Friday, January 25, 2013

The Band Perry's Nice Little Ditty about Murder/Suicide

I've been listening to The Band Perry's "Better Dig Two" for a few months now. I can't think of a song that I've struggled with in this exact way.  It's a beautiful and, for country radio, interesting song, but at the same time, it makes me uncomfortable.

Every time I hear the song I ask a question. Would anyone put this song on the radio if it was sung by a man? The implication in the lyrics is that if her husband leaves her, she would kill him and die herself, one way or another.

I had female coworker years ago who told us that when they first got married she took her husband's gun, held it up in front of him and told him that if he ever cheated on her she was going to shoot him. We all chuckled and told her she was nuts, assuming that she would never really do something so crazy.  Would we have laughed at all if her husband had been the one holding the gun? No. We would have told her that we were very worried for her safety, that he sounds unhinged. The murder/suicide phenomenon when a husband or boyfriend is the shooter is too common to just dismiss.

There are many lovable men in this world, including my wonderful husband, but no lover or spouse is worth the sentiments in this song. "Better Dig Two" is written from the perspective of a woman who has a loose grasp on reality. I certainly hope that this song hasn't given young women misguided notions about romance and love.


2 comments:

  1. Thanks for introducing me to this one. It's actually a really beautiful song, even if the lyrics are completely nuts. But to me, the video is so Goth and over-the-top that it doesn't glorify murder-suicide. It just makes the singer seem crazy.

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  2. Thanks for reading and actually watching the video! You're right about the video. It's wacky. Kimberly Perry is one of the quirkier characters in mainstream country music at the moment. You may like more of their stuff. They always write or choose interesting songs. You've probably heard the song "If I Die Young" on the radio at some point. That one got quite a bit of cross-genre play.

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