3 Country Songs About Women Who Fought Back Against Abuse

There’s a bit of a trend for women in country music that was big in the 90s and 2000s: country songs about ending abusive husbands. While men in country typically like to sing about trucks, beer, hunting, and fishing, many women in the genre go full vengeance-seeking femme fatale. Here are three popular country songs that dealt with doing away with abusive men.

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“Gunpowder & Lead” — Miranda Lambert

Featured on Miranda Lambert’s 2008 album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, “Gunpowder & Lead” is a narrative country song about a woman preparing for her abusive husband to get out of jail. “I’m going home, gonna load my shotgun / Wait by the door and light a cigarette / If he wants a fight, well, now he’s got one / And he ain’t seen me crazy yet,” Lambert sings in the chorus.

On the album version of the song, there are sound effects at the beginning and end that set the tone. At the start, there’s the sound of a door creaking open. That would most likely be the narrator’s husband coming home. At the conclusion, you can hear the sound of a gunshot with the door creaking closed again. The line “He don’t know what’s waitin’ here this time” paints a clear picture of a woman desperate to be rid of an evil man.

“Independence Day” — Marina McBride

Released in 1994 on Martina McBride’s album The Way I Am and written by Gretchen Peters, “Independence Day” is a dramatic country song about a young girl learning of her father’s abuse. On Independence Day, the girl leaves home and goes to the fair. There, she overhears people talking about her parents, revealing that the whole town knew about the abuse but never interfered.

The song culminates in the mother burning down their house with herself and her husband inside. Meanwhile, the girl is sent to live with another family. She grows up knowing that her mother was abused, but also that she gained her independence through her sacrifice.

“Goodbye Earl” — The Chicks

“Goodbye Earl” is one of The Chicks’ most well-known country songs, centering around two best friends, Mary Ann and Wanda. The music video features Jane Krakowski and Lauren Holly as Wanda and Mary Ann, respectively. After high school, Wanda marries Earl, who turns out to be abusive. When Wanda is beaten so badly she’s put in the ICU, Mary Ann hatches a plan.

The song is a less melancholy look at women dealing with abusive men, as the two friends eventually open a roadside stand together, selling “Tennessee ham and strawberry jam.” It has a happy ending, with Earl essentially becoming “a missing person who nobody missed at all.” However, the reality of these situations isn’t nearly as fun as The Chicks made it seem.

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