{"id":5407,"date":"2015-10-12T22:41:12","date_gmt":"2015-10-13T03:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?page_id=5407"},"modified":"2015-10-12T22:41:12","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T03:41:12","slug":"hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-country-girl-scorned-women-revenge-in-country-music","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/the-history\/hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-country-girl-scorned-women-revenge-in-country-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Hell Hath No Fury Like a Country Girl Scorned: Women & Revenge In Country Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

Women have made significant progress in society over the years, but one radio host has recently taken that progress backwards, and the vengeful, confident, no- fear women of country music did not take it very well. A country music DJ named Keith Hill stated that, \u201cThe lettuce is Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton, Keith Urban and artists like that. The tomatoes of our salad<\/a> are the females.\u201d Below you can see how Miranda backfires with an Instagram post of herself in a shirt satirically labeling herself as a tomato.<\/p>\n

\"miranda-lambert-instagram-tomato-shirt\"<\/a>What do you think of today when you hear \u201cwomen in country music?\u201d For lots of listeners it\u2019s revenge, sex, anger, and craziness. These are all terms that may come to mind when thinking about the role that women play in country music. For many listeners, it\u2019s the ever- popular revengeful songs of Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, women who are perfect examples of the powerful, strong, women in country music that are just recent versions of the types of women that have been in country music forever. These types of songs have also been around for years<\/a>, as gender roles in country have been an issue since before we can remember.<\/p>\n

\"revenge\"<\/a>The tomato incident is just a modern example of the sexism, negative roles, and mistreatment that women have been experiencing throughout history. Check out these 8 songs that portray the different revengeful responses to male mistreatment that female artists have conveyed throughout country music from the 40\u2019s to today. Revenge from cheating, abuse, mistreatment in the workplace or home, as well as revenge through violence or murder\/ killing are all prevalent themes that females from both back then and today incorporate into their songs. Pistol Packin’ Mama By Al Dexter:<\/strong> Though released in 1943, this was a song that remained popular throughout the post World War II era. This track describes the outlook on revenge from a man\u2019s perspective, as he watches his woman chase after his mistress with a pistol in anger at their adultery, and urges her to \u201cput that pistol down mama.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman is conveyed as a crazy lady out of her wits, and puts a more comical spin on the story because people needed more comic relief after the war.<\/a> The song captures a number of cultural aspects, like post war era, revenge, and cheating. Cheating is one of the main causes of payback backlash among women in country music, as we will see in the song, \u201cTwo Black Cadillacs,\u201d a modern- day female reaction to the similar unfaithfulness in \u201cPistol Packin’ Mama.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fist City By Loretta Lynn: <\/strong>A 1965 hit, this song describes the pure hate and disgust that Lynn sees in her man\u2019s mistress. Lynn scares mistresses all around the world when she sings, \u201c’Cause I’ll grab you by the hair a the head\/ And I’ll lift a you off a the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is a no nonsense type of girl, ready to teach the woman a lesson, rather than placing blame on the cheating pig of a man. She states that she\u2019ll, \u201cshow her what a real woman is,\u201d therefore describing her view of what women should be like during this era: tough as nails and strong enough to kick some butt of the one who did her wrong.<\/p>\n

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The only difference is, Lynn places much more blame on the woman than the guy, something that is contrasted over time through many different female artists, who begin to see that the man is the one who needs to go to \u201cFist City.\u201d In this song we\u2019ll see how the women are starting to realize that the man is also the figure at fault.<\/p>\n

Big Iron Skillet By Wanda Jackson:<\/strong> Released in 1969, this song tells the story of a woman who is going to teach her man a lesson using her skillet to put him in his place. Using her typical and loved rockabilly sound, Jackson conveys<\/a> how women were meant to be in the home, and didn\u2019t have an identity outside their housewife status where their lives were devoted to their husbands.<\/p>\n

Jackson sings, \u201cYou are doing wrong again it’s plain for all to see\/ And you think here at home is where I ought to be,\u201d showing how Jackson is more than simply waiting around for her husband to get home, and wants to get revenge on him. Here we see that these vengeful songs were prevalent even 40 years ago. Critics dismissed the song as “threatening” at the time, but if it came out today it would be a major hit. This really says something about how today we accept more violent, ruthless lyrics, like those in \u201cGoodbye Earl\u201d or \u201cGunpowder and Lead,\u201d which will be discussed below.<\/p>\n

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9 to 5 By Dolly Parton: <\/strong>This is a song from 1981 that embodies one of country\u2019s favorite topics for songs: the daily grind of working that grueling 9- 5 o\u2019clock shift and dealing with the daily beatings from the boss that you swear is \u201csometime out to get you,\u201d as Parton puts it. It conveys the hardworking attitude that country listeners take great pride in, and also gives off the vibe of the \u201cstick it to the man\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n

Parton specifically conveys her experience as a woman in the workplace, and though she is not exactly revengeful, uses her music to react to the sexism that she experiences from men at her job. Though the song may not convey as much, it stands for the events that take place in the movie, Nine to Five<\/a>. In this film, three women in the office, including Parton take action against their boss\u2019s ill- treatment and kidnap him, using his absence for their own advantages within the company.<\/p>\n

This kidnapping of the male antagonist in the story\/ song is also seen in \u201cGoodbye Earl\u201d which is discussed next. However, Parton was clearly less violent and without murderous lyrics, proof that women may have gotten more vehement and explicit in their retaliations in country songs over the years.<\/p>\n