Despite being aligned with the counter-culture outlaw movement, Hank Williams Jr. penned one of the best songs to encapsulate the traditional values in the ’80s with “Dinosaur.” Anyone concerned with the rapid change of culture will find this song an assuage. What inspired Williams Jr.’s qualms in this song? Find out, below.
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Behind the Meaning
Williams Jr. is a traditionalist—at least that is the message he touts in “Dinosaur.” He happily submits to his old-timer status in this 1980 release, claiming that many of our traditional values have fallen by the wayside.
He first takes aim at the way music has changed since he started his career. Hey man, them ain’t high heel sneakers / And they sure don’t look like cowboy boots / And that ain’t rock and roll you’re playin’ / And it sure ain’t country or rhythm and blues, he sings.
In the next breath, he gets controversial. Williams Jr. shares his disdain for the topics musicians started to favor—which are a far cry from the type of songs he grew up on. You’re singin’ a song about making love to your drummer / Well, gay guitar pickers don’t turn me on, he says.
In the second verse, he narrows his qualms to the disco age. You know these flashin’ lights sure make me dizzy / And this disco’s very strange to my ears, he sings. The sharp left that music took during the disco era was understandably jarring. With these lines, Williams Jr. picks the side of the naysayers.
The chorus sees Williams Jr. weigh the odds of him sticking around in the music industry now that so much has changed. ‘Cause you see I’m a dinosaur / Should’ve died out a long time before / There’s a whole lot of dinosaurs / So give us our hats and excuse me, man, but where’s the door, he sings.
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