The Editorials
Goodbye Earl
Written by Jeff Krasky
I love it when inspiration to write an editorial comes directly from threads on the message board. You might not believe it, but I read every single post that is made to that message board at one point or another. The thread that really caught my eye was the one about the release of “Goodbye Earl” as a single to country radio. Since the album came out I’ve had strong feelings about the song and now I’ll share them with you.
Country music has a long history of dealing with songs that have references to domestic violence. You hear it much more frequently from male artists and the songs go by without a single person saying a word. The songs also appear on the recordings from female artists take a look at Faith Hill’s “A Man’s Home Is His Castle” or Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” each one of these songs mentions abuse from a male towards a female.
Now there is controversy regarding “Goodbye Earl” by the Dixie Chicks. Why? My best guess is the song deals with violence from women towards men not men towards women and that for some reason disturbs some people. It also seems to me that more often than not men have a problem with the song. I think that’s amusing. Men can write and sing songs about women getting abused and it’s ok, but the second a group of women do the same thing it’s instantly male bashing. Give me a break. The song is about a man who beats his wife so badly she ends up in intensive care. The Dixie Chicks obviously are not attacking the average everyday man walking down the streets. They are dealing with men who go home and beat their wives just for the hell of it. SHeDAISY’s song deals with abuse from women onto men too and I guarantee you that if the song was released they would be getting the same response from a group of people. That song is an incredibly dramatic, powerful song that is a good listen. What’s the problem? Are people really going to run around killing their husbands from these two songs? No way, and if they do they had a much more serious problem to deal with than just hearing a song.
Many songs are written with the purpose of bring a social issue out into the open. Society in general has a huge problem right now with cause violence upon one another. Women musicians seem more willing to record controversial songs to make us aware of the things that are going on. I like to call them social protest songs and to me they are one of the most powerful types of music out there.
Not to mention the fact that “Goodbye Earl” is performed in a pretty apparently comic way. The song is written with goofy lyrics and the Dixie Chicks performance only makes it all the more absurd. It seems almost purposely (and I’m sure it was) performed in such a way that you can hardly take it to seriously. They managed to do that while still making us aware of the important issue the song deals with. That takes some talent. If you can’t find the comic aspect of the song maybe you need to go out, sit back, have a cup of coffee and relax a bit because you’re worrying way to much about such a small thing.
It’s obvious that the song is incredibly popular it’s been on the charts for a long time already with unsolicited airplay. The label officially refused to release it as a single but fan support made them release it. I think that’s a great thing. I love to see country fans stick up for what they like and make Nashville take notice and serve the fans instead of themselves. If people would have the same attitude towards attacking radio into they broke down and played a wider variety of artists and more songs, that change would happen to.
Country music has never been as conservative as people try to make it sound. It is a music that at its heart deals with the troubles in daily life. It’s a music genre that openly tackles controversial issues and deals with pain from a number of different causes. The content of “Goodbye Ear”” is no different. It’s bring an issue up into our minds and it’s a problem that some of us don’t want to think about. However, it’s something that needs to be dealt with and I for one congratulate the Dixie Chicks on having the guts to stick it out and get this song on radio. The issue needs to be heard. And if there are any wife beaters out there who have a problem with the song. I can honestly say I don’t really give a damn.
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