In

Action status:

While we’re sitting home in our places stuffing goodies in our faces Bitchin’ about the television news and the price of gasoline There’s a man who was your neighbor somewhere in southeast Asia Living in a bamboo cage and wondering what happened to the U.S.A.

Page 22 Mr. politician, why can’t you stop and listen To the disenchanted voices blowin’ in old ■freedom’s wind You put this mighty nation in a no-win situation You sold out to the devil and the price was our young men.

But if in the course of freedom, They’re gonna be there when we need ’em If we can’t bring ’em back then let’s not send ’em off no more.

This song agrees with the majority of Americans at this time, that the war was a mistake, but here it was only a mistake because America lost. Even with its conservative bent, this song presents some pretty radical ideas for Country Music. It

suggests that if the United States does not intend to win a

war they should not get involved at all. Notably, this song

gained only modest popularity. One possibleexplanation for

this lack of success was timing. By 1982 few Americans wanted

to be reminded of the war. Certainly few wanted to think of

the possibility that Americans were being held against their

will in the jungles of Southeast Asia.

Another song by the Daniels Band, "The American Farmer,"

was recorded in 1985, at the height of the farm protest

movement. Unlike "MIA" it became very successful. Daniels

makes some very strong accusations in this song:

See that man in the field over yonder With dirt on his hands and a load on his back He’s the man that puts the food on your table He’s the man that grows the clothes on your back.

We’re running him out of the house he was

Page 23 born in Standing on the sidelines watching him fall Selling his land to the big corporations What you gonna do when they get it all.

■ * • We ship that high tech stuff off to Russia And I can’t figure what we’re doing it for We ought to send them wheat and meat and cotton A loaf of bread never started no war.

The American farmer is far more than a producer of food here, he is a symbol of what many believe to be the best about the

American spirit, the tie to the land and a lifestyle of hard

work and dedication. It is an image that most Americans guard

feroci ously.

When we look at the artists who sing these political

songs, we discover that of the dominant group only two are

female, Loretta Lynn and Doll'/ Parton. Most of the women in

Country Music focus primarily on issues dealing with the

family or romantic relationships. Loretta Lynn does not break

that tradition, but she does take a more radical approach to

those issues. She created a mini-revolution in 1975 with the

release of a song entitled "The Pill":

You wined me and dined me when I was your girl Promised if I’d be your wife you’d show me the world But all I’ve seen of this old world is a bed and a doctor bill I’m tearing down your brooding house ’Cause now I’ve got the pill.

All these years I’ve stayed at home while you had all your fun Every year that’s gone by another baby’s come There’s gonna be some changes made right here on nursery hill

Page 24 You’ve set this chicken for your last time ’Cause now I’ve got the pill.

Despite the fact that the lyrics describe a married woman and her new found freedom from unplanned pregnancy, many radio stations refused to play the song, saying it was too controversial. Lynn was at the zenith of her career at this time, and many believe that the song would never have been

released had that not been the case. The song was a success,

staying on the charts for nearly three months and reaching the

number five position. Loretta Lynn often sings about issues

that are of importance in the lives of working class women,

and her solutions have often created controversy.

Dolly Parton is truly unique in Country Music for the

wide range of subjects she incorporates in her lyrics. One of

Dolly’s most unusual recordings was called "Deportee".

Released in 1980, it deals with the issue of illegal aliens

who come into the United States as migratory workers:

m » m Some of us are illegal and some are not wanted Our work contracts out and we have to move on But it’s six hundred miles to the Mexican boarder They chase us like outlaws, like rustlers, like thieves.

My father’s own father he waded that river They took all the money he made in his life My brothers and sisters come working the fruit trees They rode the truck till they took down and died.

This song certainly stretches the traditional view concerning

Country attitudes. Parton also champions the cause of working

Page 25 women in a number of her songs. Given the fact that there are very few songs in country music which even acknowledge women

in the work place that makes her truly unusual. Perhaps the

most recognizable such hit is her 19S0 "9 to 5":

Workin’ 9 to 5 What a way to make a livin’ Barely gettin’ by Its all takin’ and no givin’ They just use your mind And they never give you credit It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it.

9 to 5 For service and devotion You would think that I would deserve a fair promot i on Want to move ahead but the boss won’t seem to let me I swear sometimes that man is out to get me.

Dolly may be one the most socially conscious of all country

singers; through her songs, she is frequently the spokesperson

for the underdog in American society.

THE LARGER SOCIETY

An interesting social phenomenon of the last decade was

the rise of the single bar scene, and country music addresses

this subject from a number of per spect i ves. Dolly F'arton

looks at the situation from the woman’s point of view in her

"Single Women":

Single bars and single women With a single thought in mind Just to make it ’til the mornin’

Page 26 Lookin’ for what they can find For a man they won’t remember For a night they can’t forget "Do you come to this place often May I light your cigarette?" Drinkin’ beer and amaretto Passin’ time and swapping jokes Hopin’ for a new beginning But beginning to lose hope.

m m « You’ve got a twenty in your pocket and your toothbrush in your purse Life could get a whole lot better, But it better not get worse Single bars and single women With a single thought in mind Just to make it ’til the mornin’ Lookin’ for what they can find.

This is a dreary portrayal of the dreary reality. George

Strait’s 1985 hit "The Chair" looks at the situation from a more romantic angle:

Well excuse me but I think you’ve got my chair No that one’s not taken I don’t mind if you sit here I’ll be glad to share Yeah it’s usually packed here on Friday nights Qh if you don’t mind could I talk you out of a light.

Well thank you could I drink you a buy Qh listen to me What I mean is can I buy you a drink Anything you please Oh you’re welcome Well I don’t think I caught your name Are you waiting for someone to meet you here Well that makes two of us glad you came.

This songs hints at the possibility of a happy ever after ending. Eddie Babbitt’s hit of the same year, "Lie To You For

Your Love," is a bit more straight forward, as the title suggests:

Page 27 I watched you walk into the room I wanna say this just right If you ain’t waiting for somebody special Would you be with me tonight I’m a doctor, I’m a lawyer, I’m a movie star, I’m an astronaut And I own this bar.

And I’d lie to you for your love I’d lie to you for your love I’d lie to your for your love And that’s the truth.

I can tell you what you wanna hear □r some secrets ’bout myself I could tell you you’re the only one baby There’ll never be nobody else Yeah I’m running for President I got money to burn My heart don’t ache and my body don’t yearn.

Undoubtedly the majority of the adult population has been on one side of this conversation or the other at some time and can identify with the situation in this song.

Hank Williams Jr. is noted far his use of cynical humor in dealing with social issues. In a 1985 release "I’m For

Love" he talks about the various "causes" in American society today:

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers The Pope is against the pill The union’s against the workers working against their will The President’s against the Congress The Senate is against the House People are against politicians And I’m against cats in the house.

But I’m for love And I’m for happiness And I’m for If you don’t like it can’t you just let it pass And I’m for turnin’ off the news and turnin’ down the 1i ghts

Page 28 ’Cause I’m -for nothin’ else but me and you tonight.

This is a song whose true meaning might easily be overlooked, but if all of the lyrics are closely examined (see appendix

C) , it becomes clearer this is a call -for a more tolerant society, for a people who are more accepting of each other’s di fferences.

Two 1987 hits deal with the aging population of American

society. Ronnie Milsap sings a traditional Country song

called "Old Folks":

He’s always up and out of bed before the morning comes He mumbles and grumbles about all that must be done There’s eighty years of memories that rattle in his head Whiskey and cigars that he keeps stashed beside his bed He believes that the world when straight to hel 1 When Brooklyn lost the Dodgers.

m m m She used to bake the sweetest pies I swear I ever ate I’d steal the batter from the bowl ’cause I could never wait But her hands are bent and sore arthritis rages wi 1 d But you would never know she hurts the way she always smiles.

There is nothing unexpected here, even the gender roles are

traditional, a cranky old man and a sweet old lady. The

Bellamy Boys song about "Kids of the Baby Boom" is a bit

di ff erent:

Our daddies won the war Then they came home to our moms

Page 29 They gave ’em so much love That all us kids were born And we all grew up on Mickey Mouse and hula hoops Then we all bought BMW’s And brand new pickup trucks We watched John Kennedy die one afternoon Kids of the baby boom.

Sounds pretty harmless so far, but there is a 1ot of social comment in this little ditty:

We had sympathy for the devil And the Rolling Stones Till we got a little older And found Haggard and Jones A generation screaming for more room Kids of the baby boom.

Now we al1 run computers And we al1 can dance We all have Calvin Klein written on our underpants At 6 o’clock like robots we turn on the news And watch those third world countries deal out more abuse.

In that last line we can clearly see the conservative element in the song, the reference to "Third world countries dealing out abuse", is what we would expect to see in a sterotypical

Country song. There is another side, however:

We have freedom We have money In the land of milk and honey Counting our chickens way too soon Kids of the baby boom.

And the farms disappear And the sky turns black We’re a nation full of takers never giving back We never stop to think what we consume Kids of the baby boom.

There is certainly some skepticism about the value system of

Americans in these lines, certainly different from Merl

Page 30 Haggard’s total support of the system back in 1969. That skepticism can also be seen in Hank Williams Jr.’s 1982 classic "The American Dream." This may be the most anti­ establishment piece in all of Country Music:

Too many lawyers in football Baseball’s got a few The pitcher got a million dollars And the quarterback, he got two The pitcher threw his arm away And the quarterback ruined his knee And they did this so they can live The American dream.

Now, there are some preacher on TV With a suit a tie and a vest They want you to send your money to the Lord but they give you their address

Do you really want it Do you really need it You got to keep on grindin’ just to keep it You got no time for yourself You got more for old Jim Beam Your goin’ crazy dreamin’ The American dream.

Hank Jr. undoubtedly knows more than most, that trying to

attain "success" can be costly in terms of one’s personal

1 i f e.

Ray Stevens is most noted in Country Music for his "silly

songs." Recordings such as "The Streak" (another interesting phenomenon in our social history) and "Harry The Hairy Ape" have made him famous. He often uses this technique to discuss

important social issues. One of the most sensitive topics of conversation in our culture is religion, yet Stevens chooses to tackle even that. Fundamentalist Christianity is one of

Page 31 the cornerstones of the South, consequently many Country Music fans are very sensitive about religious criticism. Stevens broaches this topic on two fronts. First he discusses hypocrisy in "Mississippi Squire Revival." By using humor in this song he is able to make some very serious paints:

Well when I was a kid I? d take a trip Every summer to visit my granny and her ante-bellum world I'd run barefooted all day long Climbing trees free as a song One day I happen to catch myself a squirrel.

Well I stuffed him down in an old shoe bo>; And punched a couple of holes in the top When Sunday came I snuck him into church I was sitting way back in the very last pew Showin1* him to my good buddy Hugh When that squirrel got loose and went totally berserk.

What happened next is hard to detail Some thought it was heaven some thought it was hel1 But the fact that somethin*' was among us was plain to see As the choir sang "I Surrender All" The squirrel ran up Harve Newman's coveralls Harve leaped to his feet and said "somethin’s got a hold on me."

Well seven deacons and the pastor got saved And $25,000 got raised and 50 volunteered for missions in the Congo on the spot And even without an invitation there were at least 500 rededications And we all got rebaptized whether we needed it or not.

In "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex" Stevens discusses electronic

evangeli sm:

Woke up this morning turned on the TV set And there in living color was something I

F’age 32 can't forget This man was preaching at me yeah laying on the charm Asking me for 20 with 10,000 on his arm.

He wore designer clothing and a big smile on his face Selling me salvation while they sang "Amazing Grace" Asking me for money when he had all the signs of wealth Almost wrote a check out, but then I asked myself

Would He wear a pinky ring would he drive a fancy car Would His wife wear furs and diamonds Would His dressing room have a star If he came back tomorrow there’s something I’d like to know Would Jesus wear a Rolex on his television show.

Interestingly, this song had been written before the Jim and

Tammy Baker scandal became public, and to take advantage of that publicity Stevens released this record earlier than he had intended. In both of these songs "religion" is ridiculed, but not God. That very important distinction allows the artist to make his point and still be commercially successful.

COUNTRY MUSIC LOOKS AT COUNTRY MUSIC

The 1985 George Jones hit "Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes," is an insider’s view of recent Country stars. If you are not aware that "the outlaw" referred to here is Waylon Jennings or that "Jessie" is his wife Jessie Colter, or that Willie Nelson is "the red headed stranger," i -f you can not identify the man in black as Johnny Cash or "Hello Dari in’" as Conway Twitty, then you are probably not a serious country music fan:

Ya know this ol ’ world is full of singers But just a few are chosen to tear your heart out when they sing Imagine life without ’em All your radio heroes like the outlaw That walks through Jessie’s dreams.

No there’ll never be another red headed stranger A man in black and folsom prison blues The Okie from Muskogee Or hello darlin’ Lord I wonder who’s gonna fill their shoes.

This sort of song has a long standing tradition dating back at

least to the 1950’s and Eddie Dean’s "Hillbilly Heaven." Tex

Ritter released that same song with a new list of stars in

1961, and on it goes. Not surprisingly a new batch of singers

always does come along to become the super stars that the next

such song is written about.

Hank Williams may be the exception, the one artist who is

irreplaceable. Whenever the question of Country Music’s past

or future comes up, his name is inevitably mentioned. He has

become a legend, a yardstick by which other artists are

ultimately measured and generally found wanting. The legend

has come to have a nearly mystical quality, as David Allen Coe

suggests in his 1983 "The Ride":

Well I was thumbin’ from Montgomery I had my guitar on my back When a stranger stopped beside me in an antique Cadillac

Page 34 He was dressed like 1950 Half drunk and hollow-eyed He said "it’s a long way to Nashville Would you like a ride."

I sat down in the front seat He turned on the radio And them sad old songs cornin’ out of them speakers was solid county gold Then I noticed the stanger was ghost-while pale When he asked me for a light And I knew there was somethin’ stange about this ride.

Then he cried just south of Nashville And he turned that car around He said "this is where you get off boy ’Cause I’m gain’ back to Alabam" As I stepped out of that Cadillac I said "mister many thanks" He said "you don’t have to call me mister, mi ster The whole world calls me Hank."

Waylon Jennings, (one of the greats mentioned in "Who’s Gonna

Fill Their Shoes) muses about Hank Williams reaction to many of the recent changes in Country Music in "If Ole Hank Could

Only See Us Now":

If ole Hank could only see us now If he could see what we got going down We got Lear jets and buses And chauffeured limousines We done moved from the Ryman And the Opry’s on TV I’d give a hundred dollars if I could know somehow What he’d think If ole Hank could only see us now.

Nashville’s got too rich to sing the blues We’ve traded in our cowboy boots For high-heel Gucci shoes Looks like we took the music out to lunch There ain’t a decent yodel in the bunch.

Waylon notes the tremendous number of changes in Country Music

Page 35 since Hank Williams death in the 1950’s, its move away -from things he considers important.

Country music’s new found popularity was also noted in song. Barbara Mandrel 1 tells us that she is no "Johnny come

lately" to this musical style, in her "I Was Country When

Country Wasn’t Cool":

I remember wearin’ straight leg Levies Flannel shirts even when they weren’t in style I remember singing with Roy Rogers At the movies when the West was really wild I was listening to the opry When all of my friends were digging rock and roll and rhythm and blues I was country when country wasn’t cool.

I remember circling the drive-in pullin’ up and turnin’ down George Jones I remember when no one was lookin’ I was puttin’ peanuts in my Coke I took a lot of kiddin’ ’cause X never did fit in Now look at everybody tryin’ to be what I was then.

There are unquestionably some serious issues not analysed

in country music. Despite its impact on society, racism is

virtually disregarded. Also conspicuously absent is any

discussion of issues of world—wide scope. In 1985 a coalition

of artists from various musical backgrounds came together to

raise funds for the African Famine, they recorded the now

famous "We are the World." With the exception of Kenny Rogers

(who began his career on the pop charts), Country Music was

not represented. The record climbed both the rock and pop

Page 36 charts, but was not successful on Country Stations.

Perhaps the Country Music audience could not identify with an issue so far removed from their own experience (keep

in mind that Country Music audiences, to a much larger degree than other musical fans, take particular note of the lyrics in their songs). Perhaps it was as simple as the old saying

"charity begins at home", Willy Nelson was holding a series of

farm aid concerts at about this same time, and many were

involved in that project. Country music's audience is largely

working-class, and in the last ten years working class people

have had their own agenda, including farm foreclosures and

plant closings, to occupy their minds. Perhaps Country Music,

despite all of its recent changes, simply has not become that

cosmopolitan yet.

Country Music is an ever changing medium of expression.

At what rate and under what circumstances these changes take

place will be the subject of the balance of this thesis. The

next three chapters will be devoted to a discussion of the

music of six of the most successful female vocalists in

country music? Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton,

Barbara Mandrell, Janie Frickie, and Reba McEntire. We will

begin with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.

Page 37 CHAPTER TWO “YOU AIN’T WOMAN ENOUGH/STAND BY YOUR MAN"; LORETTA LYNN AND TAMMY WYNETTE Loretta Webb Lynn was born in the early 1930s the daughter of a coal miner in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky. To say that she comes from humble beginnings is an understatements she was the second of eight children raised in a house without running water or electricity. She met and married Doolittle

Lynn when she was just thirteen years old, and by the time she turned eighteen she was the mother of four children.

Loretta ’s first hit was "Honky Tank Girl," like most of her songs she wrote this one herself. It made the charts in

1960 and rose quickly to number 14, however it was six years before she had her first number one record, "Don’t Come Home a

Drinkin." This is one of many songs said to have been inspired by her husband’s often erratic behavior. Over the next eleven years she recorded eleven more number one songs and forty that rated in the top ten. In all she has had more than sixty records reach Billboard’s charts, more than any other singer in this study. In 1972 she was the first woman ever to be awarded the Country Music Association’s (CMA’s) highest honor, "Entertainer of the Year."

Tammy Wynette was born in 1944 in Mississippi and grew up the daughter of share croppers . Her family possessed few of the material comforts in life. She married young and had three babies in close succession. To support herself and her children she became a hairdresser after her divorce from her first husband. From this less than glamourous beginning, her

Page 38 life changed drastically a few years later after she went to

Nashville and met country music great George Jones. Their rocky marriage and subsequent divorce is legend among country f ans.

Her first record to hit the charts was "Apartment # 9" in

1966. Less than one year later she had her first number one hit with "I Don’t Wanna Play House." She scored sixteen number ones during the next eight years. As recently as 1987 her recordings were still reaching the top twenty.

Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette have both been referred to as the "First Lady of Country Music" and with good reason.

Despite their humble beginnings, both of these women have had a professional career that has spanned more than twenty years, and has including literally dozens of hit records. Each has won the Academy of Country Music’s prestigious "Female

Vocalist of the Year" award on three separate occasions.

Additionally each has dozens of other industry awards to her credit (See appendex B). Their success is especially phenomenal when you consider that they started in the music business at a time when women headliners were almost unknown.

Both have had personal lives that often mirrored their songs, and each has written a best selling autobiography about those experi ences.

In this chapter I will examine a number of different themes that recur in the lyrics of these artists’ songs. What

Page 39 were these women saying to country music audiences in the

1960’s and early 70’s that made them stop and listen, that made them respond?

AFTER ALL HE’S JUST A MAN

Tammy Wynette’s biggest hit, "Stand By Your Man," created quite a stir, especially outside of Country Music. It was accused, as Country Music often has been, of portraying women in a subservient role, merely standing by their faithless, cheating men. I would suggest a different interpretation.

After listening to dozens of such songs, it becomes clearer that they are not about tough macho men and their "little women." Quite the opposite is the case, as Wynette sang:

Sometimes it’s hard to be a women Giving all your love to just one man You’ll have bad times, and he’ll have good times Doing things that you don’t understand.

But if you love him, you’ll forgive him Even though he’s hard to understand And if you love him be proud of him ’Cause after all he’s just a man.

Those last seven words say a great deal about the way in which men are frequently seen during this period in country music.

Men are weak, consequently women must be strong and supportive; this is seen as a fact of nature and it become the key element that shapes the course of romantic relationships.

Loretta Lynn’s song "Rated X" deals primarily with the

Page 40 double standard for divorced women, (those ex-wives who are

"Rated X") and how they are stereotyped as morally loose or wild. But the important lines for our purposes look at men’s behavior more closely than at women’s:

When your best friend’s husband says to you That you’ve started looking good You should have known he would And he would if he could And he will if you’re rated X.

What he will do is make a pass, but even that is not really condemned. Instead she states what she sees to be the obvious, that men will behave in an emotionally immature way given the opportunity. In another of Loretta’s tunes "God Gave

Me A Heart To Forgive," the message is equally clear:

It’s midnight now and I’m still all alone It’s always late when you come home I stay and take each heartache that you give Cause God gave me a heart to forgive

You hurt me as much as you can Then you tell me that you’re just weak like any other man.

Once again those last words are the key, "You’re just weak

like any other man." Here the men use this line to describe their own behavior. Obviously this "weak" rationale would not apply to women coming home late, and no one would expect it to; because women not men are the emotionally superior species. According to this theory, it is expected that women will carry on, taking charge of family responsibilities, while men are seen as children who are expected to misbehave

Page 41 periodically. After all "boys will be boys," and the men in country music are just "good old boys."

THE WARRIORS

Since we have established that women are often seen as the morally superior sex; we are not surprised to see the battle become one between women over men. Simply the spoils of that war, men are portrayed as being without power of their own to affect the outcome of that battle. Rather, the battle pits "good" women against "bad" women. Loretta Lynn's classic

song "Your Not Woman Enough To Take My Man," eloquently makes

this points

You've come to tell me something you say I ought to know That he don't love me anymore and I'll have to let him go You say you're going to take him But I don't think you can 'Cause you ain't woman enough to take my man.

Women like you are a dime a dozen you can buy 'em anywhere For you to get to him I'd have to move over And I'm going to stand right here It'll be over my dead body so get out while you can 'Cause you ain't woman enough to take my man.

Men not only are not blamed they are nearly ignored, sitting on the sidelines waiting for the results. And a battle it will be, as the song suggests, one littered with bodies. Even

Page 42 the conversation here is between the women, the man is discounted. When the smoke clears and the dust settles, he will belong to one of them, and she will call him "her man," at least until some other woman takes him away.

There are many variation on this theme in Country Music,

Tammy Wynette's "Woman to Woman" takes a slightly different approach with this mini-sermon to wives everywhere:

If you think you got your man in the palm of your hand, you’d better listen And if you think you got it made and his love will never fade, you'd better listen She's out there too and she's a whole lot better lookin' than you She can do things to a man you never dreamed a woman can do.

If you think you'll keep your man with a golden wedding band, you'd better listen If your sitting there at home thinkin how good you turn him on, you'd better listen She's sweet when she talks and she bounces all over when she walks And she's forgot more about a man than your sweet mama ever told you.

The message is that there are powerful women out there, and

they are dangerous adversaries. Good women must be always

vigilant if they are to protect their men. Men are not

expected to remain faithful simply because they are married.

Where sexual encounters are involved they are not rational

thinking human beings. Men lack the ability to make moral

commitments, because they are driven primarily by their hormones. Thus, the best method for women to use to stop their straying is to keep them sexually satisfied at home. In

Page 43 another of Tammy's songs, "Good Lovin' Makes It Right," she gives us a detailed description as to how that should be done:

Good lovin' keeps a home together, good lovin' sure can make it right If you never want to be without him It means lovin' everything about him And that keeps your man around at night.

It takes a whole lota woman to hold it together today 'Cause a lot of other women have a whole lot of time to play Gotta be a saint on Sunday morning, and a devil on Saturday night And when you're lovin' do it right.

'Cause she's around every corner wrapped in furs And you've gotta be just a little bit better than her A little bit sweeter with your morning kisses a little bit warmer in the night With a lot of good lovin' to make everything all right.

We are given a pretty specific game plan here. Tammy’s theory

is to play a good solid defense. It is true that men are to be blatantly manipulated, but that manipulation involves

catering to their every whim, in much the same way that some

parents spoil their children. That is the key: men are seen

as children. They are to be loved, protected from harm, and

their misbehaviors generally tolerated: Doctor Spock's

theories of child care are adapted for husbands.

Tammy's message is that good women make good marriages.

What is required is that she be all things to her man,

providing great sex at home and still forgiving his

Page 44 indiscretions. She should become a one-woman band and always play his favorite tune.

Loretta's songs certainly agree with this basic premise, but as we have already seen with "You Ain't Woman Enough" she takes a more offensive posture. "Fist City," another of her hit songs, provides additional evidence:

You've been makin' your brags around town that you've been lovin my man But the man I love when he picks up trash he puts it in a garbage can

And that's what you look like to me And what I sees a pity You'd better close your face and stay out of my way If you don't want to go to fist city.

If you don't want to go to fist city You'd better detour around my town 'Cause I'll grab you by the hair of the head And I'll lift you off the ground

Loretta's more radical approach here is in keeping with her

overall style. She frequently takes risks with her music (most

of which she writes herself). She speaks directly to women

about problems plaguing their lives: about unexpected

pregnancies, having husbands who drink too much and about a

drawer full of unpaid bills, about being out of control of

their lives. Loretta provides more than solace to such women,

she offered empathy and in such songs as "The Pill" and "Fist

City," an occasional solution. Even if women didn't take such

suggestions to heart, it was nice to know that Loretta was out

there to offer them, and to understand what they were going

Page 45 through.

GOOD WOMEN DO GO BAD

So far all of our heroines have themselves remained faithful. In country music there are times when women do fall from grace. The poor treatment they receive from their men is nearly always the catalyst for this downfall. And it is a downfall; no matter what circumstances may lead to their behavior, it is never seen as justifiable. Kitty Wells sang

the classic of this genre in 1952 with "God Doesn’t Make Honky

Tonk Angels." Her song was in response to a hit by Hank

Thompson in which he laments that his wife has left him and

gone to the "Wild Bide of Life. Miss Wells answers his

accusations this way:

As I sit here tonight the juke box playing That tune about the "Wild Side of Life" As I listen to the words that you are saying It brings memories of when I was a trusting wife.

It wasn't God who made honky-tonk angels As you said in the words of your song Too many times married men think they're still single That has caused many a good girl to go wrong.

