Saturday, March 18, 2006

"She Don't Tell Me To"

Our local country stars, Montgomery Gentry, have a fascinating new love song. The characters in their songs are usually tough, conservative guys, unreconstructed men's men. In their latest outing, they start from a traditional masculine theme of independence and not taking orders, a point of pride that is particularly strong among Appalachian men in our region.

The narrator tells of his "goin' my own way attitude." The chorus begins:
Any other woman I know would have tried,
To control me and it would be over.


But, the whole song is about how this stubborn guy, with more than a little self-destruction in him, keeps doing decent things for her and because of her – picking flowers, coming home early, going to church -- "'cause she don't tell me to." This is a subtle step in the dance of courtship and marriage.

The key line, I think, is

An' she don't even know,
That she keeps me lookin' for the next right thing to do,
But she don't tell me to.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I happened to be listening to Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line" while I was reading this blog entry. Coincidence?

Gruntled said...

Country music has a whole genre of tough guys civilized by love. It is sort of the complement of the emo music my teen girls like.

Anonymous said...

The woman being referred to in the song is probably using the whole "catch more flies w/ honey than w/ vinegar" method...

Anonymous said...

i just mis-typed my own name...i blame post partum brain....

but-my comment stands....
;)

Gruntled said...

So, how does post-partum brain work as a strategy to get your husband to do what he ought to?

Anonymous said...

luckily for our family unit, i am absent-minded enough in my natural state that post-partum brain doesn't really stand out that much....but, i can say that my husband responds just like the song-I never realy make demands and since i resist being a nag, he feels free to step in and help out....