Goodbye Earl
| "Goodbye Earl" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Dixie Chicks | |
| from the album Fly | |
| Released | February 28, 2000 |
| Recorded | 1999 |
| Genre | Country, murder ballad |
| Length | 4:20 |
| Label | Monument |
| Songwriter(s) | Dennis Linde |
| Producer(s) | Blake Chancey, Paul Worley |
"Goodbye Earl" is the third single off of American country band Dixie Chicks's fifth studio album Fly. The song was released on February 28, 2000.
The song was able to make it to #5 on RPM's Canada Country Tracks, as well as, #13 on the Hot Country Songs and #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 music charts.[1] It was also certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[2] The song was ranked #469 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".[3]
When asked about the song, vocalist Natalie Maines said "It’s an anti wife-beater song, not an anti-man song,” saying “We love men.”".[4] The song tells a story of a woman who is in an abusive relationship. She meets with her friends and then they murder her abusive husband.
A music video for the song was released. The video begins in a trailer park where the viewer is introduced to Earl (Dennis Franz), Wanda (Jane Krakowski), and Mary Ann (Lauren Holly). The videos flashes back to when Mary Ann and Wanda were in their high school days. After graduating, Mary Ann moves away and Wanda marries a man named Earl. Earl abuses her and she tries to hide her bruises with sunglasses, makeup and long sleeve shirts. Wanda files for divorce and gets a restraining order. Earl does not care about the restraining order and beats Wanda so bad that she ends up in the intensive care unit. After hearing the news, Mary Ann flys from Atlanta to see her. They decided to murder Earl and do so by putting poison in his black eyed peas. They dump his body in a lake and he becomes a missing person.
The song caused controversy and some radio stations refused to play the song. Other station played the song with a domestic violence hotline.[5][6]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "RPM Country 100 (May 1, 2000)". RPM. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- ↑ "The Chicks – Goodbye Earl". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- ↑ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- ↑ "In 2000, Two Hits From Totally Different Genres Got Revenge Against Abusers — And Provoked Tellingly Different Reactions". Billboard. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- ↑ "'Earl' Creates Heat--and Heated Debate". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- ↑ "Some radio stations bag Chicks' 'Earl'". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 10, 2000. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
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