Loretta Lynn's first hit "Honky Tonk Girl" spoke to

this same issue. It was written as a result of the changes

she saw in a friend's life after her husband had left her:

Ever since you left me I've done nothin' but wrong Many nights I lay awake and cry

Page 46 We were so happy my heart was a whirl Now I'm a honky tonk girl.

Six years later in 1967 Loretta wrote another song on the same

topic, "A Man I Hardly Knew," but this time she specifically

recounts the woman's wrongdoings:

I let the devil take over this heart of mine When I lost your love well I almost lost my mind I never thought I'd ever fall this low But here I am with a man I hardly know.

I'm in a booth back in a corner Where the lights are way down low In the arms of a man I hardly know

I do the things a proper lady wouldn't do And it all started that first night when I lost you.

She's a good woman driven to what she believes to be immoral behavior by the loss of her man. "I never thought I'd fall

this low" is a very strong indictment, much stronger than has been used on any of the men we have seen (and they were married at the time of their indiscretions). She's single and still considers her behavior the work of the devil. The answer is that men are born cheaters, women must be driven to

it, and even then cheating is wrong.

The audience apparently agreed with that premise, for this song was only on the charts for two weeks and never climbed higher than number 72. That is very telling when you consider that between 1963 and 1976 it was Loretta Lynn's only single release which did not reach Billboard's top twenty

Page 47 songs. No matter what the situation, this sort o-f behavior

apparently was unacceptable to the audience of country music

in 1967.

Occasionally men who cheat do lose their wives, although

it was rare in this time period. Loretta's song "Somebody Lead

Me Away" offers a warning to husbands not to go too far:

You'll come in with the sun in the morning Like you've done so often before But you won't find me asleep on the sofa Exhausted from walking the floor.

'Cause while you were leading somebody on My heart was slipping away While you were leading somebody on Somebody led me away.

With a bit more vengeance Loretta sings "Keep Your Change":

You need a change of scenery That's all I ever heard And when you left you said goodbye I never said a word.

Your back, but I don't want you back And that might seem stange But I ain't buying what you brought So honey keep your change.

As is discussed in later chapters, there was a trend in

country music in later years toward songs about revenge and

retaliation for women, but these two songs and a few others

like them were the exception to the rule for this time period.

Both were recorded by Loretta Lynn and are more in keeping with her more aggressive style. The title of Tammy Wynette's

1967 number one hit "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" sounds as

if it will fit into this category, but the lyrics prove

Page 48 otherwi se:

I've never seen the inside o-f a barroom □r listened to a juke box all night long But I see these are the things that bring you pleasure So I'm going to make some changes in our home.

I've heard it said if you can't beat 'em join 'em So if that's the way you've wanted me to be I'll change if that's if it takes that to make you happy From now on your gonna see a different me.

Because your good girl's gonna go bad I'm gonna be the swingingest swinger you've ever had.

She's not leaving him, she's adapting herself to fit his

desires. As she puts it, she is "gonna be the swingingest

swinger" that "he" ever had. This adaptation theory was the

most consistent message in Tammy Wynette's music during this

t i me ■

As we have seen, women are supposed to be sexual acrobats

to keep their men satisfied, but there was not a great deal of

discussion of how women felt about sex. Loretta's "When A

Tingle Becomes A Chill" may be the most straight forward

appraisal of the situation in this era:

Sometimes at night dear While you're fast asleep I lie there alone in the darkness and weep So sorry and sad But that's part of the deal When the tingle becomes a chill.

I never wanted to stop lovin' you I'll swear by the breath in my body that's true But a woman can't help the way that she feels When the tingle becomes a chill.

Page 49 You're so contented but -far me it's all gone And though I pretend you just don't turn me on The body preforms, but the soul has no will When the tingle becomes a chill.

Here Lynn is very candid about a womans response when the passion dies in a marriage. There is no mention of divorce here, no matter how unhappy the woman is. Turned off or not,

she still performs, "that's part of the deal."

PRETTY GOOD LOVE

Good love songs did exist in this period, although they

were not the norm. Tammy Wynette's 1969 hit "Singing My Song"

is an example:

Here's a song I love to sing It's about the man that wears my ring And even though he's tempted he knows I'll make sure that he gets everything.

'Cause when he's cold he knows I'm warm And I warm him in my arms And when he's sad I'll make me glad And I'm his shelter from the storm.

I'm his song when he feels like singing And I swing when he feels like swinging I don't know what I do that's right But it makes him come home at night.

While this could be classified as a good relationship,

compared to those depicted in other songs of this era, she

still appears to be doing all of the giving here. There is no

mention of how he makes her happy or what his responsibilities

Page 50 are.

Perhaps the most balanced view o-f love -from either o-f these artists during this time period comes in Tammy Wynette's

1971 "We Sure Can Love Each Other," where she expresses the

•following sentiments:

We sure can love each other when we try Just like in all the lave songs when we try And some nights I love you so much Content to be beside you And when I -finally close my eyes the sun is hi gh.

But we sure can hurt each other when we try We know all the pains to make each other cry But when we -forget compassion and to -forgive is too old -fashion We've let everything worth havin' pass us by.

But we sure can love each other when we try And I know we'll need each other 'til we die And we'll go on together you and I 'Cause we sure can love each other when we try.

Here love can be both good and hurtful, but the responsibility

rests with both parties. This is an idea that begins to catch

on more in country music songs as time passes.

"Stand By Your Man" does seem to epitomize many of the

songs in country music in this era. The general feeling was

that women, given their purported emotional maturity, should

be the ones to hold the relationship together, almost without

exception. Men, because of their innate inability to make a

moral commitment, were granted considerable sexual licence.

From the perspective of 1988 it may be easy to criticize

Page 51 some o-f this music, even to make a case -for it being sexist.

However twenty years ago some o-f these songs, especially

Lynn's, were really quite revolutionary in working class society -for their attitudes toward women. These two artists

■fought incredible odds both personally and pro-f essi onal 1 y to achieve a new look in country music, one that included women

in the -fore-front.

In the next chapter we will examine the work o-f two very different singers, Dolly Parton and Barbara Mandrel 1. Their

songs about relationships between men and women present rather different pictures.

Page 52 CHAPTER THREE "THINK ABOUT LOVE/HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR HEATACHE" DOLLY PARTON AND BARBARA MANDRELL Dolly Parton was born in 1946 the fourth of twelve children and raised in Tennessee's Great Smokey Mountains.

She left home and headed for Nashville the day she graduated from high school. There she became a successful singer and a prolific songwriter, many of her best works reflecting the values of her simple upbringing.

"Dumb Blond" was Dolly's first recording to hit the

Billboard charts, in January of 1967 . It rose to number twenty-four and stayed on the charts for fourteen weeks. Her first number one record came in December of 1970 with a song called "Jashaua". More than fifteen years later in 1987 her recording of "Think About Love" was another number one hit.

She has had nineteen number one hits to date, more than any other singer in this study. Fifty-four of her recordings were successful enough to make Billboard's charts, including her

1983 duet with Kenny Rogers "Islands in the Stream" which also became a number one pop hit.

Barbara Mandrell was born in 1948 in Houston Texas, the daughter of a music store owner. While the family was not wealthy she did have a more comfortable lifestyle than the other women we have discussed. She is also the only city girl. By the age of thirteen she was already proficient on the steel guitar, saxophone and accordion and had began her professional career. She has been performing every since, often with other members of her family.

Page 53 Barbara's -first hit, "I've Been Loving You Too Long" was released in September of 1969; it was nine years later before she had her first number one single with "Sleeping Single In A

Double Bed," Barbara has had only six number one hits, her

most recent in 1984 with "Only a lonely heart Knows." Despite

the fact that she has had less commercial success than Dolly

Parton, she has received more major industry awards (see

appendix B). Although this discrepancy is small, it may be

related to Miss Mandrel 1’s successful television show in the

late 1970's and the national exposure it gave her.

Both of these women are gifted entertainers, both have

had their own television shows (Dolly's aired nine years

later), and both have been very successful on the country

music charts. What they have had most in common musically has

been their ability to cross over to the pop charts. As we

begin to examine the lyrics of their songs we will discover,

however, that their musical styles are very different.

WARRIORS PART II

As previously discussed, many country songs view women as

the emotional superior of men. This concept continues to be

seen in the lyrics of the songs of these two artists, although

to a lesser degree. Both have had at least one hit record

which focuses on this subject. In Dolly's 1973 "Jolene," she

Page 54 implores "the other woman" to let her keep her man:

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene I'm beggin' o-f you please don't take my man Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene Please don't take him just because you can.

You beauty is beyond compare with -flaming locks o-f auburn hair With ivory skin and eyes o-f emerald green Your smile is like a breath o-f spring your voice is soft like summer rain And I can not compete with you Jolene.

He talks about you in his sleep And there's nothin' I can do to keep from crying when he calls your name Jolene Now I could easily understand how you could easily take my man But you don't know what he means to me Jolene.

Jolene is typical of women in this genre, she has all of the

natural gifts that according to country music make her

irresistible to men.

Four years later in 1977, Barbara Mandrell released a

song called "Woman to Woman." This little melodrama has no

doubt been played out all too often by real women, which is

perhaps why it was successful:

Spoken: Hello, you don't know who this is but the reason I was calling you was I was gain' through my man's pockets this morning and I jU3t happened to find your name and number. So woman to woman I don't think it's wrong to call you. Now I don't know how you're going to take this you might even hang up the phone, but you see it really doesn't make any difference and it's only fair that I let you know that that man you've been seein' is mine and I love him. So woman

Page 55 to woman I think you'll understand.

Woman to woman if you've ever been in love Then you know how I -feel And woman to woman if you were in my shoes Wouldn't you have done the same thing too.

Woman to woman I've just got to make you see Woman to woman that you can't take him away from me Woman to woman now I just can't step aside And let you take what is rightfully mine.

Woman to woman right or wrong I ain't gonna let you break up my happy home. I hope you understand I love that man And he's mine.

There is far less accusation here, less good woman/bad woman; this is a far cry from Loretta Lynn's "Fist City." What remains constant is that he is still on the outside of the discussion, the women will still be the ones to decide his fate.

By 1983 country music is starting to change. We see that

Barbara Mandrell is putting a different twist on this theme, in a song called "One Of A Kind Pair of Fools":

We're one of a kind A pair of fools Two women one man has been lying to You thought you were the only one Well, that's what I thought too We're one of a kind A pair of fools.

He had the best of both worlds Yours and mine I bet he's proud of himself The way he split his time Tellin' his friends How good it feels to play both ends I bet in all of their eyes

Page 56 You and I are.

One of a kind Pair of fools.

A noticeable difference here is that someone is definitely begin singled out for blame:

Here we sit talking this out like the best of friends But we're not to blame for the pain That man has put us in When he get the news That you know about me and I know about you After what he's done He'd be smart to run from. One of a kind Pair of fools.

Not only is he blamed, but the ladies appear to be on the same

side and there is some talk of retaliation in the air. This

represents a significant change not only in the way women view

men in country songs, but also the way women view other women.

It is the beginning of the decline of the warrior concept.

LOST LOVE

Typical of country music, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette

sang numerous songs about love gone wrong; however, now the

reasons for that loss appear to be less important than they

once were. While Loretta and Tammy were likely to give us a

play by play, in these songs the primary concern is that the

relationship is over. The who, what, why, when and where seem

less relevant. My analysis indicates that of all the country

Page 57 music artists examined, Barbara Mandrel 1 should be crowned the

Queen o-f Lost Love Songs. The majority of Mandrell's hit records deal with this topic. Her 1984 recording of

"Crossword Puzzle" is one examples

What we've become is one across and also rhymes with rules Two down is what we tell that's opposite the truth Three across is what we do to each others feelings Four across begins with "A" and means disagreeing.

We're living out a crossword puzzle Filling in the spaces day by day We're living out a crossword puzzle Now love's the only word without a space■

We really have no idea what went wrong with this marriage,

only that it is over. In the same year Mandrell released

another song, "Happy Birthday Dear Heartache" in which we are

offered equally few details, but a great deal of depression:

It's just a year today One year since he went away So happy birthday dear heartache You're one year old today.

When he walked out I felt my heart break That's when you came to me dear heartache You made my heart your home Now look how big you've grown.

She is nurturing this pain as if it were a sick flower. The

depression continues in "Only the Lonely Heart Knows," a 1984

Mandrell release, which verges on suicidal:

Life holds no fascination Without you here with me Each hour's eternity And friends are small consolation Talk doesn't ease the pain The hurt can't be explained.

Page 58 Only a lonely heart knows How the memory cuts like a knife Since you walked out of my life I'm half crazy day and night.

And only a lonely heart knows How the heartache grows and grows How long does it take till the heartache goes Only a lonely, only a lonely heart knows.

We continue to wallow in self-pity and depression with

Barbara's number one hit of 1979, "Years":

Faded photographs the feelings all come back Even now sometimes you feel so near And I still see your face like it was yesterday It's strange how the days turned into years.

Years of hanging on to dreams already gone Years of wishing you were here After all this time you'd think I wouldn't cry It's just that I still love you after all these years.

Perhaps these could be best categorized as "crying in your beer songs."

Dolly sings lost love songs as well, but the majority of hers are less maudlin. In 1982 her number one hit "I Will

Always Love You" does fit this category; however, even here

Parton shows a certain independence of spirit. She is the one to leave a failing relationship, even though it is obviously difficult to do:

If I should stay Well I would only be in your way And so I'll go And yet I know that I'll think of you each step of the way.

And I will always love you I will always love you

Page 59 Bittersweet memories That's all I have and all I'm taking with me.

In 1982 Dolly released "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind." This is more typical of her style:

Oh sometimes I go walking Through fields where we walked Long ago in the sweet used to be And the flowers still grow But they don't smell as sweet As they did when you picked them for me.

And when I think of you and the love we once knew How I wish we could go back in time Do you ever think back on old memories like that Oh do I ever cross your mind.

Do you ever wake up lonely in the middle of the night Because you miss me, do you darlin' And do your memories ever take you back into another place and time And do you ever miss the feelings And the love we shared when you were with me, do you darling I just wonder do I cross your mind.

Not only does this tune have a toe-tapping beat that is reminiscent of old time camp meetings, but it gave me the same sensation that I had when Rhett told Scarlet he didn't give a

damn— a belief that there was still hope, that this

relationship was not necessarily over. Perhaps the most

interesting song of this type is one titled "I Hope You're

Never Happy." It was released as part of Dolly's 1985 album

"True Love":

I wish you all the luck I wish you only the best Satisfaction in love

Page 60 And true happiness.

I wish you blue skies and rainbows I wish you joy pure and true I wish you all that you wish -for But only if you're with me.

I hope you're never happy With anybody but me I wish you nothing but trouble If you've decided to leave.

I'm just not like those heroes In books and on TV I hope you're never happy With anybody but me.

The total honesty in this song was refreshing. Unfortunately it was never released as a single, and consequently we have no way to gauge the public's acceptance of its message.

We have seen a few situations thus far in our examination of country music where a woman abandoned by her man finds another. Now we are starting to see situations where the women initiate the separation themselves or at least spend a lot less time crying over it.

In 1975, Barbara uncharacteristical1y sings about a woman who is fed up with a bad relationship in "Standing Room

Only":

You must think my bed's a bus stop the way you come and go I ain't seen you with the lights on two nights in a row So pack your rusty razor don't bother with good-byes Your cup runneth aver but mine is always dry.

Standing room only I can't stand no more no more Standing room only

Page 61 Outside my door.

Don't help me set the table 'Cause now there's one less place I won't lay mama's silver For a man who won't say grace.

In country lyrics (although not in "real life") this is radical thinking for 1975. In country music lyrics, divorces have been few and far between until now, and rarely at the wife's request. In Dolly's 1982 "Heartbreak Express" the emphasis is on the "Express." This is a very up-tempo number, and the singer is regretful but shows no self-pity:

Packing my suitcase writing a tear stained goodbye note Saying so long to a love gone wrong and that's all she wrote Leaving behind what once was mine with sad regrets But it's all gone now and I'm leavin' town on the heartbreak express.

I'm gonna roll on down the line I'm gonna go so far I'm gonna get it off my mind It hurts to know it ain't enough when you give your best Got a ticket to ride and I'm leaving tonight on the heartbreak express.

In 1983 Dolly recorded "Two Doors Down" a song in which she experiences a rapid recovery from lost love. Interestingly, this song's backdrop is an apartment building, an urban setting and therefore somewhat unusual for a country song:

Two doors down they're laughin' and drinkin' and havin' a party Two doors down they're not aware that I'm around Here I am cryin' my heart out feel in' sorry But they're havin' a party just two doors down.

Page 62 I think I'll dry these useless tears and get myself together I think I'll wander down the hall and have a look around 'Cause I can't stay inside this lonely room and cry forever I think I'd really rather join 'em two doors down.

I can't believe I'm standing here dry-eyed and all smiles and talkin' Making conversation with the new love that I found I ask him if he'd like to be alone and we start walking Down the hall to my place waitin' two doors down.

There may be beer at this party, but it is certainly will not be for crying in. There appears to have been some significant overall changes in the attitudes expressed in this and other current country songs about how men and women should relate, particularly as compared to the kinds of songs that Loretta and Tammy were singing when they were headliners in the

1960 s .

GOOD WOMEN GO BAD II

Previously we have seen a very clear distinction between good women and bad women and the behavior we can expect from each. Their roles have been clearly, even rigidly defined.

That appears to be changing in a substantial way. We now see

"good" women doing things that would have been deemed bad before. Barbara Mandrell's 1977 hit "Married But Not To Each

Other" is a striking example:

Page 63 Sometimes in your life you may find it kinda hurts to be in love Especially when you and the one that you're in love with Already belong to somebody else Cause you're tied to her and I'm tied to him We don't want to hurt either one of them That's the way it is

When you're married but not to each other You've got to go home in the middle of the night Try to pretend everything's alright But it ain't Make believe that you've been good Give your love to the one you should But you Can't

Cause you're tied to her And I'm tied to him That's how it is When your married but not to each other.

That adultery could be condoned represents a radical alteration in the value structure of country music, for 1977 and Barbara Mandrell. Two years later she built on the same theme singing "I Don't Want To Be Right":

If lovin' you is wrong I don't want to be right If being right means being without you I'd rather live a wrong doing life.

My mama and daddy say it's a shame It's a down right disgrace But long as I got you by my side I don't care what my people say.

My friends tell me there's no future in lovin' a married man If I can't see you when I want to I'll see you when I can.

Am I wrong to fall so deeply in love with you Knowing you got a wife and two little children depending on you too.

That country music fans would accept this kind of behavior

Page 64 from a "good" woman is amazing; and they did accept it, this sonq was on the charts fourteen weeks in and became number one. Obviously times have changed since Loretta Lynn's 1970 release of "A Man I Hardly Know" failed because its heroine was seen as morally loose.

Dolly doesn't even mention marriage in her 1978 "It's All

Wrong." This situation deals with casual sex and would not

have been tolerated in country music just ten years earlier:

Hello are you free tonight I like your looks I love your smile Could I use you for a while It's all wrong but it's alright.

The amber sunset glow has died My needs are very much alive Is it ok if I stop by It's all wrong but it's alright.

It's all wrong but it's alright Just close your eyes and fantasize Tell me sexy lovin' lies It's all wrong but it's alright.

It may be wrong if we make love But I just need someone so much And who knows it might last for life It's all wrong but it's alright.

This is unquestionably the most frank discussionof female

sexuality that we have seen so far. The line "Could I use you

for awhile" leaves little doubt about the singer's

intentions. However, in the final stanza the mention of a

lasting relationship may be offered as a possible

justification for the encounter, indicating that the kind of

sexual freedom men have traditional1y had in country music,

Page 65 has not -fully arrived -for women. The audience was receptive

to the songs' honesty, however, and it went to number one.

GOOD LOVE

In the music o-f the -first two artists we examined, there

existed very few happy lave songs. As we move into the late

1970’s and early 80’s we begin to see more of this kind of

music. We have identified Barbara Mandrel 1 as the "Queen of

Lost Love", consequently we would not expect to see a great

wave of "happy ever after" songs from her, but she does manage

to sing a few. In 1984 she recorded "I Can Depend On You,"

which is a pretty up-beat tune for Barbaras

I can’t base all my decisions on the Wall Street Journal Nobody knows what the futures are going to do I can’t rely on the forecast to bring me sunshine But baby I know I can depend on you.

I’m never sure that old battery will start our old pickup No guarantee if the Yankees will win or lose Everythings always changing in the world around me But baby I know I can depend on you.

I can depend on you to love me I can depend on you to need me Through every fear you’re always here to see me through You are the rock I lean on when I’m shakin’ Your my solid ground for safety Your love is honest and true, so true I can depend on you.

This song represents something of a dichotomy. On the one

Page 66 hand it is traditional country in that it looks at the outside

world through -fairly suspicious eyes, and -finally decides that

love is all that really counts; that putting one’s -faith in

material things is a mistake. Conversely, the song’s

references to the Wall Street Journal and the New York

Yankies is part of the new country style which makes use of

more middle class and urban imagery.

Dolly Parton’s music is most often uplifting in both

tempo and lyric; her 1984 number one duet with Kenny Rogers,

"Real Love" is no exception:

They say that it’s a matter of trusting Before love has a chance to begin Oh it’s never simple A faithless heart can cripple And only a strong love survives I know they say that it’s a fine line Between giving up and giving in But once your heart’s been in it You just can’t forget it It’s like nothing that you’ve felt in your life.

We got real love Not infatuation Real love Our heart’s celebration I 1ove you (You know I love you too) We got real love Not an imitation Real love You’re my destination Baby you and me we got everything we need.

While Dolly admits in these lyrics that "Real Love" is rare,

she tells the listener that it is worth the search. Another

1984 number one hit for Parton was "Tie Our Love (In A Double

Page 67 Knot)," in which we are given perhaps the most realistic

portrait of modern love thus far:

Gonna tie our love in a double knot ’Cause these days love gets strained alot To give our hearts a double shot Let’s tie our love in a double knot.

Oh, if we wanted to endure An ounce of prevention Is worth a pound of cure While we’re wrapped in Those ties that bind I wanna make sure We don’t unwind.

’Cause I’ve got my dreams And baby you got yours Put it together We got a whole lot more I’m not lookin’ for just one night I wanna make it the rest of our lives.

The acknowledgement that this man and woman lead separate

lives that when united in love will be even more satisfying,

may be the most significant step in country music to this

date. The lyric suggests a relationship in which both parties

are on an equal footing. (This idea may be modern, but the

vernacular is pure old time country).

We are seeing some definite changes in lyrics of country

songs as we move forward through time. Songs that would

probably nev^r have been released in the 1960’s are becoming

number one hits in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. While a

discussion of sexuality is not new in country music, the degree of latitude allowed to women to express their sexuality

Page 68 is new. Some might argue that these songs gained popularity because of the cross-over element from the pop audiences, but the chart positions referred to here have been country music charts alone.

Despite the often unhappy relationships that Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette sang about, they rarely suggested the possibility of divorce. Their songs generally advised either accepting the union as it was or that the wife should undertake some internal alignments on her own. Dolly and

Barbara are more likely to advocate dissolving a bad marriage rather than enduring it.

As similar as Dolly and Barbara are when compared to

Loretta and Tammy, they do approach the subject of love very differently themselves. While Barbara sings primarily of lost love and illicit love, she does suggest that women have more options available to them than was the case ten years earlier. Dolly give us more hope about romantic love; she admits that it is rare, but suggests it is still very much alive and well, somewhere.

As we continue our analysis of the way romantic relationships have been portrayed in country music over the last three decades, we will look next at the songs of Janie

Frickie and Reba McEntire, two of country music most recent stars.

Page 69 CHAPTER FDUR "DO ME WITH LOVE/LOVE WILL FIND ITS WAY TO YOU"; JANIE FRICKIE AND REBA MCENTIRE Janie Frickie was born in 1946. Her childhood memories are o-f a happy life growing up with a close knit family in a hundred year old farm house in Indiana. She and her sister often spent evenings listening to their mother play the organ and their father the guitar. Singing in the church choir as a

child was as natural for this farm girl as was studying

teaching at Indiana State University. Frickie left college

before graduation to go to Memphis and sing radio jingles.

Within a few years she was making a very comfortable living

doing commercials and singing back up to other country music

acts. Consequently she did not rush into a solo career.

It was in the fall of 1977 when her recording of "What’re

You Doing Tonight" first put her on the charts. Five years

later in 1982 she scored her first number one with "Don’t

Worry ’Bout Me Baby." Despite the fact that to date she has

had more number one hits (nine) than Barbara Mandrel 1, her

name is not recognized by the majority of Americans. She has

chosen a quieter lifestyle, a more anonymous existence than

many other artists, and because of this she has often been

dubbed "the reluctant superstar". She has never starred in a

television show like Mandrel 1 or Farton, nor written a book or

had a movie produced about her life like Lynn and Wynette.

Reba McEntire is as close to a real cowgirl as we will

find in country music today. She was born in 1955 and grew up

in Oklahoma, the daughter of a grand-national rodeo champion.

Page 70 Reba earned a silver buckle of her own for barrel racing. She

is one of four children, the daughter of a mother who once dreamed of a singing career of her own and encouraged Reba’s

career.

"I Don’t Want To Be A One Night Stand" was licEntire’s

first record to hit the charts in 1976. Her records steadily

moved up the charts over the next six years until "Can’t Even

Get The Blues" made number one in 1982. She has had thirteen

number one’s to date, and doesn’t show any signs of slowing

down. Reba has been named the CMA’S "Female Vocalist of the

Year" each year from 1984 to 1987 and "Entertainer of the

Year" in 1986.

The styles of these two artists are more diverse and

consequently more difficult to categorize than those of the

other singers we have analyzed. Janie and Reba’s music, like

country music in general, is becoming less narrowly focused,

less predictable. We will begin our analysis by looking at

some of the same themes we have found pertinent in past eras.

THE WARRIORS III

As recently as 1985 the concept of two women battling

over the same man continued to find some acceptance in country

music. Janie Frickie had a number one hit with "She’s Single

Again" which looks at the issue this way:

Page 71 I’ve just got to tell you what I saw last night I wish I was guessing but 1 know that I’m right She walked in this place with a smile on her face And I wondered why she was alone Every man watched her as she swayed on by The way she was looking every woman could cry And then I saw her sit down with her lawyer And I knew what was going on.

