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Johnny LaRue's Crane Shot
Sunday, March 19, 2006
When Country Was Cool
Now Playing: BRUTE CORPS
I was listening to some old country tunes today, and there were a couple of things that struck me about them.

"Coward of the County" was a big hit for Kenny Rogers in 1980, but only recently did I realize how sleazy the song's subject is. "Coward" is about a boy named Tommy who promised his father on his deathbed that he'd avoid violence. The townspeople all think Tommy is a big pussy, because he never fights back against the bullies who pick on him. However, one day while Tommy's at work, the three Gatlin brothers find Tommy's girlfriend Becky and gangrape her. When Tommy learns what happened, he tracks down all three Gatlins and kicks the shit out of them. I can't think of any other #1 records about rape, at least not any that treat the subject as cheap melodrama. I'm sure there are some heavy songs about the tragic after-effects of rape, likely sung by women, but it sounds odd to hear Becky's plight used as an instigation for vigilante justice. Of course, this exact scenario has played out in hundreds of movies and TV shows, but it just feels weird to hear it in such a breezy, happy-sounding song. Unsurprisingly, "Coward of the County" was made into a made-for-TV movie in 1981.

P.S. Why are the brothers named Gatlin? Did Kenny have a beef with the country singers? If so, it seems kinda harsh to name rapists after them, and if not, it seems like an odd way to pay tribute to your friends.

I also heard "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band. My version is the unexpurgated version with the lyric "I told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best there's ever been." If you've ever heard this on the radio, you know that "son of a gun" is always substituted for "son of a bitch." What I find funny about this is that the epithet is being directed towards the Devil, and if you can't call Satan a sonuvabitch, then whom?

Posted by Marty at 11:05 PM CST
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