song post

She says her Virginia/North Carolina drawl only comes out when she's singing, so I've been trying to get her to sing, but almost none of our music overlaps. She's never heard the Indigo Girls, and the only country I can sing is Dixie Chicks, which many don't consider real country, I hear.

I get out of the shower and head down the hall, dancing a little to the fiddles someone has playing in their room. It's her - I open the door to find her with her heels up, singing at the top of her lungs. The drawl is beautiful, the melody somewhat atrocious, and the lyrics - well, here are the lyrics.

REDNECK WOMAN
Gretchen Wilson

Well I ain't never
Been the barbie doll type
No I can't swig that sweet champagne
I'd rather drink beer all night
In a tavern or in a honky tonk
Or on a 4 wheel drive tailgate
I've got posters on my wall of Skynard, Kid and Strait
Some people look down on me
But I don't give a rip
I'll stand barefooted in my own front yard with a baby on my hip

Cause I'm a redneck woman
And I ain't no high class broad
I'm just a product of my raisin'
And I say "hey y'all" and "Yee Haw"
And I keep my Christmas lights on, on my front porch all year long
And I know all the words to every Charlie Daniels song
So here's to all my sisters out there keepin' it country
Let me get a big "Hell Yeah" from the redneck girls like me
Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah

Victoria's Secret
Well their stuff's real nice
Oh but I can buy the same damn thing on a Wal*Mart shelf half price
And still look sexy
Just as sexy
As those models on TV
No I don't need no designer tag to make my man want me
You might think I'm trashy
A little too hard core
But get in my neck of the woods
I'm just the girl next door

Hey I'm redneck woman
And I ain't no high class broad
I'm just a product of my raisin'
And I say "hey y'all" and "Yee Haw"
And I keep my Christmas lights on, on my front porch all year long
And I know all the words to every Tanya Tucker song
So here's to all my sisters out there keeping it country
Let me get a big "Hell Yeah" from the redneck girls like me
Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah

I'm redneck woman
And I ain't no high class broad
I'm just a product of my raisin'
And I say "hey y'all" and "Yee Haw"
And I keep my Christmas lights on, on my front porch all year long
And I know all the words to every Ol' Bocephus song
So here's to all my sisters out there keeping it country
Let me get a big "Hell Yeah" from the redneck girls like me
Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah

Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah

I Said Hell Yeah

By the last chorus, I'm singing along, grabbing her to dance with me, teaching her swing moves on the fly and stumbling through a bad two-step. I can't stop grinning. As much as my classical-trained ears keep wincing through the predictable chord changes and the lack of technique, I am a little in love with the girl, the song, the dance, and the spirit of defiance in it all. I feel weird yelling Hell Yeah with the chorus, because I never have been, never will be a proud redneck woman. But the one I'm dancing with clearly has a bit of it in her, and I love her, love dancing with her, love the sound of her drawl when she sings, and for a minute, we're almost harmonizing.

Later, we talk about class pride, talk about why we both like country music, even if I don't really know any. She plays me more songs, and we talk about women being objectified in almost every genre of music, but we're more comfortable with some objectifications than others.

On my way back to work in the morning, I sing along to all the Dixie Chicks I have, and remind myself to google the title of that song she sang for me, heels propped up on my lap, me thinking I wouldn't mind being her girl, as the saying goes. And for the length of the song, I am.