She's single again Hold on to your men She’ll make us worried wives and bring us broken lives And heartaches that never end She’s’s single again She’s no woman’s friend She’s making her move She’s got nothing to lose Look out she’s single again.

While this song was a hit, there has been a general move away from this theme in country music. This song is the only one of its type recorded by either of these artists which reached

Billboard’s charts. In contemporary country songs there are numerous situations in which "the other woman" is discussed.

Today however, she is more often seen as a symptom of the relationship’s failure, not the cause. It has become an issue between a man and a woman rather than the two women. Men are now more frequently seen as responsible adults whose behavior is expected to fall within prescribed limits.

LOST LOVE

Lost love songs are a staple of many musical styles, and country music is certainly no exception. Given the breadth

F‘age 72 of such a description however, there is need here for further categorization. We will first look at what are frequently called torch songs; those "he left me, but I'm still in love

with him" types. Both Frickie and McEntire have recorded

many such songs. Reba had two which became number one singles

in 1986. The first to be released was "Whoever1’s In New

Engl and":

You spend an awful lot of time in Massac husstts Seems like every other week You’ve got a meeting waiting there Business must be booming or could something el se Be moving in the air up there.

■ m m But when whoever’ s in New England’s Through with you And Boston finds better things to do You know it's not too late You’ll always have a place to come back to When whoever’s in New England’s through with you.

This conversation is between a man and a woman. While he has

not left her, another woman does e;

directed at the "other woman," although we see her power in

the line, "When whoever’s in New England's through with you."

This line also indicates a tolerance on the singer’s part for

what she knows is going on in this relationship. In many ways

this song represents a step back for women’s self-assertion in

country music, as several of McEntire’s other recordings also

do.

Page 73 Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about this song is its middle-class imagery. We are not accustomed in country music to songs about businessmen who fly off to meetings. While the travel is only used as a device to introduce the adulterous situation, it is nevertheless unusual. We are more accustomed

to the men in country music songs traveling as truck drivers

than as executives.

In "What Am I Sonna Do About You" the singer is still in

love with a man who has already left hers

The Kid down the street mows the grass every week The neighbor next door fixed the roof where it leaked The job’s goin’ fine and the bills are all paid Everyone thinks that I’m doin’ okay.

What in the world am I gonna do about you Oh your memory keeps cornin’ back from out of the blue Oh well I’ve tried and I’ve tried But I still can’t believe that we’re through So tell me what in the world am I gonna do about you.

The focus of this song is certainly lost love, but it is

unusual because it mentions a woman’s work. Despite the fact

that over half of the female population of the United States

is now employed, very few country songs make mention of women

in the work place. This song also suggests that the job she

holds provides an income which is adequate to pay the bills.

Despite her financial independence you sense an emotional

dependence. If he were to walk back in the door she would

welcome him with open arms.

Janie Frickie tends to treat lost love a bit

Page 74 differently. Many of her songs deal with the possibility of renewing the relationship even if only on a temporary basis.

She tends to be more action oriented. This was the case in

1982 with her first number one record, "Don’t Worry ’Bout Me

Baby"s

There’s no way to know how this is all gonna end We fell in love once we could fall in love again It makes no diff’rence how it all works out This night with you is all I’m thinking about.

This song deals with lost love, a woman who still carries a torch, but more than that it is about the possibility of renewing at least the physical aspect of the relationship for a t i me:

Don’t worry ’bout me baby I’ll be all right Don’t worry ’bout me baby just love me tonight Don’t be afraid that you might make me cry Don’t worry ’bout me baby for telling me lies How can I make you understand If I can’t have it all I’ll take all I can.

She is very specific about what she is willing to settle for in this relationship, yet there remains a note of desperation.

This theme continues in her next number one hit (also in 1982)

"It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Easy":

Surely you can sit down a while Maybe you can even smile And I’ll try to pretend That you love me again But it might take me a little while I know you’ll be hoi din’ me tight You know when the moment is right When I was broken in two It was all because of you But baby I need you tonight.

Page 75 And it ain’t easy bein’ easy You’re the one who took my heart and my soul Walked out and le-ft me out of control And it ain’t easy bein’ easy

She says again that she will accept just sex (which is what

"being easy" refers to), but it is clear that she also wants

1 ove:

So I’ll hold you and cry With the truth in my eyes Hoping you’ll love me again.

In a 1981 song she implores her lover not to go, because as the title states, "I’ll Need Someone To Hold Me (When I Cry):

Your bags are packed and waiting by the door If you really want to go well it’s alright Don’t worry ’bout me darlin’ ’cause I’ll get by But I’ll need someone to hold me when I cry.

I’ll need someone to tell me that I’ll get over you And I’ll need a friend to lean on when I’m feel in’ blue So sit down here beside me after you say goodbye ’Cause I’ll need someone to hold me when I cry.

The taxi cab is waitin’ for you to go But darlin’ tell him you’ve changed your mind And stay until tomorrow ’cause I know tonight I’ll need someone to hold me when I cry.

This is a somewhat unusual approach. We might wonder about

this poor isolated woman who has absolutely no one else to turn

to in this crisis. Or does she? The use of guilt to hold a failing relationship together is hardly new in reality; it is, however, an uncommon song theme. Even though we are not told what has caused the breakup, it is clear that the woman doesn’t

Page 76 want it to end. Another of Janie’s number one hits from 1986

"Always Have Always Will" continues in this same vein:

It seems funny I remember your number after all this time And I know that it’s late and hope that I’m not out of line But for some crazy reason I’ve been thinkin’ ’bout you all day And every three hours now I been thinkin’ of somethin’ to say

I love like a fool Always have always will But you know that it’s just my point of view But I love you still Always have always will

This is not a woman who knows when to quit; she is pursuing a relationship that has been over for quite some time. The 1985

"The First Word in Memory is Me" takes an even more aggressive approach in attempting to keep the relationship alive:

I can see you don’t know what a memory can do You’re gettin’ ready to go like goodbye’s up to you I can tell by the way you’re not failin’ apart You’re listening’ to somebody new not your heart And when she’s laying beside you like I used to do Her lips will be my lips when she’s kissing you You’ll be looking at her But it’s my face you’ll see The first word in memory is me.

This is a desperate threat, not a request. If he leaves, her memory will haunt him. While it is a little more subtle than

Dolly F'arton’s "I Hope You’re Never Happy", the message is the same. It is clear that even today, women are often still intensely interested in trying to hold relationships together.

Still in the category of "lost love" we have a number of

Page 77 songs which do not suggest renewing the romance, but simply mourn its passing. The title of Reba’s 1987 number one hit "The

Last One To Know" is very telling:

I didn’t see the -fire burn to ashes I couldn’t see the winds o-f change I was lost inside the passion Blinded by the memory o-f old -flames

I guess I should have -felt it when you touched me Should have seen it in your eyes But I believed you really loved me Why can’t I believe you’ve said goodbye

Why is the last one to know The -first one to cry And the last to let go Why is the one left behind The one left alone with no one to hold The last one to know

This song suggests that she should have seen him slipping away somehow. There is an implication that perhaps she could have stopped it from happening had she been more alert. McEntire’s music occasionally is a throw back to the days of Tammy Wynette when women were held responsible for the breakup of a marriages, even if their only possible sin was being too trusti ng.

Janie Frickie’s 1986 "When A Woman Cries" concerns a woman who has been hurt by love, but who never the less is recoveri ng:

She wakes up in the morning weak from an intimate dream A faithful alarm clock starts off her daily routine With last night’s fantasy still dancing round in her head She straightens the pillow on the unwrinkled side

Page 78 o-f her bed.

When a woman cries The tear drops make her strong When a woman cries She’s weak but not for long Life’s disappointments become drops of pain To nourish the courage to try lave again She finds the strength to survive When a woman cries.

It is somewhat unusual to see a woman who is working through the loss of love and getting stronger, a woman who is not looking back.

This issue of recovering from bad romances is being discussed more often in current country songs. Reba McEntire released two songs back to back in 1982 on this topic. The first, "I’m Not That Lonely Yet," climbed to number three, the highest chart position any of her recordings had reached at that time:

I don’t mind to give you a slow dance or two I’m sorry I’m not at my best I know you can see I’m incredibly blue But I’m not that lonely yet.

I’ll look in your eyes as your dancin’ with me And try to fulfill your request But don’t ask for favors when it’s time to leave ’Cause I’m not that lonely yet.

It’s nice to be dancin’ to waltzes again And maybe it helps to forget You’ve opened a door but I’m not waltzing in ’Cause I’m not that lonely yet.

This woman is trying to recover from a lost love. She is out dancing rather than sitting at home crying. The recovery will take place at her own pace, however. She will not be rushed

Page 79 into another relationship before she is ready. She is in

control. A few months after this record was released, Reba

had her first number one single with "Can’t Even Get The

Blues" which approaches recovery on a different level:

I walk into the kitchen The silverware is gone The furniture is missin’ I guess you got it all This is where it oughta hurt Seems like every time you leave me You try to think of somethin’ worse.

I can’t even get the blues no more I try to worry like I did before But nothin’ happens when I walk the floor So what am I suppose to do I toss and turn but then I fall asleep I’m gain’ under but it ain’t too deep You want to hurt me but it’s just no use I can’t even get the blues.

She has stopped loving him, that is how she is coping with the

situation, that is why she does not worry or lose sleep

anymore. Admittedly it has taken several episodes of his

leaving for her to get the message, but finally she has it.

SONGS ABOUT SEX

We have seen a discussion of sexuality in each of the country music eras we have examined, however the degree of openness concerning women and their sexual expression continues to grow wider in each succeeding decade. Janie

Frickie was at the peak of her career in 1983 when she

Page 80 released two singles, both o-f which became number one hits.

The -first, "Tell Me A Lie," looks at love and sex this way:

Tell me a lie Say I look -familiar Though I know that you don’t even know my name Tel 1 me a lie Say you just got into town Even though I've seen you here before just hanging around Tell me a lie Say you got no place to stay But you'll be glad to drop me home ’cause it’s on your way.

Tell me a lie when you take me home I don’t really want to spend the night alone Tel 1 me a lie Don’t worry about my sorrow You’ll be long gone tomorrow And you won’t have to see me cry Just tell me a lie.

This song is about casual sex. It is also about the loneliness and isolation that are becoming a pervasive part of our culture. It is about a woman who is engaging in one night stands, but would like at least the trappings of respectabi 1 ity. Frickie’s other number one single of 1983,

"He’s A Heartache," is a very up-tempo number. It concerns a woman who finds a man very attractive physically, but not emoti onal1y :

Well you can’t deny how good he looks You couldn’t find another on the cover of a book Believe me I’ve almost loved him once or twice But don’t be foaled by his innocent smile He’s clever as a devil and twice as wild He’s crazy, a little crazy’s kind of nice.

He’s a heartache lookin’ for a place to happen Lookin’ for a little action livin’ for the moment

Page 81 not for lovin’ He’s a heartache lookin’ for a place to happen Temporary satisfaction if you try to hold on he’s gone.

Bo far we might assume that the singer is warning us that such

a man should be avoided at all costs, but that is not the

cases

Well I might as well tell someone else I know I’ll never have him to myself Not likely, but I wouldn’t mind just one more night If he wants to hold you let it be Don’t pass up the opportunity to know him You won’t forget him all your life. But what ever you do be wise enough not to fall in love ’Cause he’s a heartache.

We are told that this man is physically attractive and

sexually unforgettable, however, he is not to be taken

seriously. While he may be a "fun date," he is not a prospect

for a long-term relationship. This is hardly the traditional

way women in country music are expected to judge men.

GOOD LOVE

Happy romantic relationships are becoming if not the norm in

country music, at least what is seen as most desirable. Many of the songs we will discuss in this section speak to the

issue of women not settling any more for uncommitted partners. In her 1982 hit Reba McEntire recognizes "There

Ain’t No Future In It":

Page 82 Haney I know you tried When you loved me tonight But her memory slipped -from your lips So if she’s on your mind That much of the time There ain’t no future in this

There was somebody who Took a whole lot of you And I guess you’re not over it yet If I’m just standing in For a memory then There ain’t no future in this.

This is a very straight forward appraisal of the situation, without recriminations or anger. Rather she simply states that if she is only going to be an unsatisfactory replacement for another woman, then she would rather not be involved.

Janie Frickie expresses a similar sentiment in her 1982 release "Pass Me By":

Would you look at what came down the road today Wanting me to be one more mistake to make A bridge to burn to get to someone new Hey pass me by if your only passin’ through You sure look like the travel in’ kind to me Well don’t stop if this ain’t where you want to be I don’t know what you think you’ve run into Hey pass me by if your only passing through.

She is looking for a committed relationship and she will not settle for less. In 1981 Janie Frickie’s hit "Do Me With

Love" continues with this theme:

Words are cheap and I love yous are free So unless you mean it don’t spend ’em on me Don’t look twice if your keepin’ score ’Cause heartaches are high priced and I’ve paid it before.

Do me with love don’t do me wrong You know my heart’s been broken too long

Page 83 And I’ve had one too many tears to -fall Do me with love, do me with love or don’t do me at all.

This is a situation where no relationship is preferable to a bad one. In her 1984 number one hit "Your Heart’s Not In It"

Janie says that despite wanting him a great deal, she would rather be alone than settle for a love like this one:

I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you tonight It would feel so good to feel your touch and to let you hold me tight If it was only right

But your heart’s not in it And I can’t take your body if your heart’s not in it There’s an old love on your mind that you can’t forget At least you haven’t yet

No your heart’s not in it I won’t gamble on a love if I can’t win it And I can’t win it if your heart’s not in it.

She refuses to accept less than the best in love. This attitude also applies to couples who are already married. In

McEntire’s 1983 "Somebody Should Leave" she discusses a marriage that is emotionally over:

It sure is quiet when the kids go to bed We sit here in the silence putting off what must be said I read a book you watch tv as our love dies qui etly I’m so sad I don’t know what I’ve just read.

She is sad, but that does not mean she wishes to continue in the marriage:

Somebody should leave but which one should it be You need the kids and they need me

F'age 84 Somebody should leave but we hate to give in We keep hoping some how we might need each other again.

The hopelessness is evident, and it is just a matter o-f time

before one of them makes the first move; there will be no more

holding it together at any cost. In 1986 Reba discusses

another marriage gone wrong in her number one hit "Little

Roc k":

1 married to the good life I said I'd be a good wife When I put on this ring I drive a new Mercedes Play tennis with the ladies And buy all the finer things

But all that don’t mean nothin’ When you can’t get a good nights lovin’

□h little rock Think I’m gonna have to slip you off Take a chance tonight and untie the knot There’s more to life than what I got

We find more middle-class imagery here, but once again it is

only to prove that what is really important is the personal

side of marriage. No matter how much money or how many

material comforts this relationship provides, it is not enough without sex, and presumably love. The flip side of this subject is discussed in McEntire’s 1981 release "I Don’t Think

Love Ought To Be That Way";

I’m feel in’ so fine and you’re lookin’ so good And I’d like to get together Oh Lord I w i shed we could But there’s someone at home who’s dependin’ on me And though he’d never know it if I set my

Page 85 passions free But I don’t think love ought to be that way No I don’t think love ought to be that way I could tell him a lie and I know I’d get by But I don’t think love ought to be that way.

Here she turns down temporary satisfaction for a good long­ term love. A happy monogamous relationship seems more and more to be the goal in country songs.

One of Reba’s most recent hits, released in late 1987,

"Love Will Find It’s Way To You," talks about looking for this kind of good love:

Another morning Another day in your life Without someone there by you You had a dream again last night You wonder why the dream just won’t come true.

So what’cha gonna do Walk around with your head hung down Maybe that’s the reason You’ve never found the one for you You’ve got to let your love shine thru Your eyes your smile You’ve got to let somebody know How you feel inside your heart you’ll find Somebody wants to be a part of your life And if you’ll just believe And say that’s what you’re gonna do One day love will find its way to you.

If we don’t settle for a bad relationship, if we wait and keep looking as Reba suggests, then we may be rewarded with the kind of love she describes in "You Lift Me Up":

I’ve been to Colorado Where the mountains touch the sky And I’ve done other things in life To lift my spirits high But nothin’ that I ever tried to do Has taken me as high as lovin’ you.

Page 86 You lift me up, up, up to heaven When you gently lay me down You lift me up, up, up to heaven Yes, you make my world go ’round.

This song is not only about sexual love, although that is certainly important, it is also about a committed two-partner relationship that country music is starting to sing more about.

We have examined the careers of six female vocalists who represent more than twenty-five years of success in country music. We have analyzed the lyrics of many of their songs and based on that analysis are able to draw certain conclusions.

While the differences between individual singers is often pronounced, it is possible to see a distinct change over this time period in the way both men and women are being portrayed in their romantic relationships.

There has been a general movement away from songs which suggested keeping a marriage together at any cost. Tammy

Wynette’s "Stand By Your Man" suggested that women are the emotional superiors of men and that it is their responsibility to hold the relationship together no matter what the circumstances. More recent offerings, such as Reba McEntire’s

"There Ain’t No Future In It," leave us with the impression that if the relationship is not working perhaps the best recourse is to dissolve the union and move on.

Page 87 Women are also starting to be seen making it on their own

sometimes. They are certainly portrayed with much more

freedom to choose their own sexual expression, with less fear

of the social repercussions that Loretta Lynn sang about in

"Rated X". Perhaps the most significant change is the new

emphasis on positive romantic relationships. Many country

songs today suggest that women should not settle for less

anymore.

K.T. Oslin is one of the newest stars of country music

today. She is in some ways unlike the six women we have

analyzed. She is just beginning her career in country music

at age forty—five. By her own description she is somewhat

over-weight, and not the spandex and rhinestone type. Her

first hit "80s Ladies" was a song which she also authored, it

was released in 1987 and may be an indication of at least one of the ways women will be seen in country music in the coming years:

We were three little girls from school One was pretty, one was smart and one was a borderline fool Oh, she’s still good lookin’ That woman hasn’t slipped a bit And the smart one used her head She made her fortune And me I cross the border every chance I get.

We were the girls of the 50’s Stone rock and rollers in the 60’s And more than our names got changed As the 70’s slipped on by Now we’re 80’s ladies There ain’t been much these ladies ain’t tried.

Page 88 We've been educated, we gat liberated And that’s complicated matters with men Oh We’ve said I do and we’ve signed I don't And we’ve sworn we’d never do that again Oh we’ve burned our bras and we’ve burned our dinners And we’ve burned our candles at both ends And we’ve got some children who look just like we did back then.

Oslin’s description o-f the women who make up the country music audience today is as accurate as Loretta Lynn’s and Tammy

Wynette’s were in the 1960s. The lines "We’ve been educated, and we got liberated, and that’s complicated matters with men," may be one o-f the greatest understatements of our time.

And what about those men, what are their responses to these changing roles? A look at the lyrics of some of the top contemporary male vocalists may give us some answers.

Page 89 CHAPTER FIVE "HELLO DARLIN"; CONTEMPORARY MALE VOCALISTS The stereotype of the men in country music has long held that they are hard-drinking, carousing, women chasers. While some of the earlier country songs may have supported such an image, today's lyrics do not. The issue of romantic relationships, which -filled the women's songs, are also very much on the minds of the men. The men are also more likely than the women to sing about issues from across the spectrum of concerns in American society today, especially working- class America.

The songs chosen for examination in this chapter were selected at random from issues of Country Roundup Magazine dating between 1983 and 1988. This monthly publication includes a section with the lyrics of a group of current top forty country hits and all time country standards. My initial selection included more than two hundred such songs. The songs chosen represent the work of a cross section of top male vocalists in country music, primarily over the last five years. To analyze these lyrics I will use many of the same themes that applied to the women’s songs.

LOST LOVE

Despite the frequently held image that the men in country music are insensitive macho types, the songs analyzed in this section indicate something quite different. Country songs by male vocalists show men with genuine vulnerability and a willingness to express the pain suffered from shattered relationships. Gary Morris does just this in his 1983 hit

"Second Hand Heart":

There's so many people out in the world just 1i ke me Hoping to hear a few simple words to believe And one honest touch is more than enough for someone with no one to love Though I'm afraid my heart can't be saved I'm not the kind to give up Does anybody out there want a second hand heart One that's already broken in I think I made it through the hardest part At least enough to try love again.

Despite his less than successful past encounter with lave, romance holds such allure that he is willing to take another chance. T.G. Sheppard employs this same "used car" imagery to express a similar sentiment in "One Owner Heart":

Put an ad in the paper today Low mileage heart Must move right away She says does your heart still run like it should I say yes but since she left me it don't do me no good I got a

One owner heart She only drove me crazy on Sundays Guaranteed to start It's a one owner heart.

These are men who openly admit to having been hurt by a love affair, even to having been left behind. Randy Travis scored a number one hit in 1985 with another such song, "Diggin' Up

Page 91 Bones'* :

Last night I dug your picture out -From my old dresser drawer I set it on the table and I talked to it 'till •four I read some old love letters right up to the break of dawn Yeah I've been sittin' alone diggin'' up bones.

It * B Then I went through the jewelry and I •found our wedding rings I put mine on my -finger And I gave yours a -fling Across this lonely bedroom of our recent broken home Yeah tonight I'm sittin' alone diggin up bones.

Society is more likely to expect women, particularly in

country music, to exhibit such sentimental behavior about old

love letters and other such memorabilia, but that is not the

case in these recent songs.

George Strait uses a sort of reverse psychology to

convince his love not to leave him, in this 1986 number one

song, "Ocean Front Property":

If you leave me I won't miss you And I won't ever take you back Girl your memory won't ever haunt me 'Cause I don't love you Now If you'll buy that

I've got some ocean front property in Arizona From my front porch you can see the sea I've got some ocean front property in Arizona If you buy that I'll throw the Golden Gate in f r ee.

While this song uses a lighter touch than some of the others,

the message is the sames lave can hurt even big strong men a

Page 92 great deal. T. Graham Brown's 19S3 release implies that the

hurt may he so great, a man might prefer to live in the past;

They say I'm the kind of man Who always speaks his mind I believe there's nothin'* stronger than the truth They can ask me almost anything And I'll tell it like it is But darlin' when they ask me about you.

I tell it like it used to be When you were still in love with me Before you got too used to me And wanted someone new I tell it like it oughta be 'Cause how it is is killing me.

She left him for someone else and he can't bring himself to

accept it. This philosophy is taken to its extreme limits in

George Jones's famous recording "He Stopped Lovin' Her Today";

He said I'll love you 'til I die She told him you'll forget in time As the years went slowly by She still preyed upon his mind He kept her picture on his wall Went half crazy now and then He still loved her through it all Hoping she'd come back again.

Kept some letters by his bed Dated 1962 He had underlined in red Every single "I love you" I went to see him just today Oh, but I didn't see no tears All dressed up to go away First time I'd seen him smile in years.

He stopped loving her today They placed a wreath upon his door And soon they'll carry him away He stopped laving her today.

You know she came to see him one last time

Page 93 □h we all wondered if she would And it kept running through my mind This time he's over her -for good.

This is the epitome of vulnerability in love, the kind that can destroy a life.

Like their female counterparts these men occasionally hint that they would not mind a little revenge. Ricky Skaggs comes directly to the point on this subject in "Love's Gonna

Get You Someday:

I wanted you to want me just the way I wanted you And I felt foolish when you found somebody new I think it's fair to warn you that you can't treat love that way Love's gonna get you someday.

Love's gonna get you someday And pay you back for all those times you left it in disgrace When you least expect it love will put you in your place Love's gonna get you someday,

George Jones sings what may be the classic revenge song of all times, with his 1986 release "The Right Left Hand":

I've cried a million tears Down through the years Searchin' for that special one The vows I took before Were all forever more But no matter how I tried They came undone.

The song implies that the responsibility for the breakup of his previous marriage rests squarely on the shoulders of his former wife;; he says that "no matter how hard I tried", this

Page 94 certainly implies that he gave it his all, which leaves us to believe that to have a happy union what you need is the right woman:

Then the good Lord finally gave me The true love of a lady Someone who believes in me She let me know each day That she is here to stay I finally found someone Who'll never leave.

I've put a golden band On the right left hand this time And the right left hand put a golden band on mine

Many in the country music industry believed this song was aimed directly at Jones' real-life ex-wife, Tammy Wynette. She and Jones had a very storm'/ marriage and a highly publicized divorce, and he was remarried shortly before this song was released. George not only got even, he got a number one hit record as wel1.

The women's “lost love songs" we analyzed became far less acrimonious as we moved into the late 1970's and early 80's.

The men, however are still very interested in identifying the guilty party in relationships, as the George Jones song just demonstrated. Interestingly, however, I discovered that when guilt was assessed in these songs, the men blamed themselves at the ratio of three to one. Ricky Van Shelton's "Life

Turned Her That Way" is a striking example of this genre:

If she seems cold and bitter I beg of you just stop and consider

Page 95 All she's gone through Don't be quick to condemn her For things she might say Just remember Life turned her that way.

She's been walked on and stepped on So many times And I hate to admit it but the last footprint's mine She was crying when I met her She cries harder today So don't blame her Life turned her that way.

The woman's innocence is standard in such songs, although the other details may vary a great deal. She may be depicted as a true martyr standing by her faithless man to the end, as was the case in the Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings 1971 classic "Good Hearted Woman":

She's a good hearted woman In love with a good timin' man She loves him in spite of his ways Which she don't understand Through teardrops and laughter They'll pass through this world hand in hand A good hearted woman Lovin' her good timin' man.

More recent examples represent the other extreme. Here a woman is simply driven away by a neglectful man. John

Schneider's 1986 release "At The Sound Of The Tone" depicts this situation:

I called her up to say I'm sorry I just can't have lunch today 'Cause the boss is flyin' in from L.A. And as the phone rang I remembered the time How simple things used to be Then her voice came on the line not her But the answer machine.

Page 96 She said I'm sorry I can't take your call 'Cause I'm packin' up to go away And John if that's you You're just cancellin' lunch anyway Aw you used to find the time But now you don't even try So at the sound of the tone you're on your own Goodbye.

