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dylan's "blood on the tracks" & marvin gaye's "here my dear" & richard and linda thompson's "shoot out the lights" are the canonical #1 - 3 divorce albums of all time, aren't they? I've only really heard the dylan one.

and tammy wynette's "d-i-v-o-r-c-e" would be the #1 divorce single, right?

others? better ones?

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:08 (twenty-three years ago)

#2 single - "we want him under alimony" - huey piano smith and the clowns

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:09 (twenty-three years ago)

Blood on the Tracks and Shoot Out the Lights are classic. I think I like the story behind Here, My Dear more than the album itself, which is kind of a muddled mess.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:11 (twenty-three years ago)

#3 divorce single - "Rated Ex" - Loretta Lynn

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:13 (twenty-three years ago)

#4 "Pay Me Alimony" - Maddox Bros & Rose

Hey, notice that there's probably an overwhelming C/W slant to this thread? Izzat cuz hicks are always gettin' hitched cuz they can't bump (kin) uglies otherwise?

― Lawrence Vowell, Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:16 (twenty-three years ago)

Tammy and George Jones's marriage problems are chronicled on a series of records, particularly 'Golden Ring'.

'Here my dear' is particularly appropriate because Marvin's ex (Anna Gordy - Berry's sister) won the royalties to his next album as part of their divorce settlement. So he decided to make it a concept album about the breakdown of their marriage. Kind of "Here my dear, you have your fucking album then. Hope you enjoy it."

Which isn't necessarily very grown up, but it made for a good record.

― James Ball (James Ball), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:21 (twenty-three years ago)

certainly not a number one, beck's 'sea change' should never the less be in there somwhere.

― Jay K (Jay K), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:33 (twenty-three years ago)

what about freda payne's "band of gold"?

not neccessarily a divorce song, but definitely a marriage gone wrong song. why did they sleep in seperate rooms on their wedding night?

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:36 (twenty-three years ago)

because he couldn't get it up, as a cursory listen to the lyrics would tell you

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:49 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm not sure whether Lucinda Williams' "Changed the Locks" is about divorce or garden variety breakup. It's rational like a restraining order, and missing all the malice, shame and sin of a good C/W divorce.

― Curt (cgould), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:49 (twenty-three years ago)

Jody Beth Rosen, I'm surprised at you. Of course Here, My Dear is a muddled mess--that's where its genius lies. Anyone who makes a nice clean divorce album is a fucking LIAR; Marvin showed himself here to be: a big fat liar; a wounded self-righteous screwed-up loser; a guy who had been in love once upon a time; an actual genius (for the first time, in my opinion, because I find What's Going On and Let's Get It On to be overrated, here come the lightning bolts); the "typical male" who was anything but typical...

So don't hate on an album JUST because it's a muddled mess. I mean, damn, anything with "A Funky Space Reincarnation" has to be wonderful.

― Matt C., Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Another great c&W-related break-up song - "Sun comes up it's Tuesday morning" by the Cowboy Junkies.

― James Ball (James Ball), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 15:59 (twenty-three years ago)

So don't hate on an album JUST because it's a muddled mess.

No, I know. I mean... you're talking to a Vanilla Fudge fan. :-)

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 16:03 (twenty-three years ago)

but why, matos? was he in love with another woman? or another man?

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 16:05 (twenty-three years ago)

I will back Jody up by saying Here My Dear, gets kind of redundant. Since he captures that "muddled mess" quality on individual tracks, he didn't need a double album to convey the concept. There's a good bit of filler on it. Plus my double album puts sides 1 & 4 and 2 & 3 together, I guess for jukeboxes or somethin'. I fuckin hate that.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 16:19 (twenty-three years ago)

I had to look this up:

"Hoping soon/That you'll walk back through that door/And love me like you tried before"

I put the curse in cursory. I swear I always heard it as "like you DID before".

― Curt (cgould), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 16:20 (twenty-three years ago)

because he's physically incapabale of it! it's a song about wedding-night impotence

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 16:49 (twenty-three years ago)

Which reminds me, Kenny's relationship ain't in too good shape in 'Ruby don't take your love to town'. But the impotence is caused by his Vietnam injuries.

― James Ball (James Ball), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 16:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Physically incapable, or perhaps he tried and room service broke his concentration.

― Curt (cgould), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 17:03 (twenty-three years ago)

i think you're being too literal... I always thought the guy was a rock hudson/troy mcclure type closet case.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 17:12 (twenty-three years ago)

surely Costello belong somewhere in the divorce canon...Imperial Bedroom perhaps?

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 19:33 (twenty-three years ago)

Hello? Domestica?

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 19:42 (twenty-three years ago)

??? how can you be too literal when the lyrics are TOTALLY SPECIFIC?

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 20:56 (twenty-three years ago)

I think we have to put Quasi's "Featuring 'Birds'" in there somewhere. Now THAT's a divorce record.

― Douglas, Tuesday, 3 December 2002 21:01 (twenty-three years ago)

i just mean, yeah, the problem is that he can't get it up...why he can't get it up is open to interpretation

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 21:30 (twenty-three years ago)

Don't Smoke in Bed ala Nina Simone.

Al, Costello/Brodsky has some relevent cuts on The Juliet Letters (e.g. "The First To Leave").

