Geez, half the country songs I like are about death, doom, murder, mayhem, chaos, destruction but mostly death. The other half are about beer or sex or both…
I don’t know whether Johnny Cash believes that cocaine and whiskey lead directly and automatically to remorseless murder, but I sure like “Cocaine Blues.” I don’t know whether Charlie Robison thinks murder is justifiable if it’s the only way to get a ring for your sweetheart to marry you, as long as nobody finds out about it, but “Loving County” is one of my favorite songs. Does Garth Brooks approve of date rape because he sang about it once? Jeez.
And how come agreeing with the lyrics of your song is only acceptable if the lyrics reflect a liberal position?
Well if your head is gonna explode and all… This means Gooti is soon to be single?!?
weirddave He does have a good sense of humor.
If you can find a copy online of his “bus” songs they are pretty damn funny and entertaining… My favorite “I’ll never smoke weed with willy again.”
Apperently nobody has seen the video for “Beer For My Horses,”.
During the first part of the video while this line was being sung
“Grandpappy told my daddy 'Back in my day, son,
A man had to answer For the wicked that he done.
Take all the rope in Texas, Find a tall oak tree;
Round up all of them bad boys, Hang 'em high in the street.
For all the people to see”
They were looking at old pictures of his “grandpappy” who was lawman of some kind. They were talking about hanging in the context of a lawman doing his job, not about being a vilgilante.
I don’t dislike Toby Keith because he’s a boot-wearin’, truck-drivin’, shock’n y’all, ignorant, white trash, self-professed redneck that makes a laughable farce out of country music.
Oh, wait.
Yes, I do.
Toby, please make your way down to Southern Ohio, so I can plant my foot in your ass. God.
In regards to the OP, I laughed until I cried. Your “shock’n y’all” bit was priceless. Thanks, mouthbreather!
I’m from Ohio (central, QGG, just south of Columbus – you know) and grew up with somewhere close to 45% Redneck Immersion. I can say, and I’m 15 years removed and visit often, they DIG Toby Keith and consider his lyrics allegory.
Point is, based on my small-model sampling there’s a great number of people out there in the world, taxpaying, hard-working and high school-educated people who dig this type of crap. It’s Gospel to them.
The worst part is they’re all out either practicing for the softball league, drinking after practice or watching softball. Or macking on a softball player. No representation in this OP. Kind of like kicking the Cocker.
Excellent post, Miller, except I couldn’t give two shits about Willie Nelson. I was merely responding to Homebrew’s including Nelson in his list of country music performers, saying that, “Country has some protest songs and can be bitingly critical of society.” I don’t see “Beer For My Horses” as a protest song, and if glorifying lynchings is “bitingly critical of society” then I do not think that word means what you think it means.
As for the rest of it, I disagree over your interpretation of the song, and I despise it, but you’re welcome to your own likes and whatnot. And, again, and especially after this claptrap of a song, what little thought I would ever have given to Willie Nelson went right down the tubes.
Well, no, it’s not a protest song, but it’s also not the only song the guy ever wrote. Heck, I don’t know that he’s written any protest songs, and I certainly never said anything about him being “bitingly critical of society.” Which is actually four words, but never mind that. I don’t think the text of the song supports your interpretation, as it seems clear to me that the “lynchings” are meant in the context of legitimate law enforcement from a previous century. I’d be interested to see how you interpret it otherwise.
I don’t really care about Willie Nelson one way or the other (except for some lingering pothead solidarity sentiments: anyone who smokes that much weed can’t be - hell, probably isn’t capable of being - all that bad) I’m certainly no fan of his music. But I think you’re being unnecessarily harsh on a guy who seems harmless at worst, and maybe halfway decent at best.
I must disagree here. Willie Nelson has not built his reputation on being a man of integrity. He’s built his reputation on being a hippie rebel who does what he pleases. Much like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, Willie’s rep is based on being much like an outlaw, thus his songs fit his persona.
I haven’t read this thread yet beyond the OP (don’t worry, I will!), but I can’t help but laugh. For the record, I do listen to country radio from time to time. Every format on the radio (sans NPR) tends to bore me stiff after a while, with the same ten for fifteen songs repeated ad nauseum. So, I channel surf when I get bored with one format, and country is among the formats I listen to.
Toby Keith is the champion of all that is red-blooded, beer-drinking, two-fisted, American male. And nothing more than that. He’s a good ol’ boy out having fun with his boys. If you take him for anything more than that, you’re fooling yourself.