While this may be an insensitive guy, we see no evidence that he is cheating or otherwise overtly destroying the marriage, but he is neglecting her and according to most of the songs in country music today, that is an adequate reason for her to leave. Schneider continues;

Down to the street and I caught a cab I had to get back home But the house was empty Except for the code-a-phone And as the tears came I remember the time How happy we used to be And I'll never forget The last words she ever said to me.

Here is a man with all of the trappings of middle-class success, who appears willing to abandon all of that (at least temporari1y), but who arrives too late to plead his case and loses the most important thing in life: love.

George Strait's 1984 number one single, "You Look So Good

In Love" carries this idea one step further:

□h how you sparkle and oh how you shine That flush on your cheeks is more than the wine And he must do something that I didn't do Whatever he is doing it looks good on you.

You look so good in love You want him that's easy to see You look so good in love

Page 97 I wish you still wanted me.

m m m I had my chances but I set you free And now I wonder why I couldn't see.

Not only did she leave him, she fell in love with someone else and now she is very happy. Only too late does he see the error of his ways:

Darling 1 wasted a lot of years not seeing the real you But tonight your beauty is shining through And I never took the time to let you know

For this neglect he must pay the ultimate penalty: he must lose his love.

George Strait has had a number of hit songs which express similar sentiments. In 1980 he sang "Nobody In His Right Mind

Would've Left Here":

I burn with desire each time my heart Fans the fire to that old flame that burns inside of me She cried when I left her. Now I cry to forget her □h how foolish I was to to ever leave.

'Cause nobody in his right mind would've left her I had to be crazy to say good-bye

A plea of temporary insanity makes as much sense as anything else.

Alabama's 1982 smash hit "Lady Down On Love" gives us more specific details about what went wrong in this marriage:

It's her first night on the town since she was just eighteen A lady down on love and out of hope and dreams The ties that once bound her now are broke away She's like a baby just learning how to play.

Page 98 She never thought that love could ever end so soon Her mind drifts back in time to a mid-summer moon When he asked her to marry and she gladly said ok And a woman came to be from the girl of yesterday

Well I know the lady that's down on her love 'Cause I used to hold her and have that special touch But work took me away from home late at night And I wasn't there when she turned out the lights Then both of us got lonely and I gave in to lust And she couldn't live with a man she could't trust.

This song is a much more straightforward appraisal of why the marriage collapses, and while it may be somewhat less melodramatic than some of the others, it is no less clear about the final outcome and about who is responsible.

These songs represent one segment of what is often referred to as "Women's Songs" in the recording industry, meaning that they appeal primarily to women. It is not difficult to understand how a woman who is feeling neglected might play out such a fantasy: she leaves her insensitive partner, someone else falls in love with her, and her original mate is devastated by the loss of her love. This scenario not only sells records, but also works quite well in romance novels and soap operas.

In country music, Conway Twitty is undoubtledly the king of "Women's Songs". He may best be known for his recording of

“Hello Darlin". While this record was released nearly twenty years ago it is still on most country music station's play lists and is regarded as a classic:

Page 99 Hello Darlin', nice to see you It's been a long time You're just as lovely as you used to be How's your new love are you happy Hope you're doing -fine Just to know this means so much to me What's that darlin, how am I doing Guess I'm doing alright except I can't sleep, and I cry all night till dawn What I'm trying to say is I love you, and I miss you And I'm sorry that I did you wrong.

This simple story line repeats itself in hundreds of songs.

In a later hit Conway takes a slightly different approach with this theme when he sings "Happy Birthday Honey":

Hello Honey, Happy Birthday I've decided not to give you a present Think it's about time sweetheart I took some things away I'd like to take away the suspicion that clouds your world at times By giving you a little faith to hold onto, honey.

I wanna take away some of the lonely moments By spending more of mine with you I wanna take away some of the so-so kisses and replace them with ones that really say I love you.

While this is the same basic theme, here he realizes his mistake before it is too late, before the marriage is over.

Lee Greenwood has a similar revelation in his 1984 "Hearts

Aren't Made To Break":

Oh it tears me up when you go all to pieces Your crying eyes say you've been hurt enough Trying hard don't always make it easy Hearts aren't made to break they're made to love.

Lately all I do is think about you It's weighing like a stone inside my mind I know I've taken you for granted And left your heart hanging on the line.

Page 100 Presumably he intends to make the appropriate changes in the relationship before it is too late.

Sometimes the warning comes from someone outside of the relationship, as is the case with the 1984 Moe Bandy hit,

"Your Gonna Lose Her Like That:

She fixed up her hair Bought her a new dress this morning She looks like the lady she is and feels like a woman She was ready to spend that night on the town like you promised □h but you let her down Now she's in her gown at home again.

You're gonna lose her like that Leavin' a woman with feelings Spending her nights looking back Your gonna lose her like that.

Even a woman as good as this one will only put up with so much

today; that is what he is warning men about.

Conway Twitty's 1984 "Between Blue Eyes and Jeans"

suggests the same outcome from such neglectful behavior:

Somewhere between her blue eyes and jeans There's a heart that's been broken along with her dreams And tonight she's out dancing drinkin' and thi nk i ng Healing a feeling between her blue eyes and j eans■

m m m And tonight some dance hall doctor might break the chains that lock her To that lonesome ol' feeling between her blue eyes and jeans.

The men are now regularly suggesting the possibility that some

other man may come along and steal their women if they don't

Page 101 treat them properly. This message does have a somewhat f ami 1 iar ring to it. This is how Lee Greewood expressed it in his 1982 "Ring On Her Finger, Time On her Hands":

She stood before God, her family and friends And vowed that she'd never love anyone else again, only me As pure as her gown of white she stood by my si de And promised that she'd love me 'til the day she died . . .

When I add up all the countless nights she cried herself to sleep And all the broken promises I somehow failed to keep I can't blame her 'cause I'm the one who left her too many times alone In a three bedroom prison she tried to make a home Her love slowly died, but the fire inside still burned And the arms of a stranger was the only place left to turn.

Here the lyrics clearly state that a married woman who is

sexually unfaithful is still deserving of forgiveness from her

husband, if he pushed her into this illicit relationship by

his neglect. I am not sure if we could expect this liberal an

attitude in the general society towards women and to find it

in country music is somewhat unexpected. While we have seen

this attitude in the past in country music, it was likely to

be Tammy Wynette advising other women to pay proper attention to their men in order to avoid just this sort of consequence.

We have seen thus far that the men in some country music songs can be very tender—hearted. They get hurt in love,

Page 102 sometimes a lot. They mourn the loss o*f love, they read old love letters late at night, and sometimes they take that lost love to their graves. One might wonder i -f there are any happy relationships to be -found in country music songs by men.

GOOD LOVE - RELATIVELY CHASTE

In -fact the male vocalists in country music today are singing a lot about good love. Ronnie Milsap, who is noted for his romantic love songs, does not disappoint us with "What

A Difference You've Made In My Life":

What a diff'rence you've made in my life What a diff'rence you've made in my life You're my sunshine day and night Oh, what a diff'rence you've made in my life.

What a change you have made in my heart What a change you have made in my heart You replaced all the broken parts Oh, what a diff'rence you have made in my life

While Milsap is not very specific about what those changes are, the mood of the songs makes it clear that they are for the better. In 1984 Exile went even further and proclaimed that "She's A Miracle":

I don't need a shooting star to make my wish come true I don't need a four-leaf clover or a crystal ball to see through I don't need a claim to fame like some folks always do I've got my very own big time star and she shines the whole night through.

Page 103 She's a miracle A sight to see Oh the way she touches me Way down deep in my soul Somethin's got a hold and it won't let go I-f I stumble If I -fall She's waitin' right there to catch me Oh she's a miracle A miracle to me.

This is very romantic song, by most musical standards and it is only one of many such songs in country music today. Another is Ricky Skaggs' 1985 hit "You Make Me Feel Like A Man":

Well it's so good to see your face again It's so good to hold your hand And it's so good to kiss your lips again You make me feel like a man.

Our love is deeper than the ocean Our love is higher than than the skies Our love it fills me with emotion I see love forever in your eyes.

While country music is not noted for its flights of poetic fancy, this comes pretty close.

There has long been a tradition in country music for men to see marriage or commitment as an undesirable state. There are a number of recent songs that explicitly address that issue. Alabama's "Love In The First Degree" is one of them:

I once thought of love as a prison A place I didn't want to be So long ago I made a decision To be foot loose and fancy free But you came and I was so tempted To gamble on love just one time I never thought I would get caught It seemed like the perfect crime.

This certainly does make not make love sound very

Page 104 inviting. Nevertheless, the singer appears to have no desire to escape:

Now I've got only one plea Lock me away inside of your love And throw away the key.

He has obviously had a change of attitude about commitment.

B.J. Thomas expresses similar sentiments in "Two Car Garage":

I used to be Mr. free, tall, dark and cool I did a solo act Made up my own rules Then you came along and changed my point of view Baby what am I gonna do Just look at me lookin' at you I can't believe the things I'm looking forward to.

Give me a two car garage And a two story house And a couple of kids we can brag about Give me a two-tone Chevrolet And too many bills to pay And a couple of arms to make me happy livin' that way.

Domesticity apparently sounds pretty inviting after all.

Lee Greenwood's 1984 hit "I Don't Mind The Thorns" is a more balanced view of love, proclaiming that love has its high points and its low, but on balance is worth the risk:

Come let me hold you for awhile All you have to do is smile And I'm yours again I may not like something you do But they're all apart of you And you're my best friend.

I don't mind the cold When I have a fire to warm me I don't mind the rain 'Cause it makes the flowers grow I can take the bad times When you wrap your love around me I don't mind the thorns when you're the rose.

Page 105 Alabama had the same idea with their hit "Close Enough To

Perfect":

Sometimes her mornin' coffee is way too strong And sometimes what she says She says all wrong But right or wrong She's there beside me Like only a friend would be And that's close enough to perfect for me.

Well she's been known to wear her pants too tight And drinkin' puts her out just like a light Heaven knows she's not an angel But she'd really like to be And that's close enough to perfect for me.

These are very romantic songs, songs in which love is not only

lauded, but in some cases idealized. Perhaps this is not what

many would expect from a musical form most noted for its down

to earth approach to the human condition.

GOOD LOVE - NOT CHASTE AT ALL

The women's songs we studied were often very specific in

their sexual content. The physical desires of these ladies were occasionally outlined in a fairly uninhibited manner.

The men are no less concerned with the topic of sex.

Country music disc jockeys report that of the few negative responses they receive from their listeners most usually concern lyrics that the audience perceives as too sexually explicit. Interestingly the complaints are nearly

Page 106 always aimed at the work of male artists. The ladies can

apparently get by with a good bit more directness, which again

goes against the prevailing stereotype o-f country music.

Alabama tops the list o-f artists who generate such protests.

Their number one hit of 1981 "Take Me Down" is such a song:

Fly away with me tonight Take me on a one way flight In you lovin' arms And everything's gonna be alright You're the one who took my hand When no one else could understand You're the one who moves me like nobody else can.

Take me down to where I wanna be Turn around the man who lives inside of me Take me down and lose me all night long Hold me close and make me strong Take me down take me down tonight.

Two years later this same group released a similar theme with

"When We Make Love":

There's a light in your eyes tonight You know I'd know that look anywhere You got plans and I'm a lucky man Before we get so carried away There's something I've been wanting to say

When we make love It's more to me than just an affair I want you to know how much I care When we make love.

While men are no less interested in sex that women, they are

more likely to cloak their discussion of a sexual encounter in

romanticism, as we have seen. In their 1986 release, "You've

Got The Touch" Alabama is a bit more to the point:

Lying beside you Watching you sleeping

Page 107 After you've loved me so tenderly I'm searching for some way to tell you How good it felt When I held you There's so many ways you get to me 'Cause you've got the touch That turns me on and on You light a fire in me That keeps burning strong.

Even in these lyrics however, love is not abandoned:

The longer I'm with you The deeper and deeper in love I fall.

Alabama's most controversial song may be their 1987 release

"Face to Face":

Run your fingers through my hair And softly kiss my lips And hold me close in your embrace And love me face to face.

Face to face Heart to heart Body to body Lips on lips Arm in arm Body to body Tingling tangled feelings of lovers face to face.

Even though this song is primarily about a sexual encounter, it still ends on a very romantic note:

You softly say you love me As you make love to me No one else can take your place We happen face to face.

Why these lyrics generated so much protest is unclear. In

1980 Reba McEntire recorded a song which was to become one of her early hits; the lyrics are at least as sexually explicit as those of "Face to Face". Reba's song was called "My Turn":

Page 108 Turn out the light and turn yourself over to me Turn off the world while 1 turn my feel in's free Just enjoy the pleasure for the pleasure pleases me You've been turnin' me on all night long Now it's my turn.

You have reached the woman in me Through the man in you Let me be that woman Before the lovin's through.

All night long I've been thrilling to your touch I haven't had time to give I've been takin' so much I know you want to hold me But darlin' you've done enough.

It is quite clear what McEntire is singing about here. This is about a sexual encounter; whether love is involved or not is not clear. Despite this fact the audience accepted this song with little if any complaints about its content.

Conway Twitty, is the "king" of "Women's Songs."

Sexually explicit material is his strong suit, as is evident from the lyrics of his number one hit, "I'd Just Love To Lay

You Down":

There's a lot of ways of sayin' What I want to say to you There's songs and poems and promises □f dreams that might come true But I won't talk of starry skies Or moonlight on the ground I'll come right out and tell you I'd just love to lay you down.

In this first stanza, the singer says very clearly that he does not intend to romance anyone, he is making his sexual

Page 109 desires very clear. Despite this disclaimer, this song may be one of the most romantic that we have discussed:

Lay you down and softly whisper Pretty love words in your ear Lay you down and tell you all the things A woman loves to hear I'll let you know how much It means just havin' you around Oh, darlin' how I'd love to lay you down.

There's so many-' ways your sweet love Made this house into a home Through raisin' kids and housework Baby, you still turn me on Even standin' in the kitchen In your faded cotton gown With your hair all up in curlers I'd still love to lay you down.

For a man who said he was not going to talk of "songs and poems and promises" he has been pretty poetic and in the last stanza makes some definite promises:

When a whole lot of Decembers Are showin' on your face And your auburn hair has faded And silver takes its place You'll still be just as lovely And I'll still be around And If I can I know I'll still love to la'/ you down.

In a society which places such emphasis on youthful good looks, this statement can only be construed as representing romantic lave in the highest degree.

Perhaps one of the most interesting songs of this genre is Conway's "Slow Hands":

As the midnight moon was driftin' through The lazy sway of the trees I saw the look in your eyes lookin' into the night

Page 110 Not seein' what you wanted to see Darlin' don't say a word 'Cause X already heard what your body's sayin' to mine You're tired o-f -fast moves You've got a slow groove on your mind You wanna man with a slow hand You wanna lover with an easy touch You want somebody who will spend some time Not come and go in a heated rush Baby, believe me, I understand When it comes to love You wanna slow hand.

This song was originally released by pop music's Pointer

Sisters. Conway's ability to take a song originally released by -four young Black women concerning female sexuality and convert it to one of his biggest hits, is a credit to his ability as an entertainer and a strong indication that men in country music can be seen as sensitive and insightful concerning the needs and desires of women.

Lee Greenwood's "Mornin' Ride" qualifies as both very sexual and very romantic:

There's a quiet time In the early dawn Before the mornin'paper Before the coffee's on When there ain't much movin' In the world outside □h I love to take a mornin' ride.

If you chose to take the lyrics very literally it might be possible to construe them to be simply a discussion about a couple going horse back riding, but I suspect the author may have had something else in mind:

My baby knows it's the time we share She wakes me gently

Page 111 And brushes back her hair Then she moves into my arms Kind o-f sweet and slow I can't wait to get up and go.

■ ■ * And when we get back It will feel so right To lay back and linger in the mornin' light Then she'll smile at me Thinkin' where we've been Wantin' me to take her again.

It appears that the stereotype of men in country music as

gruff, cheating, macho types is at least partially in error.

They show themselves here to be sensitive, caring, and

extremely romantic souls. This is not to imply that all

country men fall into this category. There are still some

songs being recorded about the rough and rowdy set.

GOOD OL' BOYS

In order to discuss "good ol' boys" we must first define

what and who they are. Mae Bandy and Joe Stampley have done

that for us in their 1980 hit called, not surprisingly, "Just

Good 01' Boys":

Well I've been kicked out of might near ev'ry bar around I've been locked up for drivin' a hundred and twenty through town Well I've been shot at and cut with a knife For messin' 'round with another man's wife But other than that we ain't nothin' but just good ol' bays. Good ol' boys we're all the same Ain't no way we'll ever change Mean no harm by the things we do

Page 112 Or the trouble that we get into Other than a wild hair once in a while We can't help it it's just our style And good ol' boys is all we'll ever be.

This image of country men with severe cases of arrested emotional development has been around a long time and for many outside of country music this image prevails. Perhaps more than any other single artist, Hank Williams Jr. is responsible for keeping this tradition alive. His lyrics are filled with images of drinking to excess, violence, and some of the most chauvinistic themes in country music today. As an example of the latter I offer "Women I've Never Had":

I like to play music and have good times I love to hear an old train rollin' down the line I am happy and I don't like sad I like to have women I've never had.

I take a little smoke and a lot of wine I get high and cal1 old friends of mine I like the sweet young things and Old Granddad I like to have women I've never had.

Another prime example of this attitude toward women can be seen in the lyrics of "Gonna Go Huntin' Tonight":

I'm gonna shine up my boots pick out my best hat Gain' to a place called The Old Brier Patch Gonna get loose and I'm gonna have fun Gonna go huntin' but I won't need a gun

Well the season is always open and there ain't no limit you see They can be more challenging than a Rocky Mountain sheep I have hunted them four legged deer But the two 1 egged's a lot more fun I'm gonna go huntin' tonight Lord But I ain't takin' no gun.

Page 113 "Cause the kind of game I'm lookin' -for is not that hard to snare But they can be more dangerous than a big ol ' grizzly bear They got long claws, long legs and their skins already tanned in the sun I'm gonna go huntin' tonight Lord But I ain't taken no gun.

Here women are directly compared to wild animals. Old Hank is quite the smooth talker. In "Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound" we are given his perspective on marriage:

I've got a good woman at home who thinks I do no wrong But sometimes Lord she just ain't always around And you know that's when o-f course I can't help myself at all And I get whiskey bent and hell bound.

This is the out-of ~si ght/out-of-mi nd philosophy of wedded bliss, where men are seen as sexually compulsive and amoral.

To be fair to Hank, he is not entirely alone in depicting country men as less than sensitive. George Strait, who we have seen doing some very romantic love songs, also sings about some pretty sleazy characters. "All My Ex's Live In

Texas" describes one:

All my ex's live in Texas And Texas is a place I’d dearly love to be But all my ex's live in Texas And that's why I hang my hat in Tennessee.

Rosanna's down in Texarakana Wanted me to push her broom Sweet Ilene's in Abilene She forgot I hung the moon and Allison in Galveston Somehow lost her sanity And Dimples who now lives in Temple-s Got the law lookin' for me.

Page 114 What a guy he has left at least -four wives, not before driving one of them crazy. This was a number one hit in 1985, so someone obviously liked it. The following year George had

another big hit with "The Fireman," the story of another

uncommitted individual:

Last night they had a big one A mile or two down the road A buddy walked out and left his woman Burning out of control Well she called me up and I grabbed my hose With a little mouth to mouth she was ready to go I'm the fireman That's my name.

I got a fire engine red T-Bird automobile In a minute or less I can be dressed fit to kill I work 24 on 24 off When they get too hot they give me a call They call me the fireman That's my name.

Examples of current songs which praise good ol' boys are

however, getting harder and harder to find. If they are not a

dying breed, good ol' boys certainly are on the endangered

species list. Perhaps this is what Williams means when he

sings "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)":

All my rowdy friend have settled down And they seem to be into more laid back songs Nobody wants to get drunk and get loud Everybody just wants to go back home.

I myself have seen my wilder days And I have seen my name at the top of the page But I need to find a friend just to run around But nobody wants to get high on the town 'Cause all my rowdy friends have settled down.

Country music in general seems to be following this same

Fage 115 pattern of settling down, or perhaps it is just growing up.

We have discovered in this chapter that the men in county music are frequently vulnerable, that they are often

incredibly romantic, and that their love can be deeply

committed. When love does go wrong they most often blame

themselves. For those with only a passing acquaintance with

country music, some of these qualities no doubt came as a

surpri se.

Page 116 "IF OL' HANK COULD ONLY SEE US NOW"; CONCLUSION The romantic relationships portrayed in country music

have changed significantly in the last three decades. If

indeed, as the song suggests "01 Hank Could See Us Now," he

would discover that the gender roles assigned today in the

lyrics of country music are less rigidly defined than they

were in the 1960s. Consequently both men and women are given

considerably more latitude to express themselves in a variety

of romantic relationships.

Country music includes a vast array of musical forms

often with as many differences as si mi 1arities. Even within a

particular style there will often be a multitude of

expressions and individual artist often provide further

divisions. Despite these differences however, this study has

provided sufficient evidence of areas of commonality to draw

some conclusions regarding overall trends in country music

over the past three decades.

Country music did began primarily as a white, southern,

rural, working class cultural expression. Today, while the

majority of listeners are still white, Blacks and Hispanics

are also represented. Country music has gained popular

acceptance in all geographic regions of the United States, in both metropolitan areas and rural communities.

Some things have remained relatively constant in country music, most notable the predominately working-class audience

Page 117 and themes. While there has been an inclusion of more middle

class imagery into the lyrics of recent country songs, the

listeners are still largely blue-collar workers.

THEMES IN COUNTRY MUSIC TODAY

Country music still concerns itself primarily with the

ordinary events that adults confront in their day-to-day

lives. Romantic relationships still top the list of concerns

in the majority of country music songs. There have been some

significant changes, however in the way in which those

relationships have been portrayed over the three decades

covered by this study. Some of these changes in country music

are clearly evident and easy to identify, others have been

more subtle and harder to detail.

Gender roles have changed in country music, not just for

women as many have noted, but they have been expanded for men

as well. Men now have the opportunity to express their

romantic feelings openly and with a great deal of emotion. It

is now common for the men in the lyrics of country songs to

admit that they have been hurt in love. The notion that they

have lost love as a result of their own neglectful behavior has also become a common theme.

Assessing blame for the destruction of relationships has become less common in songs by female vocalists. It is now

Page 118 acceptable however, -for the women in these songs to demand

better relationships and to abandon those which do not measure

up. Women are no longer expected to "stand by" their men

regardless of the circumstances of the relationship. Women

are portrayed today in country lyrics as having a greater

choice in determining their own sexual roles.

Cheating songs are still to be found in country music,

but they are not the staple they once were. Songs which

describe two independent adults who come together to form

strong lasting relationships are definitely on the increase in

country music, and from the perspective of many, that makes

everyone a winner. To sum up using country music's own

vernacular, it is possible to say that "good ol' boys" are

fading while "80's Ladies" are coming on strong.

While we have been able to identify some general trends

which have affected country music over the last thirty years,

bare in mind that they have for the most part been slow and

gradual changes. Country music, like society in general

frequently takes two steps forward and one step back during

any period of transition. The difficulty is that what some in

county music constitute as a step forward, others would surely see as a step back.

What may represent the most constant factor in country music is the ability for a wide variety of points of view to find acceptance; the ability of country music to accommodate

Page 119 diverse themes, often even those which are diametrical 1 y

opposed. Hank Williams Jr. provides a striking example of

this phenomenon with his two most recent hits, both were

released in 1988. The first, which made the charts in

February, defines who Williams views as the "Young Country"

audi ence:

We are young country We are the pride The sons and daughters □f American life Our hair is not orange We don't wear chains and spikes But we know how to have fun Came Saturday night.

We know what's right We know what's wrong We know what we like To hear in a song We like some of the old stuff We like some of the new But we do our own choosin' We pick our own music If you don't mind thank you.

We are young country We like all kinds Of music and people 'Cause we don't draw no lines No our hair is not orange We don't wear chains and spikes But we know how to have fun Come~a Saturday night.

We like ol' Waylon Hey we know Van Halen We like ZZ Top We like country rock 01' Hank would be proud And Elvis would too 'Cause we like our county Mixed with some big city blues.

Page 120 Williams is calling -for a new mare open attitude in country

music today, one that embraces other cultural forms and a

greater variety of Americans. This song indicates an every

increasing tolerance of other points of view in country

musi c.

In June of 1988 Williams released a second song which

became an almost overnight success, titled "If The South

Woulda Won." It expresses a radically different perspective:

If the south woulda won We'd of had it made The day Elvis passed away would be our national hoii day If the south woulda won We'd have it made.

I'd make my supreme court down in Texas And we wouldn't have no killers gettin' off free If they were proven guilty Then they would swing quickly Instead of written' books and smilin' on tv.

We'd all learn Cajun cookin' in Louisiana And I'd put that capital back in Alabama We'd put Florida on the right track 'Cause we'd take Miami back And throw all them pushers in the slammer.

Bo much for the more open tolerant attitude in country music

that Williams was singing about in the last number. This song

seems intent on alienating as many Americans as possible, as

the next stanza indicates:

I'd have all the cars made in the Carolinas And I'd ban all the ones made in China I'd have every girl child sent to Georgia to learn to smile

F'age 121 And talk with that southern accent it drives me wild.

Perhaps what these two hit songs indicate, is that country

audiences are so diverse and/or so -flexible, that bath of

these ideologies can be accepted simultaneously, which is

precisely what happened. That a single artist could espouse

such diverse points of view, lends credence to the notion that

country music, perhaps more than any other musical form, is

not narrowly based, but rather made up of many, often very

different segments.

While yielding certain answers the research for this

study also raised additional questions which I did not address

within the frame work of this essay, but which could

themselves be compelling studies. The six female vocalists

who are highlighted here are women who have each had

phenomenal personal and professional lives, filled with

possibilities for further stud'/. Another project might look

at the differences in physical appearance of each of these

women and pursue the possibility that their physical presence

has impacted on the kinds of themes they have addressed in the

lyrics of their songs. (e.g. Does Barbara Mandrel 1?s

"cheerleader” appearance and style allow her to sing songs

about adultery, that more blatantly sexual looking singers might not have attempted?) The focus in this study has been on the lyrics of the songs, another research project might

Page 122 analyse the melodies and rhythms for audience reaction. The question which continued to arise most often during this study deals with classism. Has this stereotype of country music developed, as many would suggest, because of its lyrics or is it more a result of country music's working class audience.