― christoff (christoff), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 21:42 (twenty-three years ago)

if you really want to invent a backstory for it, I suppose it is

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 22:53 (twenty-three years ago)

GbV's Isolation Drills is apparently quite coloured by Bob Pollard's divorce.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 23:24 (twenty-three years ago)

Costello's "Good Year for the Roses" should go in there somewhere.

― webcrack (music=crack), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 23:27 (twenty-three years ago)

you mean George Jones's

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 23:29 (twenty-three years ago)

troubled relationships always remind me of Bryan Ferry's "Let's Stick Together" cover.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 3 December 2002 23:51 (twenty-three years ago)

*Rumours* and *Wild Gift*, obviously. And *The Marshall Mathers LP*, for that matter. "Alimony" by Bobby Bare, "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)" by Jerry Reed, "It's Too Late" by Carole King....jeez, this list could go on for months. "Mighty Love" by the Spinners: "Once there was a boy and girl/Boy said I love you so/
Girl said, I’ll never leave you/They grew older and left each other/
‘Cause that’s the way love goes."

(And for other impotence-rock classics besides "Band of Gold," check my second book; "Stutter" by Elastica and "Mr. Softee" by Kid Creole and the Coconuts are definitely on the list, though.)

― chuck e., Tuesday, 3 December 2002 23:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Cher-"You Better Sit Down, Kids". Sonny wrote it in '67. Also "Living in a House Divided".

― Arthur (Arthur), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 01:50 (twenty-three years ago)

And on the other side of impotence - "Too Fast For Love"? Ha!

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 02:08 (twenty-three years ago)

Madonna - "Till Death Do Us Part"

― V, Wednesday, 4 December 2002 02:17 (twenty-three years ago)

Re: Costello, what about Blood & Chocolate? A bit closer I think (I Hope You're Happy Now, ect)

― Dave M. (rotten03), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 02:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Here My Dear is one of the best concept albums ever!!!

― Mary (Mary), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 06:20 (twenty-three years ago)

Chuck: "Wild Gift" isn't a great example, because John and Exene didn't get divorced until after "Under the Big Black Sun".

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 10:54 (twenty-three years ago)

Mike Watt's "Navy Wife" is number 45 with a bullet on the singles chart, by the way.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 10:55 (twenty-three years ago)

>>Chuck: "Wild Gift" isn't a great example, because John and Exene didn't get divorced until after "Under the Big Black Sun". <<<

Yeah, but that's just biography; who cares? *Wild Gift* is still largely *about* John and Exene's marriage coming apart at the seams. Which reminds me that Human Switcboard's *Who's Landing In My Hangar* belongs here, too. And "Divorce Song" by Liz Phair, and "No Guilt" by the Waitresses, and "One Step Up" by Bruce Springsteen, and *Love Wars* by Womack and Womack (even if they're still married, which they may or may not be.)

― chuck, Wednesday, 4 December 2002 18:04 (twenty-three years ago)

>>Chuck: "Wild Gift" isn't a great example, because John and Exene didn't get divorced until after "Under the Big Black Sun". <<<

― chuck, Wednesday, 4 December 2002 18:04 (twenty-three years ago)

>>Chuck: "Wild Gift" isn't a great example, because John and Exene didn't get divorced until after "Under the Big Black Sun". <<<

― chuck, Wednesday, 4 December 2002 18:04 (twenty-three years ago)

>>Chuck: "Wild Gift" isn't a great example, because John and Exene didn't get divorced until after "Under the Big Black Sun". <<<

Yeah, but that's just biography; who cares? *Wild Gift* is still largely *about* their marriage coming apart at the seams (unlike their subsequent records, I believe, though now that I think about it, *Big Black Sun* had some marriage-collapsing stuff on it too, right? As did the Fleetwood Mac album before *Rumours* -- e.g., "Landslide"). Which reminds me that Human Switcboard's *Who's Landing In My Hangar* belongs here, too. And "Divorce Song" by Liz Phair, and "No Guilt" by the Waitresses, and "One Step Up" by Bruce Springsteen, and *Love Wars* by Womack and Womack (even if they're still married, which they may or may not be.)

― chuck, Wednesday, 4 December 2002 18:04 (twenty-three years ago)

weird -- the computer kept freezing up, and i kept thinking of other things to say. consider the latter messages above dance mixes, I guess.

― chuck, Wednesday, 4 December 2002 18:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Neil Young's Welfare Mothers: "DEEE - VOR - CEEE!"

― briania, Wednesday, 4 December 2002 19:07 (twenty-three years ago)

yeah, and on "From Hank To Hendrix" Neil's headed for the big divorce - California style!

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 19:15 (twenty-three years ago)

What about Merle Travis's 'Divorce Me C.O.D."?

― Amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 5 December 2002 04:22 (twenty-three years ago)

chuck, i would have thought fer sure you would have mentioned "Ten Seconds To Love" by, I think, Motely Crue.

― dandy don weiner, Thursday, 5 December 2002 04:30 (twenty-three years ago)

iyou mean George Jones's

You mean Jerry Chesnut's

― Colin Beckett (Colin Beckett), Thursday, 5 December 2002 05:04 (twenty-three years ago)

Don't agree, Chuck -- "Wild Gift" is about a glorious, fucked-up marriage (and "Under the Big Black Sun" is a cheater's record, not a splitting-up record); you want a divorce song by X, you put on "Burning House of Love".

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Thursday, 5 December 2002 10:23 (twenty-three years ago)

We can now officially add "Morning Bell" by Radiohead to this list.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 5 December 2002 20:21 (twenty-three years ago)

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