Songs You May Have Missed #701

28 Jun 2021 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

Walker Hayes: “Dollar Store” (2017)

Ironic and sad that in our previous post of a Walker Hayes song (the brilliant “You Broke Up with Me”) we singled out for praise an uncommon lyrical freshness that went counter to the prevailing trend in contemporary country of piling cliche on cliche to make the same song again and again, year after year.

Perusing Hayes’ website for news of a follow-up to 2017’s Boom, I came across a new song (“Country Stuff”) which is probably the tallest stinkin’ pile of…uh, cliche on record.

In other words, this guy went from being (in this writer’s opinion) the Great Hope for the genre finding its way out of its current (un)creative mire to authoring possibly the genre’s most monumental exercise in banal formula.

So we went back to 2017 and “Dollar Store” to show you how brilliant and witty Hayes can be.

But we include the link to “Country Stuff” for perspective’s sake. Compare it lyrically to both “Dollar Store” and “You Broke Up with Me” (also linked below) and you’ll see a stark contrast between county as it could be and country as it unfortunately too often is.

Dollar Store

Saw a penny picked it up
Lady be a little luck
Stuck it in my pocket, hey
Wasn’t earned but it’s saved
50 cents in the console… cha ching
39 on the floor… bada bing
10 more till we got it made, babe, in the cash shade
Shopping time there’s a dime in the ashtray

Uh, woohoo
Mama let my money say I love you
We takin’ you and this GW
Down to the dollar store
Buy you whatever you holla for
Uh, woohoo
Baby I’m a million bucks from rich
But I can grant you a discount wish
Down at the dollar store
Buy you whatever you holla for

Baby, It’s your birthday I’mma be your sugar dad
Don’t even think about checkin’ one price tag
Whatch you want, flips flops?
Toothbrush, Clorox
Shasta, pop rocks
EPT… hope not!
Paper plates saying’ happy Halloween
Candles smellin’ like cookies & cream
St. Patrick’s day party hat with elastic strings
Girl you look fine in green

Uh, woohoo
Mama let my money say I love you
We takin’ you and this GW
Down to the dollar store
Buy you whatever you holla for
Uh, woohoo
Baby I’m a million bucks from rich
But I can grant you a discount wish
Down at the dollar store
Buy you whatever you holla for…

Girl, they got silly string, travel Scope
Knock off cereal
Ketchup, picture frames
Flash light, key chains
Paddle ball, Tylenol, Mardi Gras confetti
Drop it in the cart, watch me roll it to regi’

Uh, woohoo
I’mma let my money say I love you
We takin’ you and this GW
Down to the dollar store
Buy you whatever you holla for
Uh, woohoo
Baby I’m a million bucks from rich
But I can grant you a discount wish
Down at the dollar store
Buy you whatever you holla for

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #626 | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)

Songs You May Have Missed #626

06 Jan 2018 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

Walker Hayes: “You Broke Up with Me” (2017)

This blog doesn’t plug many contemporary country tunes. But we do like to give props to a clever song in any genre. And we think “You Broke Up with Me” transcends the typically safe, vacuous ear fodder emblematic of the current country genre.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that for this listener personally, “You Broke Up with Me” sets the standard in terms of sheer density of playful lyrical cleverness. The pre-chorus beginning with “Darlin’ you can’t crash my party…” is jaw-dropping, and the chorus that follows it is almost equally inspired.

Walker Hayes’ smile-inducing lyric sensibility and vocal delivery may bring rapper Macklemore to mind. While bro country wants to keep singing that same clichéd song that ticks the usual boxes (Friday nights, drinking beer, pickup trucks, painted-on jeans and all the other obligatory country markers) hopefully Hayes signals something fresh.

Well, I got some Coke in my bourbon
Surfin’ the room like Swazye
No, I ain’t drunk, I’m amazing
Yeah, I got that laid way, way back, back in my swagger
Xfactor, feeling no pain I’m at the top of my game

Darlin’ you can’t crash my party with your “sorry’s” and “what are we’s?”
Don’t start rainin’ on my Mardi Gras parade for a minute
I ain’t even fixin’ to listen to your guilt trippin’
You’re forgettin’, girl you made your bed and didn’t want me in it (hey!)

Woah girl, simmer on down a notch
Ain’t nobody making you watch me get my “forget you” on
No girl, can’t touch my “good as gold”
I know it’s difficult to see me on a roll (hey!)
But hey, you broke up with me
Yeah, what can I say babe, you broke up with me

Guess you don’t know what you want
‘Til you see I’m movin’ on
Makin’ lonely look like freedom
Baby, don’t even act like I’m doing something wrong
If my song comes on and I get lost on that dance floor
In somebody’s arms that ain’t yours

You can’t crash my party with your “sorry’s” and “what are we’s?”
Don’t be rainin’ on my Mardi Gras parade for a minute
I ain’t even fixin’ to listen to your guilt trippin’
You’re forgettin’ girl you made your bed and didn’t want me in it (hey!)

Woah girl, simmer on down a notch
Ain’t nobody making you watch me get my “forget you” on
No girl, can’t touch my “good as gold”
I know it’s difficult to see me on a roll (hey!)
But hey, you broke up with me
Yeah, what can I say babe, you broke up with me

For real babe, ain’t tryin’ rub it your face
I’m just breakin’ off a little cold hard truth
It is what it is girl, you did what you did girl
I’m just doin’ what a bachelor do

Darlin’, you can’t crash my party with your “sorry’s” and “what are we’s?”
Don’t be rainin’ on my Mardi Gras parade for a minute (quit it!)
I ain’t even fixin’ to listen to your guilt trippin’
You’re forgettin’, girl you made your bed and didn’t want me in it (hey!)

Woah girl, simmer on down a notch
Ain’t nobody making you watch me get my “forget you” on
No girl, can’t touch my “good as gold”
I know it’s difficult to see me on a roll
But hey, you broke up with me
Yeah, what can I say babe, you broke up with me (hey!)

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #701 | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)