Perhaps it is not the music which is being denigrated, but rather the entire social class of its listeners.

Page 123 APPENDIX A Comparison of Billboard Chart Positions

Lynn Wynette Parton

First Date on chart 6/60 12/66 1/67

First Top Ten Hit 7/62 3/67 7/70

First Number One Hit 11/66 8/67 12/70

Recent Number One # 12/77 8/76 11/85

Total Top Tens 41 29 37

Total Number Ones 12 16 19

Total Chart Hits 62 53 54

Mandrell Frickie McEntire

First Date on chart 9/69 9/77 5/76

First Top Ten Hit 12/71 11/80 6/80

First Number One Hit 9/78 5/82 10/82

Recent Number One % 6/84 6 /8 6 12/87

Total Top Tens 28 17 19

Total Number Ones 7 9 13

Total Chart Hits 44 32 47

* As of August 15, 1988 APPENDIX B COUNTRY MUSIC INDUSTRY AWARDS

Academy Of Country Music

Female Vocalist Of The Year Entertainer Of The Year

Loretta Lynn 1971, 73, 74, 75 1972

Tammy Wynette 1969 ----

Dolly Par tan 1980 1979

Barbara Mandrel 1 1978, 81 1980

Janie Frickie 1983 ----

Reba McEntire 1984, 85, 8 6, 87, 88 ----

Country Music Association

Female Vocalist Of The Year Entertainer Of The Year

Loretta Lynn 1967, 72, 73 1972

Tammy Wynette 1968, 69, 70 ----

Dolly Par ton 1975, 76 1978

Barbara Mandrel 1 ^ 979 1980, 81

Janie Frickie 1982, 83 ----

Beba McEntire 1984, 85, 8 6, 87 1986 ■PENDIX INDEX OF SONGS

All My Ex's Live In Texas

All My Rowdy Friends

Always Have Always Will

Ameri ca

Americana

American Dream, The

American Farmer

At The Sound Of The Tone

Between Blue Eyes And Jeans

Can *t Even Get The Blues

Carpenter, The

Chair, The

Close Enough To Perfect

Common Man

Crossword Puzzle

Deportee

Diggin’ Up Bones

Do I Ever Cross Your Mind

Do Me With Love

Don111 Worry * Bout Me Baby

80?s Ladies

Face To Face Fast Lanes And County Roads

Fireman, The

First Word In Memory Is Me, The

Fist City

Forty Hours A Week

God Bless The USA

God Gave Me The Heart To Forgive

Gonna Go Huntin'* Tonight

Good Hearted Woman

Good Lovin' (Makes It Flight)

Happy Birthday Dear Heartache

Happy Birthday Honey

He Stopped Loving Her Today

Heartbreak Express

Hearts Aren't Made To Break

Hel1o Dar1 i n'

He's A Heartache

I Can Depend On You

I Don't Think Love Ought To Be That Way

I Don't Mind The Thorns

I Don't Want To Be Right

I Hope You're Never Happy

I Like To Have Women I've Never Had

I Tell It Like It Used To Be

I Was Country I Will Always Love You

I'd Just Love To Lay You Down

If Ole Hank Could Only See Us Now

If The South Would Have Won

I'll Need Someone To Hold Me

I'm For Love

I'm Not That Lonely Yet

It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy

It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angles

It's All Wrong

Jolene

Just Good 01 ' Boys

Keep Your Change

Kids Of The Baby Boom

Lady Down On Love

Last One To Know, The

Lie To You For Your Love

Life Turned Her That Way

Little Rock

Living In The F’romiseland

Love In The First Degree

Love Will Find It's Way To You

Love's Gonna Get You Someday

Luckenback, Texas Man I Hardly Knew, A

Married But Not To Each Other

MIA

My Turn

The Mississippi Squirrel Revival

Mornin' Ride

9 to 5

Nobody In His Right Mind

Ocean Front Property

Old Folks

One Of A Kind Pair Of Fools

One Owner Heart

Only A Lonely Heart Knows

Okie From Muskogee

Pass Me By

Rated X

Real Love

Ride, The

Right Left Hand, The

Ring On Her Finger

Roll On Eighteen Wheeler

Second Hand Heart

She's A Miracle

She's Single Again

Sing For The Common Man Singing My Sang

Single Women

Slow Hand

Somebody Led Me Away

Somebody Should Leave

Stand By Your Man

Standing Room Only

Take Me Down

Take This Job And Shove It

Tell Me A Lie

There Ain't No Future In This

There's No Love In Tennessee

Tie Our Love

Two Car Garage

Two Doors Down

Two Story House

What Am I Gonna Do About You

What A Difference You've Made In My Life

When A Woman Cries

When The Tingle Becomes A Chill

When We Make Love

Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound

Whoever's In New England

Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes Woman To Woman

Working Man

Would Jesus Wear A Rolex

Years

You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man

You Lift Me Up

You Look So Good In Love

You Make Me Feel Like A Man

You Never Called Me By My Name

Young Country

Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad

Your Gonna Lose Her Like That

Your Heart's Not In It

You've Got The Touch ALL MY EX'S LIVE IN TEXAS (As recorded by George Strait)

Sanger Shafer and Lyndia Shafer

All my ex's live in Texas And Texas is a place I'd dearly love to b But all my ex's live in Texas And that's why I hang my hat in Tennessee

Rosanna's down in Texarakana Wanted me to push her broom Sweet Ilene's in Abilene She forgot I hung the moon and Allison in Galveston Somehow lost her sanity And Dimples who now lives in Temple's Got the law lookin' for me.

I remember that old Brazos River Where I learned to swim But it brings to mind another time Where I wore my welcome thin By transcendental meditation I go there at night But always come back to myself Long before daylight.

Repeat chorus

Some folks think I hide It's rumored that I died But I'm alive and well in Tennessee.

Copyright 1986 Acuff-Rose Opryland Music. ALL MY ROWDY FRIENDS (As Recorded by Hank Williams Jr.)

Hank Williams Jr.

All my rowdy friend have settled down And they seem to be into more laid back songs Nobody wants to get drunk and get loud Everybody just wants to go back home.

I myself have seen my wilder days And I have seen my name at the top of the page But I need to find a friend just to run around But nobody wants to get high on the town And all my rowdy friends have settled down.

And I think I know what my father meant When he sang about a lost highway And old George Jones I'm glad to see is finally gettin' straight Waylon's stayin' home and lovin' Jessie more these days.

Repeat Chorus

And the hangovers hurt more than they used to And cornbread and ice tea's took the place of pills and ninety proof And it seems like none of us do things quite like they used to do.

Repeat Chorus

Copyright 1981 Bocephus Music ALWAYS HAVE ALWAYS WILL (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

Unknown

It seems funny I remember your number after all this time And I know that it's late and hope that I'm not out of line But for some crazy reason I've been thinkin 'bout you all day And every three hours now I been thinkin'of somethin' to say

I love you like a fool Always have always will But you know that it's just my paint of view But I love you still always have always will Always have always will love you

Are you sleepin' any better now that I'm gone And I want to know who's hoi din' you tight Or are you just hoi din' on Your awfully quiet I guess your tired So I'll hang up the phone But you know that this old heart can't leave well enough alone.

Repeat chorus

Copyright ? AMERICA (As recorded by Waylon Jennings)

Sammy Jones

Some have said down thru history If you last it’s a mystery But I guess they don111 know what they’re talkin’ about From the mountains down to the sea You’ve become such a habit with me.

America, America Well I come from down ’round Tennesee But the people in California are nice to me Amer i ca And no matter how far you roam Tell you people this is home sweet home.

America, America And my brothers are all black and white and yellow too And the red man has right to expect a little from you Promise and then follow thru America All the men who fell on the plains And who lived thru hardships and pain for America, America And the man who could not fight in a war That didn’t seem right You let him come home America.

Copyright 1984 Lowery Music Co. Inc. AMERICANA (As recorded by Moe Bandy)

Patti Ryan, Rich Fagan and Larry Alderman

I’ve traveled all around this country In my time I though I’d seen it all Today I took a detour down a back road Thru a little town whose name I can’t recall There were old men on benches playin’ checkers And children playin’ hopscotch on the square And high above the statue of an unknown soldier Old Glory was wavin’ in the air Suddenly I realized what I’d too long forgotten And a chill rose up like mountains on my skin Overcome with the feel in’ I knew I was seenin’ America all over again.

Ameri cana Pictures of a people proud ’n free Amer i cana I’ll keep holdin’ to the dream You’re still what livin’ means to me.

I knew to stop would throw me off my schedule But I parked around behind the five and dime Somethin’ ’bout a small town in the summer Was like a Norman Rockwell picture outa time Kids were courtin’ at the Rexall soda fountain Like we did before they built that shoppin’ mall I saw so many reasons why I love this country You know some things never really change at all As I left the two lane road and pulled back on that super highway I though of what I’d seen back in that town And it hit me like a freight train That a stone’s throw from the fast lane America is still safe and sound.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1988 King Coal Music Inc. THE AMERICAN DREAM (As recorded by Hank Williams Jr.)

Hank Williams Jr.

Too many lawyers in -football Baseball’s got a few The pitcher got a million dollars And the quarterback, he got two The pitcher threw his arm away And the quarterback ruined his knee And they did this so they can live The American dream.

Now, there are some preachers on TV With a suit a tie and a vest They want you to send your money to the Lord But they give you their address ’Cause all of your donations Are completely tax free God Bless you But most of al1 Send your money.

Do you really want it Do you really need it You got to keep on grindin’ just to keep it You got no time for yourself You got more for old Jim Beam Your gain’ crazy dreamin’ The American dream.

Reagan is cuttin’ the budget Makin’ the Democrats scream Says we gotta control inflation Quit spendin’ our money on everything But this years tax increase Why it’s the biggest in history Around and around we go Where we stop who knows? The American dream.

Repeat chorus

Coppyright 1982 by Bocephus Music. AMERICAN FARMER (As recorded by The Charlie Daniels Band)

Charlie Daniels

See that man in the field over yonder With dirt on his hands and a load on his back He’s the man that puts the food on your table He’s the man that grows the clothes on your back

We’re running him out of the house he was born i Standing on the sidelines watching him fall Selling his land to the big corporations What you gonna do when they get it all.

He’s been pulled and shoved and treated like an outlaw Turned down, zoned out, put out to graze He’s been pushed till he ain’t a gonna push no more It gets a little bit harder every day.

He’s the American farmer and he’s a damn hard to beat You’d better wake up America, wake up America Cause if the man don’t work Then the people don’t eat.

We ship that high tech stuff off to Russia And I can’t figure what we’re doing it for We ought to send them wheat and meat and cotton A loaf of bread never started no war.

See that man in the middle of the city Eating out of garbage cans Sleeping in the street See that lady in the getto How in the world’s she gonna make ends meet.

It’s a damn disgrace on the face of America hungry people everywhere you go Children in africa starving by the millions While the land lays fallow and the banks foreclose.

The American farmer we’d better see him through Cause if he goes down swinging You’d better know we’re gonna go down swinging too.

Copyright 1985 Hat Band Music AT THE SOUND OF THE TONE (As recorded by John Schneider)

Max T. Barnes and Dave Richardson

I called her up to say I’m sorry I just can’t have lunch today ’Cause the boss just called And he’s flyin’ in from L.A. And as the phone rang I remembered the time How simple things used to be Then her voice came on the line not her But the answer machine.

She said I’m sorry I can’t take your call ’Cause I’m packin’ up to go away And John if that’s you You’re just cancellin’ lunch anyway Aw you used to find the time But now you don’t even try So at the sound of the tone you’re on your own Goodbye.

Down to the street and I caught a cab I had to get back home But the house was empty Except for the code a phone And as the tears came I remember the time How happy we used to be And I’ll never forget The last words she ever said to me.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1986 WB Music Corp. BETWEEN BLUE EYES AND JEANS (As recorded by Conway Twitty)

Ken McDuffie

Somewhere between her blue eyes and jeans There’s a heart that’s been broken along with her dreams And tonight she’s out dancing drinkin’ and thinking Healing a feeling between her blue eyes and jeans.

She looks like an angel in a big ol’ cloud of lonesome Reflecting her memories around a golden wedding ring And tonight some dance hall doctor might break the chains that lock her To that lonesome ol’ feeling between her blue eyes and jeans.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1984 Hall-Clement Publications CAN’T EVEN GET THE BLUES (As recorded by Reba licEntire)

Rick Carnes and Thomas Damphier

I walk into the kitchen The silverware is gone The -furniture is missin’ I guess you got it all This is where it oughta hurt Seems like every time you leave me You try to think o-f somethin’ worse.

I can’t even get the blues no more I try to worry like I did before But nothin’ happens when I walk the -floor So what am I suppose to do I toss and turn but then I fall asleep I’m gain’ under but it ain’t too deep You want to hurt me but it’s just no use I can’t even get the blues.

This time ain’t no different No sun up in the sky Sittin’ on the backporch Clouds are rollin’ by This is where it oughta rain But it doesn’t matter Pretty soon It’s all the same.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1982 Refuge Music THE CARPENTER (As recorded by John Conlee)

Guy Clark-

Let us now praise the carpenter And the things that he made And the way that he lived by the tools of his trade Well I can still hear his Hammer singin’ ten penny time Working by the hour till the day that the died. He was tough as a crowbar He was quick as a chisel Fair as a plane Lord, and true as a level He was straight as a chalkline He was right as a rule He was square with the world He took care of his tools.

He worked with his hands in wood from the crib to the coffin With a care and a love that you don’t see too often He built boats out of wood Big boats workin’ in a shipyard Mansions on the hill and a birdhouse in the backyard He said,"anything that’s worth cuttin’ down a tree for Is worth doin’ right" Don’t the Lord love a two-by four If you ask him how to do something he’d say "Like Noah built the ark You got to hold your mouth right son And never miss your mark".

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1983 April Music THE CHAIR (As Recorded By George Strait)

Hank Cochran and Dean Dillon

Well excuse me but I think you’ve got my chair No that one’s not taken I don’t mind if you sit here I’ll be glad to share Yeah it’s usually packed here on friday nights □h if you don’t mind could I talk you out of a light.

Well thank you could I drink you a buy Oh listen to me What I mean is can I buy you a drink Anything you please □h you’re welcome Well I don’t think I caught your name are you waiting for someone to meet you here Well that makes two of us glad you came.

No I don’t know the name of the band but they’re good Aren’t they Would you like to dance Yeah I like the song too It reminds me of you and me Tell me the truth do you think there’s a chance That later on I could drive you home No I don’t mind at all Oh I like you too and to tell you the truth That wasn’t my chair after all.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1985 Tree Publishing Co., Inc. CLOSE ENOUGH TO PERFECT (As recorded by Alabama)

Carl Chambers

Sometimes her mornin’ coffee is way too strong And sometimes what she says She says al1 wrong But right or wrong She’s there beside me Like only a friend would be And that’s close enough to perfect for me.

Well she’s been known to wear her pants too tight And drinkin’ puts her out just like a light Heaven knows she’s not an angel But she’d really like to be And that’s close enough to perfect for me.

She kisses me each mornin’ And she smiles her sleepy smile She don’t have to say it I can see it in her eyes So don’t you worry about my woman Or what you think she ought to be ’Cause she’s close enought to perfect for me.

Sometimes she gets down and starts to cry But then again a woman has a right She’s everything I ever wanted And all I’ll ever need She’s close enought to perfect for me.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1981 Chip Peay Music CROSSWORD PUZZLE (As recorded by Barbara Mandrel 1)

Steve Dean and Frank Myers

What we’ve become is one across and also rhymes with rules Two down is what we tell that’s opposite the truth Three across is what we do to each others -feelings Four across begins with "A" and means disagreeing.

We’re living out a crossword puzzle Filling in the spaces day by day We’re living out a crossword puzzle Now love’s the only word without a space.

To be untrue, is -five across and rhymes with disbelieving Six down is what we wipe away when we are crying Seven down’s a word -for children that we’re hurting when we fight Eight across is seven letter that the lawyers recognize.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1984 Tom Collins Music Corp. DEPORTEE (As recorded by Dolly Parton)

Dolly Parton

The crops are all in and the peaches are rotten The oranges are piled in their cresol dumps Your -flying them back to the Mexican boarder To pay all their money to wade back again.

Goodbye to my Juan Goodbye Roselita Adi os mes amigos Jesus and Maria You won’t have a name when you ride the big airplane All they will call you will be deportees.

Some o-f us are illegal and some are not wanted Our work contracts out and we have to move on But it’s six hundred miles to the Mexican boarder They chase us like outlaws like rustlers like thieves.

My -father’s own father he wadded that river They took all the money he made in his life My brothers and sisters come working the fruit trees They rode the truck till they took down and died.

The airplane caught fire over LosGatos Canyon A fireball of lightning that shook all the hills Who are these dear friends all scattered like dry leaves The radio said they were just deportees.

Repeat Chorus

Copyright 1980 Velvet Apple Music. DIGGIN’ UP BDNES (As recorded by Randy Travis)

Paul Overstreet and A1 Gore

Last night I dug your picture out from my old dresser drawer I set it on the table and I talked to it ’till four I read some old love letter right up to the break of dawn Yeah I’ve been sittin’ alone diggin’’ up bones.

I’m diggin’ up bones I’m diggin up bones Exhuming things that’s better left alone I’m resurrecting mem’ries of love that’s dead and gone Yeah tonight I’m sittin alone Diggin’ up bones.

Then I went through the jewelry and I found our wedding rings I put mine on my finger And I gave yours a fling Across this lonely bedroom of our recent broken home Yeah tonight I’m sittin’ alone diggin up bones.

Repeat chorus

Then I went through the closet and found some things in there Like that pretty negligee that I bought you to wear And I recall how good you looked each time you put it on Yeah tonight I’m sittin’ alone diggin’ up bones.

Well I went to the kitchen to get a bite to eat But I just kept on wishin’ I could taste your kisses sweet I found an old cold chicken leg that I’ve been gnawing on Yeah tonight I’m sittin’ alone diggin’ up bones.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1985 Writer Group Music DO I EVER CROSS YOUR MIND?

Smatherman and Burnette

Oh sometimes I go walking Through fields where we walked Long ago in the sweet used to be And the flowers still grow But they don’t smell as sweet As they did when you picked them for me.

And when I think of you and the love we once knew How I wish we could go back in time Do you ever think back on old memories like that Oh do I ever cross your mind.

Do you ever wake up lonely in the middle of the night Because you miss me, do you darlin’ And do your memories ever take you back into another place and time And do you ever miss the feelings And the love we shared when you were with me, do you darling I just wonder do I cross your mind. haw often I wish that again I could kiss your sweet li Like I did long ago And how often I longed for those two lovin’ arms That once held me so gentle and close.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1982 Lowery Music DO ME WITH LOVE (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

John Schweers

Words are cheap and I love yous are -free So unless you mean it don’t spend ’em on me Don’t look twice if your keepin’ score Cause heartaches are high priced and I’ve paid it before.

Do me with love don’t do me wrong You know my heart’s been broken too long And I’ve had one too many tears to fall Do me with love, do me with love or don’t do me at all.

I’ve taken some wrong roads and I’ve lost track the lovers who gave their hearts and then wanted them back So I need someone who needs someone too But spare me the memories if your just passin’ through.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1981 Jack and Bill Music Co. DON’T WORRY ’BOUT ME BABY (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

Deborah Allen, Bruce Channel and Keiran Kane

There’s no way to know how this is all gonna end We -fell in love once we could -fall in love again It makes no diff’rence how it all works out This night with you is all I’m thinking about.

Don’t worry ’bout me baby I’ll be all right Don’t worry ’bout me baby just love me tonight Don’t be afraid that you might make me cry Don’t worry ’bout me baby for telling me lies How can I make you understand If I can’t have it all I’ll take all I can.

Don’t worry ’bout me baby I’ll be all right Don’t worry ’bout me baby just love me tonight This can’t be wrong I know that it’s right So as long as it’s good keep holding me tight.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1981 Duchess Music Corp. 80’S LADIES (As recorded by K.T. OSLIN)

K.T. Qslin

We were three little girls -from school One was pretty, one was smart and one was a borderline fool Oh, she’s still good lookin’ That woman hasn’t slipped a bit And the smart one used her head She made her fortune And me I cross the border every chance I get.

We were the girls of the 50’s Stone rock and rollers in the 60’s And more than our names got changed As the 70’s slipped on by Now we’re 80’s ladies There ain’t been much these ladies ain’t tried.

We’ve been educated, we got liberated And that’s complicated matters with men Oh We’ve said I do and we’ve signed I don’t And we’ve sworn we’d never do that again Oh we’ve burned our bras and we’ve burned our dinners And we’ve burned our candles at both ends And we’ve got some children who look just like we did back then.

Oh but we’re all grown up now All grown up None of us can tell you quite how.

Repeat chorus

A-My name is Alice, I’m gonna marry Artie We’re gonna sell apples and live in Arkansas B-My name is Betty, I’m gonna marry Bobby We’re gonna sell beans and live in Brasil C-My name is Connie, I’m gonna marry Charlie We’re gonna sell cars and live in California.

Copyright 1987 Wooden Wonder Music FACE TO FACE (As recorded by Alabama)

Randy Owen

Run your fingers through my hair And Softly kiss my lips And hold me close in your embrace And love me face to face.

Face to face Heart to heart Body to body Lips on lips Arm in arm Body to body Tingling tangled feelings of lovers face to face,

I'll caress your body And hold you close to me I’ll slide my hands around your waist And love you face to face.

Lips on 1ips Arm in arm Body to body Tingling tangled feelings Of lovers face too face.

You softly say you love me As you make love to me No one else can take your place We happen face to face.

Copyright 1987 Maypop Music FAST LANES AND COUNTRY ROADS (As recorded by Barbara Mandrel 1)

Roger Murrah and Steve Dean

There’s an eight-land highway out in L.A. headed nowhere Every day is a rat race They’re fighting for first place It’s like a nightmare It’s a life of mass confusion and it’s a heavy load I’m ready to trade the fast lane for a country road.

There’s a New York skyline But there’s no sunshine down on Broadway Watching the stocks rise keeps ’em paralyzed up on Park Place It’s a Fifth Avenue illusion digging for the gold I’m ready to trade the fast lane for a country road.

There’s a dessert sunset I haven’t seen yet just out of Tucson Down in Hot Springs, Arkansas you get an overhaul I sure could use one I’m gonna rise above the madness then I’ll be laying low I’m ready to trade the fast land for a country road.

I’m gonna take a turn for the better It’s been a long hard ride This can’t go on forever I need a Sunday drive Let me get behind the wheel before I lose control And trade this fast lane for a country road.

Copyright 1985 Tom C ollin s Music THE FIREMAN (As recorded by George Strait)

Mack vickery and Wayne Kemp

Last night they had a big one A mile or two down the road A buddy walked out and left his woman Burning out of control Well she called me up and I grabbed my hose With a little mouth to mouth she was ready to go I’m the fireman That’s my name.

They call me the fireman That’s my name Making my rounds all over town putting out old flames Everybody likes to have what I got I can cool ’em down when they’re smolderin’ hot They call me the fireman That’s my name.

I got a fire engine red T-Bird automobile In a minute or less I can be dressed fit to kill I work 24 on 24 off When they get too hot they give me a call They call the fireman That’s my name.

Copyright 19B7 Tree Publications THE FIRST WORD IN MEMORY IS ME (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

Ram Rose, Maryann Kennedy and Pat Bunch

I can see you don’t know what a memory can do You’re gettin’ ready to go like goodbye’s up to you I can tell by the way you’re not -failin’ apart You’re listening’ to somebody new not your heart And when she’s laying beside you like I used to do Her lips will be my lips when she’s kissing you You’ll be looking at her But it’s my -face you’ll see The first word in memory is me.

She’ll never touch you darlin’ the way that I did It won’t be her fault that’s just how it is When she’s loving you the way I loved you first Babe you’ll remember and oh how you’ll hurt That’s when you’re gonna find out what a mem’ry can do That’s when your’re gonna wish she was me loving you You’ll never be free The first word in memory is me.

Copyright 1983 Irving Music Inc. FIST CITY (As recorded by Loretta Lynn)

Loretta Lynn

You’ve been makin’ your brags around town That you’ve been lovin my man But the man I love when he picks up trash He puts it in a garbage can.

And that’s what you look like to me And what I sees a pity You’d better close your -face and stay out of my way If you don’t want to go to fist city.

If you don’t want to go to fist city You’d better detour around my town ’Cause I’ll grab you by the hair of the head And I’ll lift you off the ground.

I’m not sayin’ my babies a saint when he ain’t And that he won’t cat around with a kitty I’m here to tell you gal to lay off of my man If you don’t want to go to fist city.

Come on and tell me what you told my friends If you think your brave enough And I’ll show you what a real woman Is since you think your hot stuff.

You’ll bite off more than you can chew If you get too cute or witty You’d better move your feet If you don’t want to eat a meal that’s called fist city.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 196B Sure Fire Music. FORTY HOURS A WEEK (As recorded by Alabama)

Dave Loggins, Lisa Silver, and Don Schlitz

There are people in this country Who work hard every day Not -for fame or fortune do they strive But the fruits of their labor Are worth more than they’re paid And it’s time a few of them were recognized.

Hello Detroit auto worker Let me thank you for your time You work a forty hour week for a livin’ Just to send it on down the line. Hello Pittsburgh steel mill worker Let me thank you for your time You work a forty hour week for a livin’ Just to send it on down the line.

Hello West Virginia coal miner Let me thank you for your time You work a forty hour week for a livin’ Just to send it on down the line Hello Kansas wheatfield farmer Let me thank you for your time You. work a forty hour week for a livin’ Just to send it on down the line.

This is for the one who swings the hammer Drivin’ home the nail For the one behind the counter Ringing up the sales For the one who fights the fire And for the one who brings the mail Far everyone who works behind the scenes.

