blog post Risqué lyrics? Truck yeah

Tim McGraw has just released his new single, “Truck Yeah,” a crunchy, country-rock tune with a lyric that will make you turn up the volume while wondering, “Did he say what I think he said?”

Tim McGraw, “Truck Yeah.”

“Truck Yeah” is the latest song to substitute euphemism for profanity. Other recent examples include Sugarland’s 2008 song, “It Happens,” and “Some Beach” by Blake Shelton in 2004. McGraw’s song also comes hot off the heels of Craig Morgan’s wordplay in “Corn Star.”

Craig Morgan, “Corn Star.”

But this isn’t a new trend in country music. In fact, if you go right back to the roots of country you’ll find more blatant offerings of euphemisms, wordplay and double entendres in songs.

Ray Mayo, “Who Winds Your Clock.”

Country music grew out of “hillbilly music,” a version of blues made for, and by, white people. As a result, the music shares common themes with the blues: the trials and tribulations of love; struggling to survive; and looking for a good time. Music became an outlet to contest the powers that be and the rules that bind.

Eddie Miller, “Motel Time.”

Risqué lyrics are the songwriters’ way of having their cake and eating it too, carefully treading that thin line between the profane and the proper.

Tanya Tucker, “Would You Lay with Me (In A Field of Stone).”

The lyrics’ innuendo conveys a sense of being an insider to the listener. Wink, wink, say no more – we know what you’re doing.

Charlie Rich, “Behind Closed Doors.”

Besides, sex sells. University at Albany-SUNY psychology professor Dawn R. Hobbs conducted an analysis of the top country songs in 2009. The study shows the songs contain an average of five to 10 “reproductive references,” each. How’s that for a euphemism? Hobbs’s research also noted that the presence of those reproductive themes correlated to the popularity and subsequent sales of the songs.

Norma Jean, “Let’s Go All the Way.”

Perhaps in light of Fifty Shades of Grey’s (http://www.eljamesauthor.com/books/fifty-shades-of-grey) rocketing sales, there should be a companion album of country music. Truck yeah!