Country music has a reputation of being misogynistic, centered on men's issues, and somewhat backwards. And that is certainly a thing you will find in country. But there are also women. And they're angry. And they've been angry for a while. So today, instead of covering one artist or group, I'm gonna be covering a genre. It's Music Monday, and we're talking about the angry women of country music.
When you think about angry women, you're probably not thinking about Dolly Parton. And for the most part, you're right. But I'm gonna highlight two Dolly songs which do deserve a mention. The first one is a song she wrote and performed, from a movie in which she starred. This film is a comedy classic about three women who are used and abused by their boss and get revenge. And for all that the song's music is upbeat, the lyrics are quite incensed. This is 9 To 5:
Sample lyric:
Barely gettin' by
It's all taking
And no giving
They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it
The second song is more desperate than angry, but damn, it may be the greatest country song of all time, so I'm gonna include it. This is a song where a women goes to the other woman, and asks for her husband back. This is Jolene:
Sample lyric:
And I can easily understand
How you could easily take my man
But you don't know what he means to me, Jolene
While most angry country songs are about a man, this one's about a whole lot of people. When Natalie Maines spoke up against the Iraq war, she and the rest of the band were subjected to abuse, their records were burned, and... well... it's probably a good thing twitter wasn't a thing. After the Iraq war became way less popular, it was time to respond. And respond they did, with Not Ready To Make Nice:
Sample Lyric:
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell, can't bring myself
To do what it is you think I should
Arguably the quintessential example of the genre comes from country legend McBride. This is about a mom who took vengeance on an abusive alcoholic dad by burning down the house with him in it. I mean, that's a lot of anger right there. This is Independence Day:
Sample lyric:
Some folks whispered, some folks talked
But everybody looked the other way
When time ran out there was no one about
On Independence Day
There is no woman in country angrier than Miranda Lambert. And this song is quite the example. In the song, she's waiting for an abusive ex to get out of jail. She's anticipating him coming for her. But she's got a plan, and that plan is a shotgun. There's nothing metaphorical here. This is Gunpowder and Lead:
He slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man
I'm going to show him what a little girls are made of
Gunpowder and lead
I didn't know The Band Perry until I mentioned on twitter, some time ago, that I like this genre of country song. And that's when a twitter friend this song, about a somewhat drastic way to get rid of an expression of love, written on the trunk of a tree. This is Chainsaw:
Sample lyric:
It's hard to bury the hatchet
Holdin' a chainsaw
When she's not asking Jesus to hold the wheel, the American Idol winner, Carrie Underwood can tell a much darker - if more versed in vehicle safety - tale, one of two women, a wife and a mistress, who murder the man they had in common.
They decided then he’d never get away with doing this to them
Two black Cadillacs waiting for the right time, right time
Kacey Musgrave isn't as furious as some, and her anger is always tinted with a wink and a smile. But there steel behind that friendly facade. And this song is about how people should stay out of other people's business. This is Biscuits:
Sample lyric:
Nobody's perfect, we've all lost and we've all lied
Most of us have cheated, the rest of us have tried
The holiest of holies even slip from time to time
We've all got dirty laundry hanging on the line
Alt country star Case has a brand new song, a song of low key anger, not for herself, but for nature. The message is clear: Keep messing with the earth, and the planet will mess back.
Sample lyric:
I drape you on tomorrow's plate
Ferrous metal, marrow spilling
Not yours but mine
I'm an agent of the natural world
Messina has had enough, and more than enough of the man in this song. And she is done. How done? Well, this is My Give A Damn's Busted:
Sample lyric:
You can crawl back home, say you were wrong
Stand out in the yard and cry all night long
Go ahead and water the lawn
My give a damn's busted
I started this post with a legend, and that's how I'm gonna end it. Reba maybe spending her time as Colonel Sanders these days, but she's got a lot of rage pent up, and she lets it all loose in Take It Back
Sample lyric:
You said I stole your heart away by looking in your eyes
I wonder now how many times you sold that pack of lies
Music Monday: They Might Be Giants
Music Monday: The Smiths
Music Monday: Janelle Monáe
Music Monday: Garfunkel and Oates
Music Monday: Jonathan Coulton
Music Monday: Amanda Palmer
