At its core, country music is supposed to be three chords and the truth. That’s the backbone and the foundation that the genre has hung its 10-gallon hat on for more than a century. But what happens when a song bends that truth a little bit?
Here below, we wanted to have a little fun with a few fun country tunes. We wanted to explore three country tracks that play with the truth a bit, in the best of ways. Indeed, these are three country songs that feature silly lyrics with made-up words.
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“Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” by Trace Adkins from ‘Songs About Me’ (2005)
While country singer Trace Adkins did not invent the term “Badonkadonk”, he sure made it popular within the country milieu. Of course, badonkadonk is a slang term used to describe someone with a large and pleasing posterior. Used first in rap music, Adkins decided that the term had a home in country, too. And that it rhymed with Honky Tonk—all the better! On his single, Adkins sings, “Poor ole boy, it ain’t his fault / It’s so hard not to stare / At that honky tonk badonkadonk.”
“(And You Had A) Do-Wacka-Do” by Roger Miller from ‘The Return Of Roger Miller’ (1965)
This acoustic-driven song is simply fun. It’s as if Roger Miller took a good song he’d written and spliced in nonsense words as an exercise. But the result is a memorable offering with words that sound more like something an infant might say excitedly. Indeed, Miller sings, “I hear tell you’re doin’ well / Good things have come to you / I wish I had your happiness / And you had a do-wacka-do / Wacka do, wacka-do, wacka-do.”
“Be My Baby Tonight” by John Michael Montgomery from ‘Kickin’ It Up’ (1994)
While this song has lyrics you can read on a page, you might be hard-pressed to understand them when John Michael Montgomery sings them so quickly. Many listeners over the years have assumed he’s singing something like “coochi woochi baby” or some other bit of nonsense. And while Montgomery knows what it all means, some listeners may be left a bit confused. But in the end, that’s all part of the fun of language!
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