This is for the one who drives the big rig Up and down the road For the one out in the warehouse Bringin’ in the load For the waitress, the mechanic And the policeman on patrol.

Hello American Let me thank you for your time.

Copyright 19B4 Leeds Music Coproration GONNA GO HUNTIN’ TONIGHT (As recorded by Hank Williams Jr.)

Hank Williams Jr.

I’m gonna shine up my boots pick out my best hat Goin’ to a place called The Old Brier Patch Gonna get loose and I’m gonna have fun Gonna go huntin’ but I won’t need a gun

Well the season is always open and there ain’t no limit you see They can be more challenging than a Rocky Mountain sheep I have hunted them four legged deer But the two 1 egged’s a lot more fun I’m gonna go huntin’ tonight Lord But I ain’t taken no gun.

Cause the kind of game I’m lookin’ for Is not that hard to snare But they can be more dangerous than a big ol ’ grizzly bear They got long claws, long legs and their skins already tanned in the sun I’m gonna go huntin’ tonight Lord But I ain’t taken no gun.

Well those big ol’ beautiful wildcats of a kind that are hard to track ’Cause the joint is crawlin’ with other hunters And the she cats are doublin’ back But now is the time for patience don’t fire on your first one Don’t waste your bullets on a little bitty baby Get a full grown woman.

Copyright 1983 Bocephus Music GOOD HEARTED WOMAN (As recorded by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings)

Willie Nelson and Waylan Jennings

A long time -forgotten Are dreams that just -fell by the way And the good life he promised Ain’t what she’s living today But she never complains of the bad times Or bad things he’s done Lord She just talks about the good times they’ve had And all the good times to come.

She’s a good hearted woman In love with a good timin’ man She loves him in spite of his ways Which she don’t understand Through teardrops and laughter They’ll pass through this world hand in hand A good hearted woman Lovin’ her good timin’ man.

He likes the night life The bright lights and good timin’ friends When the party’s over She’ll welcome him back hone again Lord knows she don’t understand him But she does the best that she can ’Cause she’s a good hearted woman She loves her good timin’ man.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1971 Hal 1-Clement Publications HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR HEARTACHE (As recorded by Barbara Mandrel!)

Mack David and Archie Jordan

It’s just a year today One Year since he went away So happy birthday dear heartache You’re one year old today.

There’ll be a cake tonight One candle that I will light Oh, happy birthday dear heartache Old love still burns tonight.

When he walked out I -felt my heart break That?s when you came to me dear heartache You make my heart your home Now look how big you've grown.

Seems like each guest is here The blues, the memories, and the tears So happy birthday dear heartache Same time, same place, next year.

Copyright 1984 Tom C ollin s Music HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY

Chuck Howard

Hello Honey Happy Birthday I’ve decided not to give you a present Think it's about time sweetheart I took some things away I'd like to take away the suspicion that clouds your world at times By giving you a little -faith to hold onto honey.

Happy birthday honey I've no presents no -fancy cake I hope to make you happy with everything I take.

I wanna take away some o-f the lonely moments By spending more o-f mine with you I wanna take away some o-f the so-so kisses and replace them with ones that really say I love you By showing it more much more than I've shown it lately Then if someone would ask you what I got you this year for your bi rthday I hope you're able to say "Why he didn't give me one damn thing but he sure took a lot of thi ngs away."

Copyright 1977 Butter Music HE STOPPED LOVING HER TODAY

unknown

He said I'll love you 'til I die She told him you'll -forget in time As the years went slowly by She still preyed upon his mind He kept her picture on his wall Went half crazy now and then He still loved her through it all Hoping she'd come back again.

Kept some letters by his bed Dated 1962 He had underlined in red Every single "I love you" I went to see him just today Oh, but I didn't see no tears All dressed up to go away First time I'd seen him smile in years.

He stopped loving her today They placed a wreath upon his door And soon they'll carry him away He stopped loving her today.

You know she came to see him one last time Oh we all wondered if she would And it kept running through my mind This time he's over her for good.

Repeat chorus

Copyright ? HEARTBREAK EXPRESS (As recorded by Dolly Parton)

Dolly Parton

Packing my suitcase writing a tear stained goodbye note Saying so long to a love gone wrong and thats all she wrote Leaving behind what once was mine with sad regrets But it's all gone now and I'm leavin' town on the heartbreak express.

Walkin' in the rain with a heart full of pain to the train depot The only thing that's gonna keep me warm now is my over coat Lost and lonely waitin' in line at the ticket desk Hey mister would you give a one way ticket on the heartbreak express.

I'm gonna roll on down the line I'm gonna go so far I'm gonna get it off my mind It hurts to know it ain't enough when you give your best Got a ticket to ride and I'm leaving tonight on the heartbreak express.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1982 Lowery Music HEARTS AREN'T MADE TO BREAK (As recorded by Lee Greenwood)

Steve Dean and Roger Murrah

Oh it tears me up when you go all to pieces Your crying eyes say you've been hurt enough Trying hard don't always make it easy Hearts aren't made to break they're made to love.

Lately all I do is think about you I'ts weighing like a stone inside my mind I know I've taken you for granted And left your heart Hanging on the line.

Repeat chorus

Your love is finally gettin tired I can't believe the things I've done And still you're standing here beside me The fool and the faithful one

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1984 Tom C o llin s Music HELLO DARLIN' (As recorded by Conway Twitty)

Conway Twitty

Hello Dari in', nice to see you It's been a long time You're just as lovely as you used to be How's your new love are you happy Hope you're doing -fine Just to know this means so much to me What's that darlin, how am I doing Guess I'm doing alright except I can't sleep, and I cry all night till dawn What I'm trying to say is I love you, and I miss you And I'm sorry that I did you wrong.

Look up darlin', let me kiss you Just for old time's sake Let me hold you in my arms one more time Thank you darlin' may God bless you and each step you take Bring you closer to the things you seek to find Goodbye darlin' gotta go now Gotta try to find a way to lose these memories of a love so warm and true And if you should ever find it in your heart to forgive me Come back darlin' I'll be waiting for you.

Copyright 1969 Twitty Bird Music HE'S A HEARTACHE (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

Silbar and Henley

Well you can't deny how good he looks You couldn't -find another on the cover of a book Believe me I've almost loved him once or twice But don't be fooled by his innocent smile He's cleaver as a devil and twice as wild He's crazy a little crazy's kind of nice.

He's a heartache lookin' for a place to happen Lookin' for a little action livin' for the moment not for lovin' He's a heartache lookin' for a place to happen Temporary satisfaction if you try to hold on he's gone.

Well I might as well tell someone else I know I'll never have him to myself Not likely, but I wouldn't mind just one more night If he wants to hold you let it be Don't pass up the opportunity to know him You won't forget him all your life. But what ever you do be wise enough not to fall in love 'Cause he's a heartache.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 19S3 Jack and Bill liusic I CAN DEPEND ON YOU (As recorded by Barbara Mandrel 1)

Steve Davis and D. Morgan

I can't base all my decisions on the Wall Street Journal Nobody knows what the -futures are going to do I can't rely on the forecast to bring me sunshine But baby I know I can depend on you.

I'm never sure that old battery will start our old pickup No guarantee if the Yankees will win or loose Everything's always changing in the world around me But baby I know I can depend on you.

I can depend on you to love me I can depend on you to need me Through every fear your always here to see me through You are the rock I lean on when I'm shakin' Your my solid ground for safety Your love is honest and true, so true I can depend on you.

No way to tell what the man in the White House is thinkin' Can't put your faith in what they say on the six o'clock news No crystal ball can predict what's cornin' tomorrow But baby I know I can depend on you.

Repeat Chorus

Copyright 1984 Tom C ollins/D ick James Music I DON'T MIND THE THORNS

Jan Buckingham and Linda Young

Come let me hold you for awhile All you have to do is smile And I'm yours again I may not like some things you do But they're all apart o-f you And you're my best -friend.

I don't mind the cold When I have a -fire to warm me I don't mind the rain 'Cause it makes the -flowers grow I can take the bad times When you wrap your love around me I don't mind the thorns when you're the rose.

Stay we can work the whole thing out That's what love's about And I understand You didn't mean the things you said They're easy to forget When you take my hand.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1984 Warner-Tamer1ane Publishing Company I DON'T WANT TO BE RIGHT (As recorded by Barbara Mandrel 1)

Banks, Jackson and Hampton

If lovin’ you is wrong I don't want to be right If being right means being without you I'd rather live a wrong doing life.

My mama and daddy say it's a shame It's a down right disgrace But long as I got you by my side I don't care what my people say.

My friends tell me there's no future in lovin' a married man If I can't see you when I want I'll see you when I can.

Repeat chorus

Am I wrong to fall so deeply in love with you Knowing you got a wife and two little children depending on you too Am I wrong to hunger for the gentleness of your touch Knowin' you got someone at home who needs you just as much.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1979 Tom C ollin Music I HOPE YOU'RE NEVER HAPPY (As recorded by Dolly Parton)

Dolly Parton

I wish you all the luck I wish you only the best Sati sf acti on in love And true happiness.

I wish you blue skies and rainbows I wish you joy pure and true I wish you all that you wish for But only if your with me.

I hope your never happy With anybody but me I wish you nothing but trouble If you've decided to leave.

I'm just not like those heroes In books and on TV I hope your never happy With anybody but me.

I've had you too long I have given too much I have loved you too strong To think of givin' you up.

I've always envied those lovers That wish you well when you leave And wish you luck with another But there are others like me.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1980 Lowery Music I LIKE TO HAVE WOMEN I'VE NEVER HAD (As recorded by Hank Williams Jr.)

Hank Williams Jr.

I like to play music and have good times love to hear an old train rollin' down the line I am happy and I don't like sad I like to have women I've never had.

I take a little smoke and a lot of wine I get high and call old friends of mine I like the sweet young things and old granddad I like to have women I've never had.

I like to ride my horses and shoot my guns You know a cowboy's work is just never done I am into basics and I don't like fads I like to have women I've never had.

I don't mean to do anybody no wrong I was just born the son of a singer of songs I do things that make the people mad I like to have women I've never had.

Copyright 1979 Bocephus Music Inc. I TELL IT LIKE IT USED TO BE (As recorded by T. Graham Brown)

Ron Hellard, Michael Garvin and Bucky Jones

They say I'm the kind o-f man Who always speaks his mind I believe there's nothin' stronger than the truth They can ask me almost anything And I'll tell it like it is But darlin' when they ask me about you.

I tell it like it used to be When you were still in love with me Before you got too used to me And wanted someone new I tell it like it oughta be 'Cause how it is is killing me When they ask about you and me I tell it like it used to be

I wish that I were stronger I could tell them that you're gonna But that's one thing that I may never do If they want to hear about our love And how it all went wrong Well darlin' they'll just have to talk to you.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1983 Tree Publishing I WAS COUNTRY WHEN COUNTRY WASN'T COOL (As recorded by Barbara Mandrel 1)

Un known

I remember wearin' straight leg Levies Flannel shirts even when they weren't in style I remember singing with Roy Rogers At the movies when the West was really wild I was listening to the opery When all of my friends were digging rock and roll and rhythm and blues I was country when country wasn't cool.

I remember circling the drive-in pullin' up and turnin' down George Jones I remember when no one was lookin' I was puttin' peanuts in my Coke I took a lot of kiddin' 'cause I never did fit in Now look at everybody tryin' to be what I was then.

I was country when country wasn't cool I was country when country wasn't cool I was country from my hat down to my boots I still act and look the same what you see ain't nothin' new.

I was country when country wasn't cool They called us country bumpkins for stickin' to our roots I'm just glad we're in a country where were free to choise I was country when country wasn't cool.

Copyright ? I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU (As recorded by Dolly Parton)

Dolly Parton

If I should stay Well I would only be in your way And so I'll go And yet I know that I'll think of you Each step of the way.

And I will always love you I will always love you Bittersweet memories That's all I have and all I'm taking with me.

Goodbye, please don't cry Cause we both know that I'm not what you need I will always love you I will always love you.

And I hope life will treat you kind And I hope you will have all you need I do wish you joy and I wish you happiness But above all this I wish you love.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1974 Lowery Music I'D JUST LOVE TO LAY YOU DOWN (As recorded by Conway Twitty)

Johnny MacRae

There's a lot of ways of sayin' What I want to say to you There's songs and poems and promises Of dreams that might come true But I won't talk of starry skies Or moonlight on the ground I'll come right out and tell you I'd just love to lay you dawn.

Lay you down and softly whisper Pretty love words in your ear Lay you down and tell you all the things A woman loves to hear I'll let you know how much It means just havin' you around Oh, darlin' how I'd love to lay you down.

Repeat chorus

There's so many ways your sweet love Made this house into a home Through raisin' kids and housework Baby, you still turn me on Even standin' in the kitchen In your faded cotton gown With your hair all up in curlers I'd still love to lay you down.

Repeat chorus

When a whole lot of Decembers Are showin' in your face And your auburn hair has faded And silver takes its place You'll still be just as lovely And I'll still be around And if I can I know that I'll still love to lay you down.

Copyright 1979 Music City Music IF OLE HANK COULD ONLY SEE US NOW (As recorded by Waylon Jennings)

Roger Murrah, Waylon Jennings, and Shooter Jennings

If ole Hank could only see us now If he could see what we got going down We got Lear jets and buses And chauffeured limousines We done moved from the Ryman And the Opry's on TV I'd give a hundred dollars if I could know somehow What he'd think If ole Hank could only see us now.

Nashville's got too rich to sing the blues We've traded in our cowboy boots For high-heel Gucci shoes Looks like we took the music out to lunch There ain't a decent yodel in the bunch.

If ole Hank could only see now If he could see what we got going down We got game shows video And lots of souveniers Drum machines and synthesizers Ringing in our ears I'd give a hundred dollars if I could know somehow What he'd think If ole Hank could see us now.

It's still a long hard road But you know you're at the top When CMA awards you For crossing over pop I guess they think we've finally come of age Binging through the smoke And strobe lights on the stage.

Repeat Chorus

We spend two hundred thousand dollars Making compact discs And they never scratch and never break Ver break Ver break Ver break

Copyright 1987 by Tom Collins Music IF THE SOUTH WOULDA WON (As recorded by Hank Williams Jr.)

Hank Williams Jr.

If the south woulda won We'd of had it made The day Elvis passed away would be our national holiday If the south woulda won We'd have it made.

I'd make my supreme court down in Texas And we wouldn't have no killers gettin' off free If they were proven guilty Then they would swing quickly Instead of written' books and smilin' on tv.

We'd all learn Cajun cookin' in Louisiana And I'd put that capital back in Alabama We'd put Florida on the right track 'Cause we'd take Miami back And throw all them pushers in the slammer.

□h if the south woulda won We'd of had it made I'd probably run for president of the southern states The day young Skinner died We'd show our southern pride If the south woulda won we'd of had it made.

I'd have all the whiskey made in Tennessee And all the horses raised in those Kentucky hills The national treasury would be in Tupelo, Mississippi And I'd put Hank Williams picture on one hundred dollar bills

I'd have all the cars made in the Carolina's And I'd ban all the ones made in China I'd have every girl child sent to Georgia to learn to smile And talk with that southern accent it drives me wild.

I'd have all the fiddles made in Virginia 'Cause they sure can make 'em sound so fine I'm goin' up on Wolverton Mountain And see old Clifton Clowers and have a sip of his good ol' Arkansas wine. If the south woulda won we'd have it made I'd run for the president of the souther states When Patsy Cline passed away that would be our national holiday If the south woulda won We'd of have it made.

Might even be better off.

Copyright 1988 Bocephus Music Inc. I'LL NEED SOMEONE TO HOLD ME (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

McDill and Holyfield

Your bags are packed and waiting by the door I-f you really want to go well it's alright Don't worry 'bout me darlin' 'cause I'll get by But I'll need someone to hold me when I cry.

I'll need someone to tell me that I'll get over you And I'll need a friend to lean on when I'm feel in' blue So sit down here beside me after you say goodbye 'Cause I'll need someone to hold me when I cry.

The taxi cab is waitin' for you to go But darlin' tell him you've changed your mind And stay until tomorrow 'cause I know tonight That I'll need someone to hold me when I cry.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1981 Jack and Bill Music I'M FOR LOVE (As recorded by Hank Williams Jr.)

Hank Williams Jr.

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers The Pope is against the pill e union's against the workers working against their will The President's against the Congress The Senate is against the House People are against politicians And I'm against cats in the house.

But I'm for love And I'm for happiness And I'm for If you don't like it can't you just let it pass d I'm for turnin' off the news and turnin' down the 1i ghts Cause I'm for nothin' else but me and you tonight.

The city's against the county The county's against the state The state is against the government And the highways still ain't paved The banker's against the farmer The farmer's against the wall Doctor's against me smokin' And the Devil's against us all.

Repeat chorus

The cops are agaisnt the robbers The laws are against the cops Justice is against the system And some people are blowin' their tops The horse is against the automobile The bus is against the train The train is against the jumbo jet And I'm against fishin' in the rain

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1985 by Bocephus Music, Inc. I'M NOT THAT LONELY YET (As recorded by Reba McEntire)

Rice and Rice

I don't mind to give you a slow dance or two I'm sorry I'm not at my best I know you can see I'm incredible blue But I'm not that lonely yet.

I'll look in your eyes as your dancin' with me And try to fulfill your request But don't ask for favors when it's time to leave 'Cause I'm not that lonely yet.

Now don't say you want me I've heard that before The words weigh like stones in my head There'll come a time when I'll think of it more But I'm not that lonely yet.

It's nice to be dancin' to waltzes again And maybe it helps to forget You've opened a door but I'm not waltzing in 'Cause I'm not that lonely yet No I'm not that lonely yet.

Copyright 1982 Unlimited Music IT AIN'T EASY BEIN' EASY (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

Shauna Harrington, Mark Gray and Les Taylor

Surely you can sit down a while Maybe you can even smile And I'll try to pretend That you love me again But it might take me a little while I know you'll be holdin' me tight You know when the moment is right When I was broken in two It was all because of you But baby I need you tonight.

And it ain't easy bein' easy you know You're the one who took my heart and my soul Walked away and left me out of control And it ain't easy bein' easy you know

No, it ain't easy when your needin' someone And it ain't easy bein' under the gun And I'll surrender Even though I should run And it ain't easy bein' easy.

I might end up lonely again Though once you were my only friend So I'll hold you and cry With the truth in my eyes Hoping you'll love me again.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1982 Warner/Tamberland Publishing Corp. IT WASN'T GOD WHO MADE HONKY-TONK ANGLES (As recorded by Kitty Wells)

Miller

As I sit here tonight the juke box playing That tune about the wild side of life As I listen to the words that you are saying It brings memories of when I was a trusting wife.

It wasn't God who made honky-tonk angles As you said in the words of your song Too many times married men think they're still single That has caused many a good girl to go wrong.

It's a shame that all the blame is on us women It's not true that only men feel the same From the start most every heart that's ever broken Was because there always was a man to blame.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1952 Somerset Music IT'S ALL WRONG (As recorded by Dolly Parton)

Dolly Parton

Hello are you free tonight I like your looks I love your smile Could I use you for a while It's all wrong but it's all right.

The ember sunset glow has died My needs are very much alive Is it ok if I stop by It's all wrong but it's all right.

It's all wrong but it's all right Just close your eyes and fantasize Tell me sexy lovin' lies It's all wrong but it's all right.

It may be wrong if we make love But I just need someone so much And who knows it might last for life It's all wrong but it's all right.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1978 Lowery Music JOLENE (As recorded by Dolly F'arton)

Dolly F'arton

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene I? m beggin1* of you please don?t take my man Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene Please don? t take him just because you can. Your beauty is beyond compare with flaming locks of auburn hair With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green Your smile is like a breath of spring your voice is soft like summer rain And I can not compete with you Jolene.

He talks about you in his sleep And there’s nothin’ I can do to keep from crying when he calls your name Jolene Now I could easily understand how you could easily take my man But you don?t know what he means to me Jolene.

Repeat chorus

You could have your choice of men but I could never love again He’s the only one for me Jolene I had to have this talk with you My happiness depends on you and whatever you decide to do Jolene.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1974 Lowery Music JUST GOOD OL’ BOYS ’ As recorded by Mae Bandy and Joe Stampley)

Ansley Fleedwood

Well I’ve been kicked out off might near ev’ry bar around I’ve been locked up for drivin’ a hundred and twenty through town Well I’ve been shot at and cut with a knife For messin’ "round with another man’s wife But other than that we ain’t nothin’ but just good ol’ boys.

Good ol’ boys we’re all the same Ain’t no way we’ll ever change Mean no harm by the things we do Or the trouble that we get into Other than a wild hair once in a while We can’t help it it’s just our style And good ol’ boys is all we’ll ever be. threw my boss out a window and got fired from my last job Hot wired a truck and turned it over in the mayor’s yard Well I beat my brother-in-law half to death I lost twenty bucks on his football bet But other than that we ain’t nothin’ just good ol’ boys.

I’ve got an alimony payment that’s six weeks overdue I got caught with a trunk of bootleg out-of-state booze I hocked my wife’s diamond ring last June Bought me an outboard Evinrude But other than that we ain’t nothin’ just good ol’ boys.

Copyright 1979 Brandwood Music Inc. KEEP YOUR CHANGE (As recorded by Loretta Lynn)

Loretta Lynn

You need a change of scenery That’s all I ever heard And when you left and you said goodbye I never said a word.

Your back, but I don’t want you back And to you that might seem stange But I ain’t buying what you brought So honey keep your change.

Honey keep your change And the trouble that you bring You’ve worked real hard for what you’ve got So honey keep your change.

What happened to the scenery That looked so good to you Did you get tired of the change you made Or did she get tired of you.

Your like a traveling salesman And I hear they’re all the same So travel right on back to her And honey keep your change.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1966 Sure Fire Music KIDS OF THE BABY BOOM (As recorded by The Bellamy Brothers)

David Bellamy

Our daddies won the war Then they came home to our moms They gave ’em so much love That all us kids were born And we all grew up on Mickey Mouse and hula hoops Then we all bought BMW’s And brand new pickup trucks We watched John Kennedy die one afternoon Kids of the baby boom.

It was a time of new prosperity in the U.S.A. And all of the fortunate offsprings never had to pay We had sympathy for the devil And the Rolling Stones Till we got a little older And found Haggard and Jones A generation screaming for more room Kids of the baby boom.

Kids of the baby boom We had freedom We had money Baby boom here in the land of milk and honey Counting our chickens way to soon Kids of the baby boom.

Now we all run computers And we al1 can dance We all have Calvin Klein written on our underpants At 6 o’clock like robots we turn on the news And watch those third world countries deal out more abuse. Remember the first man on the moon Kids of the baby boom.

Repeat chorus

As our lives become a capsule They send to the stars And our children look at us like we came from Mars And the farms disappear And the sky turns black We’re a nation full of takers never giving back We never stop to think what we consume Kids of the baby boom.

Copyright 1986 by Bellamy Bros. Music. LADY DOWN ON LOVE (As recorded by Alabama)

Randy Owen

It’s her -first night on the town since she was just eighteen A lady down on love and out o-f hope and dreams The ties that once bound her now are broke away She’s like a baby just learning how to play.

She never thought that love could ever end so soon Her mind drifts back in time to a mid-summer moon When he asked her to marry and she gladly said ok And a woman came to be from the girl of yesterday

Now she’s a lady down on love She needs somebody to gently pick her up She’s got her freedom but she’d rather be bound To a man who would love her and never let her down.

Well I know the lady that’s down on her love ’Cause I used to hold her and have that special touch But work took me away from home late at night And I wasn’t there when she turned out the lights Then both of us got lonely and I gave in to lust And she couldn’t live with a man she could’t trust.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1981 Buzzherb Music THE LAST ONE TO KNOW (As recorded by Reba MeEntire)

Marshberg

I didn’t see? the -fire burn to ashes I couldn’t see the winds of change I was lost inside the passion Blinded by the memory of old flames.

I guess I should have felt it when you touched me Should have seen it in your eyes But I believed you really loved me Why can’t I believe you’ve said goodbye.

Why is the last one to know The first one to cry And the last to let go Why is the one left behind The left alone with no one to hold The last one to know.

It would be easier to face the morning If you were holdin’ me tonight You left me without a warning Holdin’ on to a heartache while she’s holdin’ you tight

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1987 Southern Nights Music LIE TO YOU FOR YOUR LOVE (As Recorded by Eddie Rabbitt)

E. Stevens, E. Rabbitt and P. Galdston

I watched you walk into the room I wanna say this just right If you ain’t waiting for somebody special Would you be with me tonight I’m a doctor, I’m a lawyer, I’m a movie star, I’n an astronaut And I own this bar.

And I’d lie to you for your love I’d lie to you for your love I’d lie to your for your love And that’s the truth.

I can tel 1 you what you wanna hear Or some secrets ’bout myself I could tell you you’re the only one baby There’ll never be nobody else Yeah I’m running for President I got money to burn My heart don’t ache and my body don’t yearn.

Repeat chorus

Aw maybe it would be easier Just to come out and say it I ain’t never seen a woman Quite like you And that’s the truth.

My fam’ly comes from royalty On my daddy’s side And I can read your palms and cars and tell you Our love just can’t be denied

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1985 Steeple Chase Music LIFE TURNED HER THAT WAY (As recorded by Ricky Van Shelton)

Harlan Howard

If she seems cold and bitter I beg of you just stop and consider All she’s gone through Don’t be quick to condemn her For things she might say Just remember Life turned her that way.

She’s been walked on and stepped on So many times And I hate to admit it but the last footprint’s mine She was crying when I met her She cries harder today So don’t blame her Life turned her that way.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1986 Tree Publishing Company LITTLE ROCK (As recorded by Reba McEntire)

Pat McManus, Bob Dipiero and Gerry House

I married to the good life I said I'd be a good wife When I put on this ring I drive a new Mercedes Play tennis with the ladies And buy all the finer things But all that don’t mean nothin’ When you can’t get a good nights lovin’.

Oh little rock Think I’m gonna have to slip you off Take a chance tonight and untie the knot There’s more to life than what I got.

Ooooh, little rock know this heart of mine just can’t be boug m gonna find someone who really cares a lot When I slip off this little rock.

