Do You Know Tom T.Hall?

"Do you know Tom T.Hall?", the entertainer asked the audience.

"I don't even know where my room is", replied a frail old voice.

This was my day yesterday. I was at my Mom's nursing home for an afternoon visit. As is often often the case, an entertainer was scheduled for the 2:30 p.m. time slot. On this occasion it was an affable guitar player named Albert.

Albert played the guitar very well and had a rich voice. He offered up some golden oldie country songs, and a few new ones. Prior to asking the Tom T.Hall question, Albert was playing a song called People Are Crazy. It wasn't a song that was familiar to me, but the lyrics were memorable....

God is great,
Beer is good, 
And people are crazy.

This may be my new favourite new-country song! This song was not written or performed by Tom T.Hall. It's a song by Billy Currington (never heard of him either). The song combines all the key elements necessary to create a hit song. The list of lyrical attributes for a hit country song are as follows:

1) a catch phrase that people of low intellect can remember.

It's a short list, Ian, but you've made a good point (with example).

Country music has a basic formula. Every hit song must be dumbed down and simple. People Are Crazy will appeal to a great swath of the North American population, particularly Republicans and Western Red-necked Harperites. The video for the song is also new-country 'perfection'. It features beer, jean jackets, a reference to God, a good looking male singer and a few female hotties (who have probably never been on a farm or experienced the joy of sandy clay loam between the toes).

There is one other lyrical attribute that can help to push a song over-the-top, and that attribute is a make-up word (that rhymes with an impossible word). Where else but a country song would you find the word 'millionairy' (mill yawn air eee). Billy Currington needed something to rhyme with 'obituary'. I kid you not! Don't believe me, then watch the video yourself:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKpQRjj_WbU

Umm, Ian, we're not learning much about Tom T.Hall.

Oh, yeah. He wrote a song called Harper Valley PTA and ten other Number One hit songs. I know Harper Valley PTA because it was huge hit in 1968, and I couldn't escape it on the radio (note: it's not because I was a 5 year old country music aficionado). I didn't know who wrote the song though. It's also worth mentioning that Tom T.Hall wrote the song but it was sung by a woman (whose name I don't know either, in my own defence)

So..........when Albert asked the question 'do you know Tom T.Hall', I was able to absolve myself of shame. The question fell upon deaf ears, except for the woman who didn't know where her room was.