Every time I listen to “Girl in a Country Song” I can feel the anger that the words are trying to convey. In the original song the girls start off the song very sarcastically. It is easy to tell that they are annoyed and angry with the country stereotypes of women in country songs just by how sarcastic they are sining the first few lines “Well I wish I had shoes on my two bare feet, and it’s getting kinda cold in these painted off cut off jeans, I hate the way this bikini top chafes do I really have to wear it all day.” As the song goes on though the listeners can tell that they are getting angrier and more fed up. The anger is definitely underlying because it is a fun song but after listening to it you can tell that by the bridge they are clearly angry when saying “that ain’t no way to treat a lady.” So although the overall song has. fun vibe to it the delivery really draws attention to the actual message of the song. It is clear that by the end of the song when one of them says very sarcastically “can I put on some real clothes now” and then they are both laughing that although they are poking fun at the male country singers that they are over all these stereotypes. They are not even angry anymore, they are just fed up. This delivery contributes to my understanding of the song that sexism is very serious in the music industry and bro country is a very serious problem.
When they performed at an event called Bobbyfest their delivery completely changed, and I think the fact that they were performing is definitely is the reason for that. In this version, they just sound so happy and like they are having so much fun. There is no underlying anger like in the original song. They honestly sound like they could not be having more fun. They also skipped over the sarcasm at then end with “i ain’t your tan legged Juliet” and “can i put on some real clothed now?” They were not really looking to spread the message of the song though in this performance so the delivery did not matter in the same way that the delivery mattered in the original recorded version of the song. This delivery contributes to my understanding that while performing a song as fun as Girl in a Country Song, it can not be sung with anger. It has an important message but delivery will not be received well if it is harsh. First and foremost, events like that are supposed to be fun. Different deliveries based on the different factors are very important. They were just trying to have fun and they did nit really care about what message was in the song.
November 6, 2022 at 1:26 pm
Keira, I appreciate how you are focusing on the delivery of two different versions, but because you have not embedded or linked to the Bobbyfest version, I am not really able to comment on your interpretation of it. I also wasn’t able to find it online.
What I can say is that context does matter, so if there is a different vibe in the live show that is most likely deliberate. We can’t fully know why those decisions were made and it’s important not to try to assume in your podcast (if you do discuss the Bobbyfest version).
Looking forward to hearing what you do with it!
Bill