Society is constantly changing, which means the lyrics that musicians write within those environments constantly change, too, leading us to a wellspring of country, rock, rap, and any other genre of songs with lyrics that have not aged well. Like, at all. While these lines might have been acceptable, even praised, when they were first released, the passing of time tends to shine new light on questionable ideas and turns of phrase.
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That’s certainly the case for these three country songs that, in hindsight, seem a lot more cringey than the artists originally intended—even if the majority of the track still remains a good listen.
“Are the Good Times Really Over” by Merle Haggard
Listen, no disrespect to Merle Haggard, but “Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)” is the musical equivalent of an old man yelling from his front porch. The 1981 song about the “good ol’ days” talks about wishing for a life before Elvis and the Vietnam War, before the Beatles (specifically the song “Yesterday,” sorry, Paul), and the days when a man could still work and still would. Don’t worry, ladies. You got a shout-out later in the song: Before microwave ovens, when a girl could still cook and still would. Is the best of the free life behind us now?
Are we to assume that the “best of the free life” is having a woman cook you a meal that doesn’t use the microwave? And since when were men not working, anyway? We’re all about the country music tradition of waxing nostalgic for good times and good memories. But we’re not sure what Haggard was really getting at here besides general grumbling.
“I’ve Already Loved You in My Mind” by Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
Relationship standards were a lot different back in the late 1970s when Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn released their song, “I’ve Already Loved You in My Mind.” A quick perusal of the music, television, and films of that decade shows that forward, overtly sexual behavior was generally acceptable between two potential partners. Things that people once said freely in the 1970s would likely be defined as sexual harassment in the 2020s. Like, for example, telling a stranger that I’ve already loved you in my mind.
We don’t need to be coy here. Loving you is a not-so-subtle euphemism for something far more intimate. Can you imagine introducing yourself to someone at the bar and they reply with, “Oh, yeah, no, we’ve already had sex in my head. We know each other really well.” The song’s saving grace is that it’s a duet, which helps keep the song from total creep-fest to a love song about two pseudo-creeps meeting each other and falling in love, which, we guess is cute?
“Callin’ Baton Rouge” by Garth Brooks—But Written by Dennis Linde
This one comes from Garth Brooks’ 1993 track “Callin’ Baton Rouge” from his album In Pieces. To be fair to Brooks, he’s not the one who wrote the song. That would be Dennis Linde.
Those unfortunate lines go as follows: I spent last night in the arms of a girl in Louisiana, and though I’m out on the highway, my thoughts are still with her. Such a strange combination of a woman and a child. Hmm. Strange indeed. While we’d like to think that the song is merely talking about the legal adult-aged woman’s childlike spirit, there are countless ways the songwriter could have phrased that line to not use the word “child” while talking about “spending a night in someone’s arms.”
Like any true country music fan, we love us some Garth. But like any artist that’s been in the game as long as Brooks has, you’re bound to have a lyric or two that doesn’t stand the test of time.
Of course, if we’re going to talk about cringey uses of the words “little girl,” “girl,” and other simply odd terms, no genre does that better than classic rock.
Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns
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