Random Country Songs With Surprisingly Dark Meanings (15 items)

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  (#2) You Are My Sunshine - Gene Autry

  Most of us are familiar with the refrain of Gene Autry's "You Are My Sunshine." At this point, it's a de facto nursery rhyme and mothers across the country sing the chorus to soothe their crying babies. In reality, those babies should probably keep crying because this isn't the sweet love song we all believe it to be. Instead, it's a gutting, desperate plea to a lover who has left the singer for another man, and it contains a bit of a threat if you listen to more than just the chorus:

  I'll always love you and make you happy
  If you will only say the same
  But if you leave me to love another
  You'll regret it all some day

  Just as it's been sung by many mothers as a lullaby, other artists have recorded this song, including Jimmie Davis and Johnny Cash.
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  (#9) They're Hanging Me Tonight - Marty Robbins

  Marty Robbins's 1959 country hit offers the unique perspective of a man awaiting his punishment after slaying his ex-lover and her new man. During the first few stanzas, Robbins never distinctly mentions the misdeed. He sings about Flo's absence in the most casually heartbroken way:

  I begged her not to go
  But another man had changed her mind
  So I said goodbye to Flo 

  Later, you find out the narrator followed her and her new man and took them both out. At least in this ballad, the narrator seems to feel bad about it. 
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  (#11) Country Death Song - The Violent Femmes

  The Violent Femmes rose to fame with their quirky, upbeat tunes, and the melody that accompanies this song is no different, but it's sure no "Blister in the Sun." The melody embodies the same whimsy as their previous releases, but the lyrics are painfully dark. Essentially, this song is about a man who loses his mind, pushes his daughter to her demise, and then offs himself in his barn once he realizes the damage that does to his psyche:

  Nothing for a man to do but sit around and think
  Well, I'm a-thinkin' and thinkin', 'til there's nothin' I ain't thunk
  Breathing in the stink 'til finally I stunk
  It was at that time, I swear I lost my mind
  I started making plans to kill my own kind

  Maybe it's a tongue-in-cheek play on the enormous amount of country murder ballads that exist. You never really know with the Femmes' wild sense of humor.
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  (#1) Knoxville Girl - The Louvin Brothers

  "Knoxville Girl" is perhaps one of the most famous country songs on the planet, and you'd never guess from the lush harmonies that it's about a nefarious deed. The lyrics, however, depict a gruesome scene that happens during what seems like a romantic walk between two lovers. The song's second verse clearly describes the incident, but that's overcome by the upbeat and rhythmic guitar strumming in the background:

  She fell down on her bended knees, for mercy she did cry
  "Oh Willy dear, don't kill me here, I'm unprepared to die"
  She never spoke another word, I only beat her more
  Until the ground around me within her blood did flow

  Never before has something so gruesome been sung in such perfect harmony.
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  (#4) Whiskey Lullaby

  • Brad Paisley, Alison Krauss

  On the surface, Brad Paisley's "Whiskey Lullaby" seems like your average tale of country heartbreak, until you realize that the main character drinks himself to an early grave. If that isn't dark enough, the lover who broke his heart ends up with the same fate because of the guilt. The melody is light, but Paisley's lyrics are much more foreboding:

  He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
  And finally drank away her memory

  Bill Anderson and Jon Randall, who wrote the song, had to practically beg Paisley to record the song, saying , "It wasn't exactly like people were running up and down Music Row looking for double suicide drinking songs." Regardless of the disturbing message, the song hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
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  (#7) Creepin' - Eric Church

  Eric Church's upbeat and fast-talking song seems to be just another heartbreak song, but this one is a bit seedier than most. He's not only describing a descent into madness now that his lover is gone - okay, maybe not your typical asylum-type madness, but not being able to get her out of his head - but he's also describing all the ways he's tried to drown out her memories, and they're not... healthy. He mentions whiskey, caffeine, and controlled substances. He gets so deep into one of them that by the end of the song he almost ODs:

  Just last night I saw the light,
  At the end of that tunnel on the other side,
  Thought I found my way outta this pain,
  Only to find your memory train 

  Take your pick for which one you think brought him to that fate, but the come-down if he survives is going to be brutal either way.

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