Dissecting a Hit II

[hummingbird]

Okay... here's a top country lyric from last year...Artist: Sara EvansSong: Cheatin'Writers: Brett James/Don SchlitzYou say your every day,Is a bad dream that keeps repeatin'.Maybe you should've thought about that,When you were cheatin'.How do you like that furnished room?The bed, the chair, the table?The TV pictures comes an' goes:Too bad you don't have cable.How do you like that paper plate,An' those pork-n-beans you're eatin'?Maybe you should've thought about that,When you were cheatin'.How do you like that beat up car?I think it's fair we traded.Your pick-up truck is running fine:It's a cosy ride for datin'.Yes, I've been out a time or two,An' found the comfort I've been needin'.Maybe you should've thought about that,When you were cheatin'.You made your bed an' you're out of mine.You lie awake an' I sleep just fine.You've done your sowing,Now you can do the reapin'.Maybe you should've thought about that,When you were cheatin'.Now, what became of what's her name,After she spent all your money?Did she leave you just like you left me?Well, sometimes life is funny.Yes, I'll be glad to take you back,Just as soon as I stop breathin'.Maybe you should've thought about that;Oh, maybe you should've thought about that;Maybe you should've thought about that,When you were cheatin'.When you were cheatin'.

[edteja]

I hadn't heard that one! I rather like the POV of the lyric. It hooks you into the present, and gives the singer a chance to tell the past with a nice intimacy and immediacy. Thanks for posting that one. (BTW, the casual "what's her name" is lovely. A studied indifference. Makes you thnik she damn well knows her name.)

[horacejesse]

In these lyrics I find a lot to compliment. I have heard the song too, and I noticed that I rather liked it. One good thing about it is that it manages to actually sound like a country song.Another thing I like is that it harkens back the day when cheating songs were the primary type of love song in country. I have heard so much saccarine drivel lately from country quarters that I want to shoot my radio. You Save Me, You Are The World To Me....on and on and on. I like the second of those songs, but it is strictly in line with today's country love song from a thematic point of view.The songwriters waste very little time getting to the imagery. Just one little half-verse of statements to set things up. Taken in context, statements like "Too bad you don't have cable" are absolutely loaded and present a clear picture of what is going on. Paper plates, pork & beans, everything else in the song contributes to the effect the writers want.The lyrics are just hokey enough to sound like they are being sung by a gal from the holler. Loretta Lynn herself would have felt at home with this one.