Quote:
Originally Posted by Farawayhills
Woot for "Before He Cheats". I'd agree with making it one of the top ten of the decade - its blend of Nashville and Southern Rock gave Country radio a well deserved boost, and its feisty lyric gave Carrie a wonderful opportunity to show the world that she was a stage performer with a genuinely wide ranging personality,
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I think the unique sound probably is the main reason why BHC was big as it was, but one of the underrated factors of the song is its lyrical genius, IMO. It's easy to dismiss the excellence of the lyrics because of the sound and its hook, but to me, its lyrics, in connection with the theme of cheating, is what makes it one of the best songs of the decade. I mean, it's not like we don't have enough cheating and revenge songs, but for some reason, BHC just stands out. The seamless transition of the lyrics from jealousy to paranoia of the main character is nothing short of amazing. And the crystal clear imagery of the car's destruction juxtaposed with the raising anger of the character with each action she does on the car, by the time Carrie gets to the lyrics of "Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats..." you could literally feel, through the lyrics, the character explode with all the deep-rooted anger towards her cheating partner. An excellently written song all around.
That's why I don't buy that uptempo sassy songs can be lyrically trite and still be acceptable just because it's uptempo - it's not supposed to be meaningful, it's not supposed to be well-written. BHC trumps that theory.
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