Friday Five: S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G S-O-N-G-S
Country music is pretty straightforward: three chords and the truth, as they say. But sometimes, singers have to spell it out for us. Here’s a Friday Five that’s part country music playlist, part spelling bee.
5. “Tulsa” – Wayne Hancock
Tulsa is the town for Wayne the Train, so much so that he spells the town’s name out in his swingin’ chorus and named his 2006 album after it. But after hearing all about the wonders of Tulsa in Hancock’s song, it’s no wonder why Bob Wills wanted to be taken back there.
4. “Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)” – Garth Brooks & George Jones
Man, living in a dry county must suck when you like booze as much as these guys. Between beer and gas money, it’s no wonder they’re broke. Well, at least the seven dudes in the song are cruising in a pickup truck and not on a riding lawnmower.
3. “M-O-N-E-Y” – Lyle Lovett
There’s gold digger, and then there’s straight up cruel. Lovett’s chorus “‘No finance, no romance’/Was how she told me goodbye/First she took my love, then she took all my/M-O-N-E-Y” suggests that this gal is the latter.
2. “G-I-R-L Spells Trouble” – Ernest Tubb
According to this one from the Texas Troubadour, girls are “just plain misery” and nothing but trouble. Of course, a man just can’t get along without ‘em. In the future, Ernest, stick to women…they’ll just leave you walking the floor instead of kicking you out of your home.
1. “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” – Tammy Wynette
Okay, so the gal in this song has good reason to spell stuff out. But when that four year old grows up and learns what his folks were talking about right in front of him? T-H-E-R-A-P-Y.
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Ernest Tubb // Garth Brooks // George Jones // Lyle Lovett // Tammy Wynette // Wayne Hancock
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July 17, 2009 at 12:06 pm Permalink
What no T.L.C.A.S.A.P.? from Alabama?
July 17, 2009 at 12:06 pm Permalink
Or “T-R-O-U-B-L-E?” from Travis Tritt?
July 17, 2009 at 12:15 pm Permalink
Aww….and remember that Alan Jackson showed us how to spell Good Time….”G to the O, O to the D, T and an I, M and an E…” or however that goes…
July 17, 2009 at 12:23 pm Permalink
^ Yep, “Good Time” is a good song =)
July 17, 2009 at 12:36 pm Permalink
No Glamorous by Fergie?? COME ON!!!!!!
July 17, 2009 at 12:41 pm Permalink
Great list and blurbs. I’ve always been partial to Darrell Scott’s “Spelling Bee Romance.”
July 17, 2009 at 12:47 pm Permalink
No B-E-E-R-R-U-N from Todd Snider? Seriously, no single line in the Garth Brooks number so aptly describes the angst of a Beer Run better than “Oh how happy we would be if we had only brought a better fake ID on a B double E double R un.”
Kelly: I bought a copy of Fergie’s cd for a friend’s daughter for graduation. In trying to explain to me which songs she liked she began to sing a bit–”G-L-A-M-A-R-O-U-S.” On the night of her high school graduation, bless her heart.
July 17, 2009 at 12:53 pm Permalink
Don Henry’s BFD. Although that’s more of an acronym song that spelling song, it’s funny as H-E-C-K!
July 17, 2009 at 12:55 pm Permalink
I can overlook the absence of “Tulsa Straight Ahead” (much better than the Hancock song), but not the failure to include “S-A-V-E-D.”
July 17, 2009 at 1:09 pm Permalink
Remember one (of many) of Joe Diffie’s mid 90s novelty songs named “C-O-U-N-T-R-Y”. Maybe Jason Aldean can revive it…
July 17, 2009 at 1:22 pm Permalink
L! Is for the way you loooooook at me. O! Is for the only oneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, I seeeeeeee! V! Is very, very! EXTRA! ORDINARY!….