I wonder if he’ll miss me He doesn’t even kiss me When he comes home at night He never calls me honey But he sure loves his money And I’m the one who pays the price But when he fins this ring he’ll see He keeps everything but me.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1985 Combine Music Inc. LIVING IN THE PROMISELAND (As recorded by Willie Nelson)

David Lynn Jones

Give us your tired and weak And we will make them strong Bring us your foreign songs And we will sing along Leave us your broken dreams We’ll give them time to mend There’s still a lot of love Living in the promiseland

Living in the promiseland Our dreams are made of steel The prayer of every man Is to know how freedom feels There is a winding road Across the shifting sand And room for everyone Living in the promiseland.

So they came from a distant isle Nameless woman fatherless child Li ke a bad dream Until there was no more at all No place to run and no place to fall Give us our daily bread We have no shoes to wear No place to call our home Only this cross to bear We are the multitudes Lend us a helping hand Is there no love anymore Living in this promiseland.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1985 Bluewater Music Corp LOVE IN THE FIRST DEGREE (As recorded by Alabama)

Jim Hurt and Tim Dubois

I once thought of love as a prison A place I didn’t want to be So long ago I made a decision To be foot loose and fancy free But you came and I was so tempted To gamble on love just one time I never thought I would get caught It seemed like the perfect crime.

Baby you left me defenseless Now I’ve got only one plea Lock me away inside of your love And throw away the key

I thought it would be so simple Just like a thousand times before I’d take what I wanted and just walk away But I never made it to the door Now babe, I’m not begging for mercy Go ahead and throw the book at me If loving you is a crime I know that I’m as guilty as a man can be.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1980 Warner House Of Music LOVE WILL FIND IT’S WAY TO YOU (As recorded by Reba McEntire)

Dave Loggins and J.D. Martin

Another morning Another day in your life Without someone there by you You had a dream again last night You wonder why the dream just won’t come true.

So what’cha gonna do Walk around with your head hung down Maybe that’s the reason You’ve never found the one for you You’ve got to let your love shine thru Your eyes your smile You’ve got to let somebody know How you feel inside your heart you’ll find Somebody wants to be a part of your life And if you’ll just believe And say that’s what you’re gonna do One day love will find its way to you.

Another party And all your friends are smiles You might meet someone new Bein’ close would be so nice In this life the chances are so few.

Oh don’t you ever think you’re the only one Oh somewhere in the world there’s a lonely heart Lookin’ for someone.

Copyright 1984 MCA Music Publishing LOVE’S GONNA GET YOU SOMEDAY (Pis recorded by Ricky Skaggs)

Carl Chambers

I wanted you to want me just the way I wanted you And I -felt -foolish when you -found somebody new I think it’s -fair to warn you that you can’t treat love that way Love’s gonna get you someday.

Love’s gonna get you someday And pay you back -for all those times you left it in disgrace When you least expect it love will put you in your place Love’s gonna get you someday.

When I think of all the hearts that I too might hurt guess it’s only fair that now the tables have been turned Speakin’ from experience I think it’s safe to say Love’s gonna get you someday.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1986 Hall-Clement Publications LUCKENBACH, TEXAS (BACK TO THE BASICS OF LOVE) (As recorded by Waylon Jennings)

Bobby Emmons and Chip Moman

The only two things in life that make it worth livin Is guitars that tune good and firm feel in’ women I don’t need my name in the marquee lights I got my song and I got you with me tonight May it’s time we got back to the basics of love.

Let’s go to Luckenback, Texas With Waylon and Willie and the boys This successful life we’re livin’ Got us feudin’ like the Hatfields and McCoys Between Hank Williams’ pain songs And Newberry’s train songs And Blue eyes cryin’ in the rain Out in Luckenback, Texas Ain’t nobody feelin’ no pain.

So baby let’s sell your diamond ring Buy some boots and faded jeans and go away This coat and tie is chokin’ me In your high society you cry all day We’ve been so busy keepin’ up with Jones’ Four car garage and we’re still buildin’ on Maybe it’s time we got back to the basics of love.

Copyright 1977 Vogue Music A MAN I HARDLY KNOW (As recorded by Loretta LYnn)

Lola Dill on

In a booth back in a corner Where the lights are way down low In the arms of a man I hardly know.

I let the devil take over this heart of mine When I lost your love well I almost lost my mind I never thought I’d ever fall this low But here I am with a man I hardly know.

In a booth back in a corner Where the lights are way down low In the arms of a man I hardly know.

I do the things a proper lady wouldn’t do And it all started that first night when I lost you To see me now you wouldn’t know me I’ve changed so ’Cause here I am with a man I hardly know.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1967 Sure Fire Music MARRIED BUT NOT TO EACH OTHER (As recorded by Barbara Mandrel 1)

LaSalle and Miller

Sometimes in your life you may find it kinda hurts to be in 1 ove Especially when you and the one that your’re in love with Already belong to somebody else Cause you’re tied to her and I’m tied to him We don’t want to hurt either one of them that’s how it is.

When your married but no to each other You’ve got to go home in the middle of the night Try to pretend everything’s alright But it ain’t no it ain’t.

Your married but not to each other Make believe that you’ve been good Give your love to the one you should But you Can’t no you can’t Cause you’re tied to her And I’m tied to him that’s how it is

When your married but not to each other You’ve gotta be careful everywhere you go Avoiding everyone you know Cause people talk, you know they talk.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1979 Tom C ollin s Music MIA (As recorded by The Charlie Daniels Band)

Charlie Daniels

While we’re sitting home in our places stuffing goodies in our f aces Bitchin’ about the television news and the price of gasoline There’s a man who was your neighbor somewhere in southeast Asia Living in a bamboo cage and wondering what happened to the U.S.A

A citizen of the free world he’s an American mother’s child He’s a livin’ contradiction he’s a shame to everyone He ain’t got no constitution and his bill of rights is gone The wars been over 10 years now and he still ain’t made it home

If right is right and fair is fair Tell me how, how can we leave him there If right is right and fair is fair Tell me how, now can we leave him there.

Mr. politician, why can’t you stop and listen To the disenchanted voices blowin’ in old freedoms wind You put this mighty nation in a no-win situation You sold out to the devil and the price was our young men.

If it’s trouble that were facing I’m the first one to volunteer I don’t think nobody here would hesitate to go to war But if in the course of freedom, they’re gonna be there when we need ’em If we can’t bring ’em back then let’s not send ’em off no more.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1982 by Hat Bank Music. MY TURN (As Recorded by Reba McEntire)

Peter Rowan

Turn out the light and turn yourself over to me Turn off the world while I turn my feelin’s free Just enjoy the pleasure for the pleasure pleases me You’ve been turnin’ me on all night long Now it’s my turn.

You have reached the woman in me Through the man in you Let me be that woman Before the lovin’s through.

You just turn yourself over to me While I turn my feel ins free You’ve been turning me on all night long Now it’s my turn.

All night long I’ve been thrilling to your touch I haven’t had time to give I’ve been takin’ so much I know you want to hold me But darlin’ you’ve done enough.

Repeat Chorus

Copyright 1980 Southern Nights Music The Mississippi Squirrel Revival (As Recorded by Ray Stevens)

C. W. Caleb Jr. and Carlene Caleb

Well when 1 was a kid I’d take a trip Every summer to visit my granny and her ante-bellum world I’d run barefooted all day long climbing trees free as a song One day I happen to catch myself a squirrel.

Well I stuffed him down in an old shoe box And punched a couple of holes in the top When Sunday came I snuck him into church I was sitting way back in the very last pew Showin’ him to my good buddy Hough When that squirrel got loose and went totally berserk.

What happened next is hard to detail Some thought it was heaven some thought it was hell But the fact that somethin’ was among us was plain to see As the choir say "I Surrender All" The squirrel ran up Harve Newman’s coveralls Harve leaped to his feet and said somethin’s got a hold on me.

The day the squirrel went berserk in the first selfrighteous church In that sleepy little town of Pascagoula It was a fight for survival that broke out in revival They were jumping pews and shouting hallelujah.

Well Harve hit the aisles dancing and screaming Some thought religion and others thought he had a demon And Harve thought he had a weed-eater loose in his Fruit of The Looms He fell to his knees and proceeded to plead and beg And the squirrel ran out of his britches leg unobserved to the other side of the room.

All the way down to the amen pew where sat Sister Bertha Better Than You Who had been watching all of the commotion with sadistic glee You should have seen the look in her eyes When that squirrel jumped her garters and crossed her thighs She jumped to her feet and cried Lord have mercy on me. As the squirrel made laps inside her dress She began to cry and then con-fess To sins that would make a sailor blush with shame She told of gossip and church dissention But the thing that got the mast attention is when she talked about her love life and she started naming names.

Repeat Chorus

Well seven deacons and the pastor got saved And $25,000 got raised and 50 volunteered for missions in the Congo on the spot And even without an invitation there were at least 500 rededi cati ons And we all got rebaptized whether we needed it or not.

Now you've heard the Bible story I guess How he parted the waters for Noses to pass Oh the miracles God has wrought on this old world But the one I'll remember till my dying day Is how he put that church back on the narrow way With a half crazed Mississippi squirrel.

Copyright 1984 MCA Records, Inc. MORNIN7 RIDE

Steve Bogard and Jeff Tweel

There's a quiet time In the early dawn Before the mornin'paper Before the coffee's on When there ain't much movin' In the world outside Oh I love to take a mornin' ride.

My baby knows it's the time we share She wakes me gently And brushes back her hair Then she moves into my arms Kind of sweet and slow I can't wait to get up and go.

Gonna take my baby on a mornin' ride When the sun comes slippin' 'round The mountain* side 'Bout half an hour maybe two Ain't nothin' me and her would rather do Than see the green grass Glist'nin' in the mornin' dew While the world is still Brand spankin' new Oh I know how beautiful the day will be When she takes a mornin' ride with me.

And When we get back It will feel so right To lay back and linger in the mornin' light Then she'll smile at me Thinkin' where we've been Wantin' me to take her again.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1986 Chappell and Co., Inc. 9 TQ 5 (As Recorded By Dolly F'arton)

Dolly F'arton

Tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen Pour myself a cup of ambition And yawn and stretch and try to come to life Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumping Out on the street the traffic starts jumping It's folks like me on the job from 9 to 5.

Workin' 9 to 5 What a way to make a livin' Barely gettin' by Its all takin' and no givin' They just use your mine And they never give you credit Its enough to drive you crazy if you let it.

9 to 5 For service and devotion You would think that I would deserve a fair promotion Want to move ahead but the boss won't seem to let me I swear sometimes that man is out to get me.

They let you dream just to let them shatter Your just a step on the boss man's ladder But you've got dreams he'll never take away Your in the same boat with a lot of your friends Wantin' for the day your ship will come in And the tides gonna turn and it's all gonna roll away.

Repeat chorus

Copyright Greenapple Music Inc. NOBODY IN HIS RIGHT MIND WOULD'VE LEFT HER (As recorded by George Strait)

Dean Dillow

I burn with desire each time my heart Fans the fire to that old flame that burns inside of me She cried when I left her, Now I cry to forget her Oh how foolish I was to to ever leave.

'Cause nobody in his right mind would've left her I had to be crazy to say good-bye

I still carry her picture, I wish her well With the new love I know she's found by now Each night finds me dreamin' each day I spend thinkin' How much I wish she was still around.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1980 Hall-Clement OCEAN FRONT PROPERTY (As recorded by George Strait)

Dean Dillon, Hand Coachran, and Royce Porter

If you leave me I won't miss you And I won't ever take you back Girl your memory won't ever haunt me 'Cause I don't love you Now If you'll buy that.

I've gat some ocean front property in Arizona From my front porch you can see the sea I've got some ocean from property in Arizona you buy that I'll throw the golden gate in free.

I don't worship the ground you walk on I never have and that's a fact I won't follow or try to find you 'Cause I don't love you And if you'll buy that.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 19S6 Larry Butler Music Co. OLD FOLKS (As recorded by Ronnie Mil sap and Mike Reid)

Mike Reid

He's always up and out of bed before the morning comes He mumbles and grumbles about all that must be done There's eighty years of memories that rattle in his head Whiskey and cigars that he keeps stashed beside his bed He believes that the world when straight to hell When Brooklyn lost the Dodgers Some say that he's lost his mind Some call him an old codger Oh but he's just.

Old folks, old folks Blessed is the child of yesterday Love those old folks 'Cause with a little luck And the Lord to see us through Someday we will be old folks too.

She used to bake the sweetest pies I swear I ever ate I'd steal the batter from the bowl 'cause I could never wait But her hands are bent and sore arthritis rages wild But you would never know she hurts the way she always sm i1es She believes the world is good and kind But would love warmer weather And her grandkids are perfect Though sometimes they forget her.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1987 by Lodge Hall Music. Inc. ONE OF A KIND PAIR OF FOOLS (As recorded by Barbara Mandrel 1)

R.C. Bannon and John Bettis

We?re one of a kind A pair of fools Two women one man has been lying to You thought you were the only one Well, that’s what I thought too We’re one of a kind A pair of fools.

He had the best of both worlds Yours and mine I bet he’s proud of him self The way he split his time Tellin’his friends How good it feels to play both ends I bet in all their eyes You and I are.

We’re one of a kind A pair of fools Two women one man has been lying to You thought you were the only one Well, I thought I was too I guess we see not what blind love can do We’re one of a kind.

A pair of fools You’ve been cheated I feel I?ve been used But what we have in common Is we’re both the other woman We’re one of a kind A pair of fools.

Here we sit talking this out like the best of friends But we’re not to blame for the pain That man has put us in When he gets the news That you know about me and I know about you After what he’s done He’s be smart to run from.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1983 by Warner-Tamerlane Pub. Corp. ONE OWNER HEART (As recorded by T.G. Sheppard)

Tom Brasfied, Walt Aldridge, and Mac McAnally

Put an ad in the paper today Low mileage heart Must move right away She says does your heart still run like it should I say yes but since she left me it donpt do me no good I got a.

One owner heart She only drove me crazy on Sundays Guaranteed to start It's a one owner heart.

She want to know is this heart a wreak Are there bad breaks was there owner neglect Will you be asking for an arm and a leg I say this old heart is worth a lot to me But treat me right and I can let you have it free.

Repeat chorus

She said I need to see some papers on you I say the title is clear If something happens she says what will I do Well I’ll be right here With my.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1984 Rick Hall Music Inc. ONLY A LONELY HEART KNOWS (As recorded by Barbara Mandrell)

Unknown

Life holds no fascination Without you here with me each hours eternity And friends are small consolation k doesn’t ease the pain the hurt can’t be explained

Only a lonely heart knows How the memory cuts like a knife Since you walked out of my life I’m half crazy day and night.

And only a lonely heart knows How the heartache grows and grows How long does it take till the heartache goes Only a lonely, only a lonely heart knows.

Time is a friend and an enemy time the hurt might end ’til then the walls close i I’m so lost I’m numbed by your leavin’ me I sit alone and stare You don’t know ’til you’ve been there.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1984 Tom C ollin s Music OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE (As recorded by Merle Haggard)

Merl Haggard and Edward Burris

We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee And we don’t take out trips on LSD And we don’t burn our draft cards down on main street But we like living right and being free.

We don’t make a party out of lovin’ But we like holding hands and pitching woo We don’t let our hair grow long and shaggy Like the hippies out in San Francisco do.

And I’m proud to be and Okie from Muskogee A place were even squares can have a ball We still wave al ’ glory down at the court house And white lightning’s still the biggest thrill of all

Leather boots are still in style if a man needs footwear Beads and Roman sandals won’t be seen Footballs still the roughest thing on campus And the kids here still respect the college dean.

Copyright 1960 by Tree publishing Co., Inc. PASS ME BY (IF YOUR ONLY PASSING THROUGH) (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

Hal 1

Would you look at what came down the road today Wanting me to be one more mistake to make A bridge to burn to get to someone new Hey pass me by if your only passin’ through.

You sure look like the travelin’ kind to me Well don’t stop if this ain’t where you want to b I don’t know what you think you’ve run into Hey pass me by if your only passing through.

Now I’m not gonna be your steppin’ stone Among the other hearts that you’ve walked on Well Lord help me if I fall in love with you Hey pass me by if your only passin’ through.

You sure look like the travel in’ kind to me Well don’t stop if this ain’t where you want to b Now I don’t want what you think you’ve run into Hey pass me by if your only passin’ through.

Copyright 1980 Irvin Music RATED X (As recorded by Loretta Lynn)

Loretta Lynn

Well if you’ve been a married woman And things didn’t seem to work out Divorce is the key to being loose and free So your gonna be talked about. Everybody knows that you’ve loved once They think you’ll love again You can’t have a male friend when your a has-been Woman your rated X.

And if your rated X Your some kind of goal that men turn and try to make But I think it’s wrong to try and judge every picture It takes two to make every mistake

When your best friend’s husband says to you That you’ve started looking good You should have known he would and he would if he could And he will if your rated X.

Well nobody knows where your gonin’ But they sure know where you been All they’re thinkin’ of is your experience of love Their minds eat up with sin.

The women all look at you like your bad The men all hope you are But if you go too far your going to wear the scar Of a woman rated X.

Repeat Chorus

Copyright 1972 Sure Fire Music REAL LOVE (As recorded by D olly Parton)

David Malloy, Randy McCormick, and Spady Brannan

They say that it’s a matter of trusting Before love has a chance to begin Oh it’s never simple A faithless heart can cripple And only a strong love survives I know they say that it’s a fine line Between giving up and giving in But once your heart’s been in it You just can’t forget it It’s like nothing that you’ve felt in your life.

We got real love Not infatuation Real love Our heat’s celebration I 1ove you (You know I love you too) We got real love Not an imitation Real love You’re my destination Baby you and me we got everything we need.

You are such a part of my life That X can’t remember me without you And we have had our nights We’ve had our share of fights But we never thought of giving it up You and I we must be dreamers ’Cause we’re making all our dreams come true I could spend my lie just holding you so tight And never ever get enough.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1984 Debdave Music, Inc. THE RIDE (As Recorded by David Allen Coe)

Gary Gentry and John Detterline, Jr.

I was thumbin’ -from Montgomery I had my guitar on my back When a stranger stopped beside me in an antique Cadillac He was dressed like 1950 Half drunk and hollow-eyed He said "it’s a long way to Nashville Would you like a ride, son."

I sat down in the front seat He turned on the radio And them sad old songs cornin’ out of them speakers was solid county gold Then I noticed the stanger was ghost-while pale When he asked me for a light And I knew there was somethin’ stange about this ride.

He said "drifter can you make folks cry when you play and sing Have you paid your dues Can you moan the blues Can you bend them guitar strings" He said "boy can you make folks feel what you feel inside ’Cause if you’re big-star bound Let me warn you It’s a long hard ride."

Then he cried just south of Nashville And he turned that car around He said "this is where you get off boy ’Cause I’m goin’ back to Alabam" As I stepped out of that Cadillac I said "mister many thanks" He said "you don’t have to call me mister, mister The whole world calls me Hank."

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1983 Algee Music c o r p .. THE RIGHT LEFT HAND (As recorded by George Jones)

Dennis Knutson and A.L. Owens

I’ve cried a million tears Down through the years Searchin’ for that special one The vows I took before Were all forever more But no matter how I tried They came undone.

They the good Lord finally gave me The true love of a lady Someone who believes in me She let me know each day That she is here to stay I finally found someone Who’ll never leave.

I’ve put a golden band On the right left hand this time And the right left hand put a golden band on mine When our hair is soft and white Time will prove I’m right I put a golden band On the right left hand This time.

I’ve never had to plead For the love that my heart needs She’ll be close enough to touch When the nights are long and cold She’ll be there to hold All dressed up for One more night of love.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1986 Hall-Clement P ublications RING ON HER FINGER AND TINE ON HER HANDS (As recorded by Lee Greenwood)

Don Goodman, Mary Kennedy, and Pam Rose

She stood before God, her family and friends And vowed that she’d never love anyone else again, only me As pure as her gown of white she stood by my side And promised that she’d love me ’til the day she died Lord please forgive her even though she lied ’Cause you’re the only one who knows just how hard she tried.

She had a ring on her finger and time on her hands The woman in her needed the warmth of a man The gold turned cold in her wedding band It’s just a ring on your finger when there’s time on your hands.

When I add up all the countless nights she cried herself to sleep And all the broken promises I somehow failed to keep I can’t blame her ’cause I’m the one who left her too many times al one In a three bedroom prison she tried to make a home Her love slowly died, but the fire inside still burned And the arms of a stranger was the only place left to turn.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1981 Tree Publishing Co. ROLL ON (EIGHTEEN WHEELER) (As recorded by Alabama)

Dave Loggins

It’s Monday morning He’s kissin’ mama goodbye He’s up and gone with the sun Daddy drives an eighteen wheeler And he’s off on a midwest run Then three sad faces gather round mama And they ask her when daddy’s cornin’ home Daddy drives an eighteen wheeler And they sure do miss him when he’s gone But he calls them every night And he tells them that he love them And he taught ’em this song to sing.

Roll on highway Rol1 on along Roll on daddy ’til you get back home Rol1 on fami 1y Rol1 on crew Roll on mama like I asked you to do Roll on eighteen wheeler roll on.

Well it’s Wednesday evening And mama’a waitin’ by the phone It rings but it’s not his voice It seems the highway patrol Has found a jack-knifed rig In a snowbank in Illinois But the driver was missing And the search had been abandoned ’Cause the weather had everything at a stall And they had checked all the houses and local motels And when they had same more news they’d call And she told them when they found him To tell him that she loves him And she hung up the phone singing.

Repeat chorus Mama and the children would be waitin’ up all night long Thinkin’ nothing but the worst was cornin’ With the ringing of the telephone But the man upstairs was listening As mama asked him to bring daddy home When the call came in Asking her if she’d been singing this song.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1983 Leeds Music Corporation SECOND HAND HEART (As recorded by Garry Morris)

Mark Gray, Harold Tipton, and Craig Karp

There’s so many people out in the world just like me Hoping to hear a -few simple words to believe And one honest touch is more than enough -for someone with no one to love Though I’m afraid my heart can’t be saved I’m not the kind to give up Does anybody out there want a second hand heart One that’s already broken in I think I made it through the hardest part At least enough to try love again There’s a raging fire in me A perfect match can start If anybody out there wants a second hand heart.

I’m sleeping alone now till someone belongs in my dreams I’ve got to be strong now no matter how hard it seems And one honest touch is more than enough for someone with no one to love Though I’m afraid my heart can’t be saved.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1984 by Warner-Tamer1ane Publishing Corp. SHE’S A MIRACLE (As recorded by Exile)

Sonny LeMaire and J.P. Pennington

I don’t need a shooting star to make my wish come true I don’t need a -four-1 eaf clover or a crystal ball to see through I don’t need a claim to -fame like some folks always do I’ve got my very own big time star and she shines the whole night through.

She’s a miracle A sight to see Oh the way she touches me Way down deep in my soul Somethin’s got a hold and it won’t let go If I stumble If I fall She’s waitin’ right there to catch me Oh she’s a miracle A miracle to me.

I don’t need any good luck charms always hanging around Don’t need any wishin’ well to throw my money down Don’t need to make the front page news or be the talk of the town I’m tellin’ all the world I’ve got a heavenly girl right here on the ground.

Repeat chorus

She’s everything in the world to me A beautiful dream come true Every day I count my blessings ’Cause I’m the lucky one she gives her lovin’ to.

Repeat chorus

Copyright Tree Publications SHE’ S SINGLE AGAIN (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

Charlie Craig and Peter McCann

I’ve just gat to tell you what I saw last night I wish I was guessing but I know that I’m right She walked in this place with a smile on her -face And I wondered why she was alone Every man watched her as she swayed on by The way she was looking every woman could cry And then I saw her sit down with her lawyer And I knew what was going on.

She’s single again Hold onto your men She’ll make us worried wives and bring us broken lives And heartaches that never end She’s single again She’s no woman’s -friend She’s making her move She’s got nothing to lose Look out she’s single again.

Is this number four or number five How many husbands has she buried alive She uses the favors that the good Lord gave her With the devils design I know she’s thinking she’s on top of the world I’ve seen her work and I’m warning you girl She’s single again She’s got a way with men Bit she better get away from mine.

She’s single again Hold onto your men She’ll make us worried wives and bring us broken lives And heartaches that never end She’s single again She’s no woman’s friend She’s making her move She’s got nothing to lose Look out she’s single again.

Copyright 1985 by April Music Inc. SING FOR THE COMMON MAN (As recorded by Dolly Parton)

Dolly Parton

You may not know me now but I have been around You’ll never see my name on any pages I’m just the common man the -fool who understands The pain you go through when life takes you under.

So sing for the common man A song for the common man He paid for this song with the sweat of his brow He will survive he will survive.

Your may not know my mother my sisters or my brothers Yet everyone has given for the other You know the working man he builds what others plan So everyone of us should sing his story. Repeat chorus

Day after day he keeps workin’ away In offices, factories, and farms Year after year he sheds tear after tear But he will survive he will survive.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1980 Green Apple Music SINGING MY SONG (As recorded by Tammy Wynette)

Billy Sherr ill

Here’s a song I love to sing It’s about the man that wears my ring And even though he’s tempted he knows I’ll make sure that he gets everything

’Cause when he’s cold he knows I’m warm And I warm him in my arms And when he’s sad I’ll make him glad And I’m his shelter from the storm.

I’m his song when he feels like singing And I swing when he feels like swinging I don’t know what I do that’s right But it makes him come home at night.