I enjoy a lot of his music, but I try to not lose sight of the fact that it’s meaningless fluff. His “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” is a bit annoying, potentially racist, and certainly an incentive to violence, but it’s certainly a lot better than a lot of the other crap that came out over 9/11. (Didja hear that one that says something to the effect of “Nuke Iraq, have you forgotten about 9/11?” I heard it once and have yet to return to the local country stations.)
And I see on preview that some are considering his songs bad imitations of rap music. I do not see that. I see that some of his songs employ what might be called a “patter”, but patter has been around for much longer than rap music.
Don’t take Toby too seriously. He’s like that big jock in high school who says whatever will make him popular.
JOhn (who enjoys listening to Toby Keith, but enjoys watching his videos much more… ;-).
Nope, that’s the right song. It even includes a cameo by country’s “Weird Al”, Cleetus T. Judd. (A funny, talented guy in his own right, IMO.)
I’m not sure how you mean “rap-style” unless you mean it has flashy cars, skimply clad bimbos, and a richly-appointed mansion. I think that style was popular way before rap music co-opted it, but I haven’t got any examples immediately in mind. I have a hard time associating it exclusively with rap, though.
Actually wasn’t the first rap country song “Hot Rod Lincoln”? God bless Commander Cody.
As far as Toby Keith . . . four oh-so-wonderful letters: FUTK. Natalie Maines was spot on. This guy’s been making a living off of Ford and busting on other people. He’s a major asshat.
I didn’t know if “panty waste” was just a typo or meant as a fairly clever dig. It works both ways.
I’ve hated Toby Keith all the way back to the first song of his I heard, “Should Have Been A Cowboy”. I know way too many people who like him and his music, my sister thinks he’s great. One of my best friends has been turned into a Toby Keith fan by his wife, they were even arguing over who was going to wear his Toby Keith t-shirt to some concert since hers had disappeared.
I grew up with country music, still love lots of the old stuff (my Buck Owens and Tom T. Hall CDs sit proudly in my CD case beside my Sigur Ros, Miles Davis, and The Flaming Lips discs). But most of the new commercial stuff is so pop-lite (Faith Hill, Shania Twain and other country divas) or so wallowing in the stereotypes and cowboy wish fulfillment (like Keith and most other “hat acts”) that it sounds better suited to adult contemporary stations than country radio. Maybe songs like “I Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again” (which I haven’t heard, but I like the title), “Man Of Constant Sorrow”, or even Johnny Cash singing “Hurt” could get played on country radio I’d listen to the format again.
I can see how “Shock’N Y’All” would bug some. It’s a stupid pun, but come on, “shock and awe” in it’s current usage was a slogan for part of Dubya’s war. Is it crass and crude, yeah, but Keith is playing to his audience as had been said and it’s great marketing. It’ll sell a shitload of t-shirts, and that’s what Toby wants.
Country rap was also done by the Geezinslaw Brothers back in 1992 with the novelty hit “Help I’m White And I Can’t Get Down”. The “patter” or spoken type of country music goes back to Jerry Reed, Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, and Red Sovine’s trucker songs like “Teddy Bear”, “Giddy-Up-Go” and “Phantom 309”.
Toby Keith: a greasy, chunky, morning-after-BBQ skidmark on the tidy whities of ‘country’ pop music.
Darryl Worley: formerly-promising artist who has, in “Have You Forgotten,” demonstrated an even less logical theory of war support than George W. Lyrics may be found here:
Without question. My point is that “man of integrity” was being contrasted against him having opinions contrary to popular belief. For example, Esprix eschewed Willie Nelson’s slant on vigilantism:
Yes, in my mind as well, *Homebrew, a hippie rebel who does what he pleases is a man of integrity, but in this particular situation the two weren’t the same. “Man of integrity” was being used to describe someone who is politically correct, which Willie has never been. Yes, Willie has often supported very outlawish ideas that are anti-government and anti-progressive. He is still a man of integrity in my eyes, but many people are unable to see a man of Willie’s nature and still see a man of integrity. Instead they see someone who seems to be supporting racism, vigilantism, and other politically incorrect ideals.
And Esprix, FarmAid noted. Try to realize though that FarmAid came from Willie’s anger at the government not supporting farmers enough. It was his way of sticking it to the government.
And just to be on topic, Toby Keith is still a shitstain. I realize he is just a good ol’ boy having fun and driving trucks, but he’s not even clever or interesting. Hank Williams Jr. made his money on much the same principles, but his songs were at the very least entertaining.