July 17, 2009 at 2:46 pm Permalink
How about P-I-G by John Bogue
or B-A-C-O-N & E-G-G-S by Homer & Jethro
both songs done to the same tune as D-I-V-O-R-C-E
Also two great songs with the same title
I-O-U by Jimmy Dean (a Mother’s Day song)
I-O-U by Lee Greenwood (a love song)
July 17, 2009 at 2:55 pm Permalink
Diffie also had “I’m in Love with a Capital U” sorry- I know everyone wants to forget that.
July 17, 2009 at 3:04 pm Permalink
Todd Sniders BEER RUN > Garth’s. Another one of my faves is W-I-F-E from The Old 97’s
July 17, 2009 at 3:15 pm Permalink
Ooh, I totally forgot about W-I-F-E! Thanks for the reminder. Will have to look up the Todd Snider song as well based upon you and Stormy’s comments.
The general rule for FF songs is that they’ve already got to be somewhere in my music collection. Looks like I need to hit up the record store in search of more spelling songs…that Homer & Jethro one looks fab.
July 17, 2009 at 3:39 pm Permalink
The D-I-V-O-R-C-E commentary is hilarious. These are always so fun to read, especially when the “my fave was snubbed!” comments start trickling in.
July 17, 2009 at 3:43 pm Permalink
Forgot maybe the granddaddy of them all – “M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I” by Red Foley (1950). Does anyone know the origin of the “three chords and the truth” phrase? First time I recall hearing it was in U2’s version of Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” from Rattle & Hum — “All I’ve got is this red guitar, three chords and the truth.”
July 17, 2009 at 3:47 pm Permalink
I have an earlier example. What about C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S by Eddy Arnold? That was in 1949!
July 17, 2009 at 3:53 pm Permalink
Juli- also seek out Todd’s story regarding the two versions of Beer Run… it’s worth a listen. I’m pretty sure there’s a version on YouTube.
July 17, 2009 at 3:55 pm Permalink
Oh, Silvio’s comment reminds me of another good one: Bobbie Gentry’s “Mississippi Delta.” Although that one is kind of Ike-and-Tina-ish, so maybe not the countriest choice.
July 17, 2009 at 4:22 pm Permalink
“The general rule for FF songs is that they’ve already got to be somewhere in my music of more…”
..And the list can only contain five songs.
I LOVE Todd Snider, but I prefer Garth’s “BeerRun.”
July 17, 2009 at 4:24 pm Permalink
And Sammy Kershaw “T-E double N-E double S double E G-I-R-L”
July 17, 2009 at 5:03 pm Permalink
Uh, “S-A-V-E-D” dates back to the 1930s, if not earlier.
July 17, 2009 at 5:31 pm Permalink
Although definitely not country Tonio K’s bitter break-up song “H-A-T-R-E-D” circa 1979 comes to mind as it contains a plethora of spelled out words. An example lyric: “I’m so full of H-A-T-R-E-D, I’m bitter and mailgned. You’ve got me P-I-S-S-E-D Off, I’m angry most of the time. Why don’t you G-O T-O H-E-Double L you…(umm I better quit here for the sake of decorum!)”. Hey, this describes how I feel about Obama being president, imagine that! (lol)
July 17, 2009 at 7:41 pm Permalink
Juli, here is the beer run story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ke9FhsSgZI
If you want to get into Todd…I would recommend the bootleg Live From Moondawg’s Tavern.
http://atruersound.blogspot.com/2009/06/from-archives-todd-snider-tales-from.html
So good Todd is writing a book based around it (per his recent paste interview….which I found via this site BTW)
and let me say I always enjoy these as well….it must be frustrating every time you do one to have everyone only comment on what songs you FORGOT :-P
July 18, 2009 at 7:13 am Permalink
George Jones had a song in the mid 1950s “Vitamins L-O-V-E”
July 19, 2009 at 4:24 pm Permalink
Remember when Lonestar’s first single for Lonely Grill, S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night damned near killed their career before Amazed saved their asses?
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