And when he’s cold I make sure he’s never alone And that’s why I keep singing my song And when he’s cold I make sure he’s never alone And that’s why I keep singing my song.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1969 Al G allico Music SINGLE WOMEN (As recorded by Dolly Parton)

Michael O’Donoghue

Single bars and single women With a single thought in mind Just to make it ’til the morn in’ Lookin’ -for what they can -find For a man they won’t remember For a night they can’t -forget "Do you come to this place often May I light your cigarette?" Drinkin’ beer and amaretto F'assin’ time and swapping jokes Hopin’ for a new beginning But beginning to lose hope. And your’re waiting for that moment When a glance becomes a stare "Umm, what’s that perfume your wearin’ Haven’t I met you somewhere?" Find a matchbook in the mornin’ With a name and number scrawled When you phone a woman answers And you wish you’d never called Oh, they’re friendly when they meet you, but they’re stangers when they go "Do you mind if I come join ya Would you like to dance once more?" And it’s gettin’ near to closin’ And the seconds pass like years Lots of friend to share the laughter Not a one to share the tears Ooh, and you wish they’d change that jukeb ’Cause you know every song it plays "Can I drop you off at my place Ah, what’s the matter, are you gay" You’ve got a twenty in your pocket and your toothbrush in your purse Life could get a whole lot better, But it better not get worse Single bars and single women With a single thought in mind Just to make it ’til the mornin’ Lookin’ for what they can find.

Copyright 1981 Least-Loved Music SLOW HAND (As Recorded By Conway Twitty)

Michael Clark and John Bettis

As the midnight moon was driftin’ through The lazy sway of the trees I saw the look in your eyes lookin’ into the night Not seein’ what you wanted to see Darlin’ don’t say a word Cause I already heard what your body’s sayin’ to mine You’re tired of fast moves You’ve got a slow groove on your mind You wanna man with a slow hand You wanna lover with an easy touch You want somebody who will spend some time Not come and go in a heated rush Baby, believe me, I understand When it comes to love You wanna slow hand.

□n the shadowed ground with no one around And a blanket of stars in our eyes We are drifting free Like two lost leaves on the crazy wind of the night Darlin’ don’t say a word ’Cause I already heard what your body’s sayin’ to me If you want it all night You know it’s all right I’ve got time.

Repeat chorus

If you want it all night You know it’s all right It’s not a fast move But a slow groove on your mind.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1980 Sweet Harmony Music SOMEBODY LED ME AWAY (As recorded by Loretta Lynn)

Lola Dillon

You’ll come in with the sun in the morning Like you’ve done so often before But you won’t find me asleep on the sofa Exhausted from walking the floor.

’Cause while you were leading somebody on My heart was slipping away While you were leading somebody on Somebody lead me away.

And this time the note on your pillow Will go one line more than I’m through For the guilt I’m feeling this time over leaving Is that it’s so easy to do.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 19S1 Coal Miners Music SOMEBODY SHOULD LEAVE (As recorded by Reba McEntire)

Harlan Howard and Chick Rains

Is sure is quiet when the kids go to bed We sit here in the silence putting off what must be said I read a book you watch tv as our love dies qui et1y I’m so sad I don’t know what I’ve just read.

Somebody should leave but which one should it be You need the kids and they need me Somebody should leave but we hate to give in We keep hoping some how we might need each other again.

You say goodnight and turn and face the wall We lie here in the darkness and the tears start to fall If it was only you and me goodbye might come more easily But what about those babies down the hall.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1983 Tree Publishing Co. STAND BY YOUR MAN (As recorded by Tammy Wynette)

Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill

Sometimes it’s hard to be a women Giving all your love to just one man You’ll have bad times, and he’ll have good times Doing things that you don’t understand.

But i-f you love him, you’ll -forgive him Even though he’s hard to understand And i-f you love him be proud o-f him ’Cause after all he’s just a man.

Stand by your man Give him two arms to cling to And Something warm to come to When nights are cold and lonely.

Stand by your man And tell the world you love him Keep givin’ all the love you can Stand by your man.

Stand by your man And show the world you love him Keep giving all the love you can Stand by your man.

Copyright 196S by Al Gallico Music Corp., STANDING ROOM ONLY (As recorded by Barbara Mandrell)

Charles Silver and Susan Manchester

You must think my bed’s a bus stop the way you come and go I ain’t seen you with the lights on two nights in a row So pack your rusty razor don’t bother with good-byes Your cup runneth over but mine is always dry.

Standing room only I can’t stand no more no more Standing room only Outside my door.

Don’t help me set the table ’Cause now there’s one less place I won’t lay mama’s silver For a man who won’t say grace.

If home is where the heart is Then your home’s on the streets Me I’ll read a good book Turn out the lights and go to sleep.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1980 Sunbury Music Inc. TAKE ME DOWN (As recorded by Alabama)

James Pennington and Mark Gray

Fly away with me tonight Take me on a one way -flight In you lovin’ arms And everything’s gonna be alright You’re the one who took my hand When no one else could understand You’re the one who moves me like nobody else can.

Take me down to where I wanna be Turn around the man who lives inside of me Take me down and lose me all night long Hold me close and make me strong Take me down take me down tonight.

In your eyes I see the light It’s your emotions glowing bright So keep the fires burning And let it warm me through the night You can be a part of me ’Cause you’re what love was meant to be You and me baby we’ll set the flame inside us free.

Take me down to where I wanna be Turn around the man who lives inside of me Take me down and lose me all night long Hold me close and make me strong Take me down take me down tonight.

You don’t have to stay forever Let’s just put our hearts together And share another night in ecstasy We know that it’s feel in’ better Ev’rytime we come together Maybe love was meant for you and me.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1980 Irving Music, Inc. TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT (As recorded by Johnny Paycheck)

David Allen Coe

Take this job and shove it I ain’t warkin’ here no more My woman done left and took all the reasons I was workin’ for You better not try to stand in my way As I walk out the door Just take this job and shove it I ain’t workin’ here no more.

I’ve been workin’ in this fact’ry for nigh on fifteen years Seen some of my best friends’ women drownin’ in a pool of tears Seen a lot of my kinfolk die Had a lot of bills to pay Lord I’d give the shirt right off of my back If I had the guts to say.

Repeat chorus

The foreman is a regular low down dog The line boss is a fool Got himself a brand new flattop haircut Lord he really thinks he’s cool One of these days I’m gonna blow my top And somebody’s gonna pay Lord I can’t wait to see their faces When I get the nerve to say.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1977 Warner-Tamer1ane Publishing TELL ME A LIE (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

Barabra Wyrick and Michey Buckins

Tell me a lie Say I look -familiar Though I know that you don't even know my name Tel 1 me a lie Say you just got into town Even though I’ve seen you here before just hanging around Tel 1 me a lie Say you got no place to stay But you"11 be glad to drop me home 'cause it's on your way.

Tell me a lie when you take me home I don't really want to spend the night alone Tel 1 me a lie Don't worry about my sorrow You'll be long gone tomorrow And you won't have to see me cry Just tell me a lie.

Tel 1 me a lie Come on and tell me that you love me Tel 1 me a lie When you're lying close beside me And whisper when you hold me Sweet words that I'll believe Tell me a lie when our night is almost over And make it easy on us both when It's time -for you to go Come on tell me a lie Say you'd really like to stay Come on and tell me just one more lie You'll be back one day.

Tell me a lie when you take me home I don't really want to spend the night alone Tel 1 me a lie Don't worry about my sorrow You'll be long gone tomorrow And you won't have to see me cry Tel 1 me a lie.

Copyright 1973 by Fame Pub. C o., Inc. THERE AIN'T NO FUTURE IN THIS (As recorded by Reba McErvti re)

Bill Rice and Mary Rice

Honey I know you tried When you loved me tonight But her memory slipped from your lips So if she's on your mind That much of the time There ain't no future in this

There was somebody who Took a whole lot of you And I guess you're not over it yet If I'm just standing in For a memory then There ain't no future in this.

Mine are the arms that hold you But hers are the arms you miss So if she's still the one When it's all said and done There ain't no future in this.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1983 April Music Inc. TIE OUR LOVE (IN A DOUBLE KNOT) (As recorded by Dolly Parton)

Jeff Silbar and John Reid

Gonna tie our love in a double knot 'Cause these days love gets strained alot To give our heats a double shot Let's tie our love in a double knot.

Ohj, if we wanted to endure An ounce of prevention Is worth a pound of cure While we're wrapped in Those ties that bind I wanna make sure We don't unwind.

Repeat chorus

'Cause I've got my dreams And baby you got yours Put it together We got a whole lot more I'm not lookin' for just one night I wanna make it the past of our lives.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1984 Cross Keys Publishing C o., Inc. TWO CAR GARAGE (As recorded by B.J. Thomas)

J.D. Martin and Gary Harrison

I used to be Mr. -free tall, dark and cool I did a solo act Made up my own rules Then you came along and changed my point o-f view Baby what am I gonna do Just look at me lookin' at you I can't believe the things I'm looking forward to.

Give me a two car garage And a two story house And a couple of kids we can brag about Give me a two-tone Chevrolet And too many bills to pay And a couple of arms to make me happy livin' that way.

I used to play such a game of hide and seek I'd go looking for love then hide if it saw me You could find me with my friends hanging out on the street Now they're wondering where I could be.

Well it's Saturday night and it's just you and me Snuggled up on the couch just watching tv If we don't get to Paris It won't break my heart We'll just pack up the kids and go to Yellowstone Park.

Copyright 1983 Music Corporation of America Inc. TWO DOORS DOWN (As recorded by Dolly F'arton)

Dolly F'arton

Two doors down they're laughin' and drinkin' and havin' a party Two doors down they're not aware that I'm around Here I am cryin' my heart out -feel in' sorry But they're havin' a party just two doors down.

think I'll dry these useless tears and get myself together I think I'll wonder down the hall and have a look around 'Cause I can't stay inside this lonely room and cry forever I think I'd really rather join 'em two doors down.

Repeat chorus

can't believe I'm standing here dry-eyed and all smiles an talkin' Making conversation with the new love that I found I ask him if he'd like to be alone and we start walking Down the hall to my place waitin' two doors down.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 197S Lowery Music TWO STORY HOUSE (As recorded by George Jones and Tammy Wynette)

G. Tubb., S. Lindsey and T. Wynette

We always wanted a biq two story house Back when we lived in that little two room shack We wanted -fame and -fortune And to live the way the rich -folks do We knew somehow we'd make it together you and me.

With dreams and hopes o-f days to come We worked and never stopped Not much time for you and me We had to reach the top We bought that big two story house And soon became the envy of the town With all our work behind us We finally settled down.

Now we live in a two story house Oh what splendor But there's no love about I've got my story And I've got mine too How sad it is We now lie in a two story house.

The house is filled with rare antiques There's marble on the floor Beauty all around us like we've never seen before There's chandeliers in every room Imported silks and satins all about We filled the house with everything But somehow left love out.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1980 ATV Music WHAT AM I GONNA DO ABOUT YOU (As recorded by Reba McEntire)

Doug Gilmore, Jim Alison and Bob Simon

The Kid down the street mows the grass every week The neighbor next door fixed the roof where it leaked The job's goin' fine and the bills are all paid Everyone thinks that I'm doin' okay.

There's a guy down at work He's asked me out once or twice I haven't said yes But I'm thinkin' I might Then on my way home I though I saw you walk by If only I could get you out of my mind.

What in the world am I gonna do about you □h your memory keeps cornin' back from out of the blue Oh well I've tried and I've tried But I still can't believe that we're through So tell me what in the world am I gonna do about you.

I went to the store but it wasn't much fun It doesn't take long when your shopping for one Then standin' in line I thought I saw you walk in And that's when it started all over again.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1985 Tapadero Music WHAT A DIFFERENCE YOU'VE MADE IN MY LIFE (As recorded by Ronnie Mil sap)

Archie Jordan

What a diff'rence you've made in my life What a diff'rence you've made in my life You're my sunshine day and night Oh, what a diff'rence you've made in my life.

What a change you have made in my heart What a change you have made in my heart You replaced all the broken parts Oh, what a diff'rence you have made in my life

Love to me was just a word in a song That had been way over used But now I've joined in the singin' 'Cause you've shown me love's true meanin' That's why I want to spread the news.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1977 Chess Music Inc. WHEN A WOMAN CRIES (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

Buck Moore and Mentor Williams

She wakes up in the morning weak -from an intimate dream A -faithful alarm clock starts off her daily routine With last night's fantasy still dancing round in her head She straightens the pillow on the unwrinkled side of her bed.

She stands at the mirror and casually straightens her dress She don't feel like working But she'll go and she'll do her best She puts on the jewelry a working girl's salary will buy But her only diamonds are the drops of despair in her eyes.

When a woman cries The tear drops make her strong When a woman cries She's weak but not for long Life's disappointments become drops of pain To nourish the courage to try love again She finds the strength to survive When a woman cries.

She drives home from work Walks into an empty cold house Remembering times she tried Love that didn't work out But she believes somewhere Some man wants the same thing she does A life spent together Sharing an undying love.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1985 Tapadero Music WHEN THE TINGLE BECOMES A CHILL (As recorded by Loretta Lynn)

Lola Jean Dillion

Sometimes at night dear While you're -fast asleep I lie there alone in the darkness and weep So sorry and sad But that's part o-f the deal When the tingle becomes a chill.

I never wanted to stop lovin' you I'll swear by the breath in my body that's true But a woman can't help the way that she feels When the tingle becomes a chill.

You're so contented but for me it's all gone And though I pretend you just don's turn me on The body preforms, but the soul has no will When the tingle becomes a chill.

I never wanted to stop lovin' you I'll swear by the breath in my body that's true But a woman can't help the way she feels When the tingle becomes a chill.

Copyright 1973 by Wilderness Music Pub. Co. WHEN WE MAKE LOVE (As recorded by Alabama)

Troy Seals and Mentor Williams

There’s a light in your eyes tonight You know I'd know that look anywhere You got plans and I'm a lucky man Before we get so carried away There's something I've been wanting to say.

When we make love It's more to me than just an affair I want you to know how much I care When we make love.

Watchin' you make your little moves I can see it's gonna be a long night All day long we keep hoi din' on couldn’t be any better than this I've got it all at my finger tips.

Repeat chorus

These moments, these feel in's Are just incredible When we make love.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1983 Two Sons Music WHISKEY BENT AND HELL BOUND (As recorded by Hank Williams Jr.)

Hank Williams Jr.

I've got a good woman at home who thinks I do no wrong But sometimes Lord she just ain't always around And you know that's when of course I can't help myself at all And I get whiskey bent and hell bound.

Play me some songs about ramblin' man Put a cold one in my hand 'Cause you know I love to hear those guitar sounds But don't ya play "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" cause I get all balled up inside And I'll get whiskey bent and hell bound.

Sho' 'nough about losin' time 'Bout stoned out of my mind And I end up left with some hanky tank special I found just as sure as the mornin' sun comes Thinkin' of my sweet girl at home And I need to get whiskey bent and hell bound

Sing me a song about ramblin' man Put old Jim Beam in my hand 'Cause you know I still love to get drunk and hear country sounds But don't play "Your Cheatin' Heart" That'll tear me apart I get whiskey drunk and hell bound.

Copyright 1979 Bocephus Music Inc. WHO'S GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES (As recorded by George Jones

Troy Seals and Maax D. Barnes

Ya know this ol' world is full of singers But just a few are chosen to tear you heart out when they sing Imagine life without 'em All your radio hero's like the outlaw That walks through Jessie's dreams.

No there'll never be another red headed stranger A man in black and folsom prison blues The Okie from Muskogee Or hello darlin' Lord I wonder who's gonna fill their shoes.

Who's gonna fill their shoes Who's gonna stand that tall Who's gonna play the Opry And the Wabash Cannonbal1 Who's gonna give their heart and soul to get to me and you Lord I wonder who's gonna fill their shoes.

God bless the boys from Memphis Blue Suede Shoes and Elvis Much too soon he left the world in tears They tore up the fifties □1' Jerry Lee and Charlie And "go cat go" still echoes through the years.

You know the heart of country music Still beats in Luke the drifter You can feel it when he sang "I saw The Light" 01' Marty, Hank, and Lefty Why I can feel 'em right here with me □n this silver eagle rolling through the night.

Copyright 1985 by WB Music Corp. WOMAN TO WOMAN (As recorded by Tammy Wynette)

Mari on/Banks/Thigpi n

If you think you got your man in the palm of your hand you'd better listen And if you think you got it made and his love will never fade you'd better listen She's out there too and she's a whole lot better lookin' than you She can do things to a man you never dreamed a woman can do.

If you think you'll keep your man with a golden weddin' band you'd better listen If your sitting there at home thinkin' how good you turn him on you'd better listen She's sweet when she talks and she bounces all over when she wal ks And she's forgot more about a man than your sweet mama ever told you.

I'm talking woman to woman, heart to heart I'm singing straight to you woman to woman You can take it or leave it, oh but it's true Women to woman, me to you.

Copyright 1974 East Memphis Music WORKING NAN (As recorded by John Conlee)

Jim Hurt and Billy Reynolds

Stumble -from my good warm bed Monday morning oh my head Got to go and do it all again Wake up baby rise and shine Coffee, eQgs and bacon time Walk your working man Out to the door.

Boss is in his usual mood Not one thing does he approve Sometimes you can't keep him satisfied Up and down the assembly line Worried faces much like mine Showing the wear and tear in their eyes.

They're making it hard on the working man Trying to make a living anyway he can Making ends meet on the installment plan His money goes through his hands Heaven help him if you think you can They're making it hard on the working man,

Big policeman in his prime sits behind his bill board si gn Aims his radar gun right straight at me Letter from the IRS said boy your taxes are big mess Is this the way the good life's supposed to b

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1984 Tapadeor Music Would Jesus Wear A Rolex (As Recorded by Ray Stevens)

Margaret Archer and Chet Atkins

Woke up this morning tuned on the TV set And there in living color was something I can't forget This man was preaching at me ya laying on the charm Asking me for 20 with 10,000 on his arm.

He wore designer clothing and a big smile on his face Selling me salvation while they sang "Amazing Grace" Asking me for money when he had all the signs of wealth Almost wrote a check out, but then I asked myself.

Would he wear a pinky ring would he drive a fancy car Would his wife wear furs and diamonds Would his dressing room have a star If he came back tomorrow there's something I'd like to know Would Jesus wear a rolex on his television show.

Would Jesus be political if he came back to earth Have his second home in Palm Springs but try to hid his worth Take money from those poor folks when he comes back again And admit he's talked to all those preachers who say they been a talkin' to him.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 3.984 MCA Records, Inc. YEARS (As recorded by Barbara Mandrel 1)

Fleming and Morgan

Faded photographs the -feelings all come back Even now sometimes you feel so near And I still see your -face like it was yesterday It's strange how the days turned into years.

Years of hanging on to dreams already gone Years of wishing you were here After all this time you'd think I wouldn't cry 's jList that I still love you after all these years.

Night time gently falls another day is gone I turn around to find your still not here leave the hall light on in case you come back home Funny, I've been saying that for years.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1978 Tom Collins Music. YOU AIN'T WOMAN ENOUGH TO TAKE MY MAN (As recorded by Loretta Lynn)

Loretta Lynn

You've come to tell me something you say I ought to know That he don't love me anymore and I'll have to let him go You say you're going to take him but I don't think you can Cause you ain't woman enough to take my man.

Women like you are a dime a dozen you can buy 'em anywhere For you to get to him I'd have to move over And I'm going to stand right here It'll be over my dead body so get out while you can Cause you ain't woman enough to take my" man.

Sometimes a man's caught lookin' at things that he don't need He took a second look at you, but he's in love with me I don't know where that leaves you but I know where I stand And you ain't woman enough to take my" man.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1966 Sure Fire Music YOU LIFT ME UP (As recorded by Reba McEntire)

Bill Zerface, Jim Zerface, Bob Morrison, and Johnny Macrae

I've been to Colorado Where the mountains touch the sky And I've done other things in life To lift my" spirits high But nothin' that I ever tried to do Has taken me as high as lovin' you.

You lift me up, up, up to heaven When you gently" lay" me dawn You lift me up, up, up to heaven Yes, you make my world go 'round.

I never try to get away' On daydreams anymore Love's takin' me to places That I've never been before And if it's not Heaven when your're hoi din' me Well, it's the way that Heaven ought to be.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1980 Southern Nights Music YOU LOOK 80 GOOD IN LOVE (As recorded by George Strait)

Kerry Chater, Rory' Bourke, and Glen Ballard

Oh how you sparkle and oh how you shine That flush on your cheeks is more than the wine And he must do something that I didn't do Whatever he is doing it looks good on you.

You look so good in love You want him that's easy to see You look so good in love I wish you still wanted me.

And he must have stolen some stars from the skies And gave them to you to wear in your eyes I had my chances but I set you free And now I wonder why I couldn't see.

Darling I wasted a lot of years not seeing the real you But tonight your beauty is shining through And I never took the time to let you know But before he takes you away please let me say.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1883 Vogue Music YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A MAN (As recorded by Ricky Skaggs)

Peter Rowan

Well it's so good to see your face again It's so good to hold your hand And it's so good to kiss your lips again You make me feel like a man.

Well it's so good to see you smile again It's so good to taste your tears And it's so good to call you mine again 'Cause we've grown stronger through the years

□ur love is deeper than the ocean Our love is higher than than the skies Our love it fills me with emotion I see love forever in your eyes.

Our love is sweeter than the flowers Our love is stronger than any wind And as I love you through the hours My heart will always sing this song again and again

Copyright 1885 Hall-Clement P u blication s YOU NEVER CALLED ME BY MY NAME (As Recorded by David Allen Coe)

Steve Goodman

Well it was all that I could do to keep from cryin' Sometimes it seems so useless to remain But you don't have to call me darlin', darlin' You never even called me by my" name.

You don't have to call me Waylon Jennings And y-ou don't have to call me Charlie Pride And you don't have to call me Merl Haggard any more Even though your on my -Rightin' side.

And I'll hang around as y-ou long as will let me And I never minded standin' in the rain But you don't have to cal1 me darlin', darlin' You never called me by" my name.

Well I've heard my name a few times in your phone book And I've seen it on signs where I've played But the only time I know I'll hear David Allen Coe Is when Jesus has his -final judgement day".

Repeat chorus

(Spoken) Well a friend of my named Steve Goodman wrote that song, and he told me it was the perfect country" and western song. I wrote him back a letter and told him it was not the perfect country- and western song, because he hadn't said anything at all about mama, or trains, or trucks, or prison, or gettin' drunk. Well he sat down and wrote another verse to the song and after reactin’ it I realized that my friend had written the perfect country and western song, and I felt obliged to include it on this album, the last verse goes like this here:

Well I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison And I went to pick her up in the rain But before I could get to the station in my" pick-up truck She got runned aver by a damned old train.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1878 YOUNG COUNTRY (As recorded by Hank Williams Jr.)

Hank Williams Jr.

We are young country We are the pride The sons and daughters Of American life Our hair is not orange We don't wear chains and spikes But we know how to have fun Come Saturday night.

We know what's right We know what's wrong We know what we like To hear in a song We like some of the old stuff We like some of the new But we do our own choosin' We pick our own music If you don't mind thank you.

We are young country We like all kinds Of music and people 'Cause we don't draw no lines No our hair is not orange We don't wear chains and spikes But we know how to have fun Come-a Saturday night.

We like ol' WayIon Hey we know Van Halen We like ZZ Top We like country" rack 01' Hank would be proud And Elvis would too 'Cause we like our county Nixed with some big city blues.

Repeat chorus

We know when it's hot We know when it's not If you don't mind thank you.

Copyright 1987 Bocephus MusicInc. YOLJR GOOD GIRL'S GONNA GO BAD (As recorded by- Tammy- Wynette)

Billy Sherrill and G. Sutton

I've never seen the inside of a barroom Or listened to a juke box all night long But I see these are the things that bring you pleasure So I'm going to make some changes in our home.

I've heard it said if you can't beat 'em join 'em So if that's the way- you've wanted me to be I'll change if that's what it takes that to make you happy From now on your gonna see a different me.

Because your good girls gonna go bad I'm gonna be the swingingest swinger you've ever had. If you like 'em painted up and powderded up Then you ought to be glad Cause your good girl's gonna go bad.

I'll even learn to like the taste of whiskey In fact you'll hardly recognize your wife I'll buy some brand new clothes and dress up fancy For my journey through the wilder side of life.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1967 A1 Gallico Music YOUR HEART'S NOT IN IT (As recorded by Janie Frickie)

GARVIN, JONES, AND SHAPIRO

I've'e never wanted anyone as much as I want you tonight It would -feel so good to feel your touch And to let you hold me tight If it was only right

But your hearts not in it And I can't take your body" If your hearts not in it There's an old love on your mind that you can't forget

At least you haven't yet No your hearts not in it I won't gamble on a love if I can't win it And I can't win it if your hearts not in it.

I wish I though that you could love me If I gave my lave to you I'd close my eyes and I'd set my feel in's free If you only loved me too But your heart's not in it

Repeat chorus

Copyright 1984 YOU’VE GOT THE TOUCH (As recorded by Alabama)

Will Robinson, Lisa F'alas, and John Jarrard

Lying beside you Watching you sleeping After youWe loved me so tenderly I'm searching -for some way to tell you How good it -felt When I held you There's so many ways you get to me 'Cause you've got the touch That turns me on and on You light a fire in me That keeps burning strong.

The longer I'm with you The deeper and deeper in love I fall You've got the moves That move me so much You've got the touch.

As you wake up You pull me closer And whisper good morning warm in my ear Nobody could do that like you do You make it so easy to love you And I know I will for a million years 'Cause you've got the touch You turn me on and on You light the fire in me That keeps me burning strong.

Repeat chorus

Copyright 19S6 Alabama Band Music WORKS CONSULTED

Galen, Robert E. Profiles of Radio Listeners. New York: Simmons Market Research Bureau, 1894.

Lynn, Loretta, and George Vecsey. Loretta Lynn; Coal Miner's Daughter . Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1976.

Malone, Bill C. Country Music, U.S.A. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1985.

McKern, Sharon. Redneck Mothers, Good 01' Girls and Other Southern Bells. New York: Viking Press, 1979.

Oermann, Robert K., Douglas B. Green. The Listeners Guide To Country Music. New York: Quarto Marketing Ltd., 1983.

Preston, Francis. "Stability, Good Demographics, Listerner Loyalty Are High Notes. 11 Tel evi si on/Radi o Aqe 8 Oct. 1979: A 14-18. ““

Radio Programming Profile. Nashville: Country Music Association, 1986.

Stacey, Julie. "Record Rundown." USA Today 6, May 1983, D18.

Warner, Lloyd. "Country Superconsumers Confirmed By Research." Close-Up. Feb. 1985: 10-12.

Wynette, Tammy, and Joan Drew. Stand By Your Man. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979.