Comedy and music share a similar skill of presenting heavy messages in ways that feel light, and these country classics that use humor to deliver serious messages are proof that they work even better in tandem. Humor can sweeten a tough pill to swallow while also presenting a message in a perspective that might make it easier to understand fully.
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Simply put, using humor to offset difficult conversations can be a useful technique. Here are some of the best examples in classic country music.
“Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” by John Prine
Few songwriters have mastered the ability to write comedy and tragedy with equal poignancy quite like John Prine, and “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” is a prime example of his ability to color serious messages with humor. This classic country track is objectively absurd. The singer starts in a dirty bookstore, where he becomes so enamored with American flag decals that he sticks one on his wife’s forehead and so many on his car that he crashes into a tree and dies. It sounds like a weird Family Guy sidestory.
In the chorus, Prine delivers the same message: Your flag decal won’t get you into heaven anymore. We’re already overcrowded from your dirty little war. Now, Jesus don’t like killing, no matter what the reason’s for. The song contemplates Christian values, gaudy patriotism, and the violence of war, all while delivering zingy one-liners that make you laugh.
“Backwoods Barbie” by Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton originally wrote “Backwoods Barbie” for the musical adaptation of the 1980 comedy she starred in with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, 9 to 5. In the musical, Doralee Rhodes (Dolly Parton’s character in the film) sings “Backwoods Barbie,” which became the title track to Parton’s 42nd studio album from 2008. While there’s undoubtedly an element of camp in this half-glam, half-country song, Parton’s message is far more serious than mentions of push-bras and heels might make it seem.
I’m just a Backwoods Barbie, too much makeup, too much hair. Don’t be fooled by thinking that the goods are not all there. From describing her upbringing to the references of her distinct, buxom appearance, Parton uses the song to remind people that she’s more than how she looks. I might look artificial, she sings in the second chorus. But where it counts, I’m real.
“Dang Me” by Roger Miller
If you were to listen to the music alone, you might not consider “Dang Me” by Roger Miller to be a very serious song. But the lyrics carry a surprisingly heavy message, even when he’s rhyming violets are purple with so is maple syrple. According to Roger Miller: Dang Him!, the country legend wrote his 1964 classic sitting in a bar in Phoenix. He was in Arizona visiting Bobby Bare while he filmed A Distant Trumpet. Bare recalled Miller writing the lyrics to “Dang Me” on the back of a dry cleaning slip.
Despite what the upbeat instrumentation might suggest, this country classic is using a lot of humor to disguise a serious message. The song describes a man who spends his money and time drinking while his wife is at home with their one-month-old baby. Dang me, dang me, they oughta take a rope and hang me high from the highest tree. Woman, would you weep for me?
“Flushed From the Bathroom of Your Heart” by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash might have built his musical legacy on his sombre, edgy Man in Black persona. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a novelty song (or three) up his sleeve. He performed some of these comedic ditties at his iconic Folsom Prison performance, including “Dirty Old Egg-Suckin’ Dog” and “Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart.” Both songs were written by Jack Clement, but Cash’s use of these tracks in his integral 1960s body of work has made these songs synonymous with the “Folsom Prison Blues” singer.
“Flushed From the Bathroom of Your Heart” is certainly absurd. But it’s also…kind of depressing? Most of us know the pain of feeling left behind by someone you loved. Clement’s song just describes it differently. In the garbage disposal of your dreams, I’ve been ground up, dear. On the river of your plans, I’m up the creek. Up the elevator of your future, I’ve been shafted. On the calendar of your events, I’m last week.
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