Monday, September 29, 2008

Toby Keith is a corporate shill







Yeah the big boss man, he likes to crack that whip
I ain't nothing but a number on his timecard slip,
I give him 40 hours and a piece of my soul,
Puts me somewhere at the bottom of his totem pole,
Hell I don't even think he knows my name...

Well all week long I'm a real nobody,
But I just punched out and its paycheck Friday,
Weekends here, good God almighty,
I'm gonna get drunk and be somebody
Yeah, yeah, yeah...

My baby cuts hair at a beauty boutique,
Just blowin' and goin' till she's dead on her feet,
They walk right in and sit right down,
She gives them what they want and then she spins them around,
Hey I don't think they even know her name...

All week long she's a real nobody,
But I just picked her up and its paycheck Friday,
Weekends here, good God almighty,
Baby lets get drunk and be somebody
Yeah, yeah, yeah...

We're just average people, in an everyday bar,
Driving from work in our ordinary cars,
And I like to come here with the regular Joes,
Drink all you want, be the star of the show

All week long a bunch of real nobodies,
But we just punched out and its paycheck Friday,
Weekends here, good God almighty,
People lets get drunk (lets get drunk!)
All week long we're some real nobodies,
But we just punched out and its paycheck Friday,
Weekends here, good God almighty,
People lets get drunk and be somebody
Yeah, yeah, yeah...

____________________________________

When I first saw this song, it almost seemed like a joke. Some sort of parody. But, no! Toby Keith is dead serious!

The irony of it all...This song is a commercial for beer, who is the very "big boss man" that "doesn't know your name". You are a "nobody" all week long, "giving him 40 hours and a piece of your soul"...and on "paycheck Friday" you give him back all your hard-earned money to get drunk? Which then perpetuates a vicious life-long cycle of being a nobody and spending your money to numb yourself to that very fact? And you celebrate it with Toby Keith, who is country music's top money-maker and corporate whore [Forbe's: $48 million in 2007]??? It sounds like Toby Keith is a real voice for the working man. (Could my argument be any more literal if you actually worked for Budweiser?!!)

"Drink all you want, be the star of the show"?? "All week long a bunch of real nobodies"?? "Baby lets get drunk and be somebody"?? I would have to ask Toby Keith, "can a nobody be a somebody without getting drunk"? If so, what is his definition of a "somebody"? Another irony, Toby Keith would have you vote on the side of tax cuts for the rich (himself)...making him even MORE of a "somebody" than you are! And that national healthcare and welfare are bad, because you "should pull yourself up by the boothstraps". Even though you are a "nobody" and have to drink Budweiser to become "somebody". In between being a nobody all week, and drinking on the weekends, Toby Keith says you should have enough time left over to truly excel in this great country of ours, full of wealth and opportunity.

"Aw, c'mon, man. It's just a good ol' song about drinking with your friends and havin' a good time." Is it, Toby? Really?

Yeah, I know this song is "old". First, being hip to new Toby Keith singles has no value. I don't give a shit. Second, people still sing this at his concerts as they drink one $8 beer after another. And I'm sure it makes country radio playlists on Friday afternoons.

Baby Gramps is country.

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