Tammy and Lesley
May. 30th, 2005 09:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowAmong the albums in my collection are a pair of greatest-hits albums: 20 Greatest Hits, by Tammy Wynette, and Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows, by Lesley Gore. I've been comparing their contents, and some aspects of the comparison are, I think, interesting.
First, I should point out that the comparison is an inapt one, in a number of ways. Though the two singers began their careers at about the same time (LG's first hit was in 1963, TW's in 1966), Lesley Gore's was much briefer. Tammy Wynette is, as far as I can tell, a fairly important figure in the history of country music; her most famous song, "Stand By Your Man", still epitomizes a certain cultural stance. Lesley Gore has no such importance; she is, if anything, the queen of bubblegum. Her most famous song was "It's My Party", a plaint of teen jealousy and heartbreak, and most of her work stayed in that same general area.
However, there is another, more apt, point of comparison. Both singers (if these albums are at all indicative) had a relatively narrow thematic range. Of the twenty songs on the Tammy Wynette album, thirteen concern themselves with the problems of maintenance, restoration, or breakup of a marriage - or possibly another type of relationship; some of them are not clear on this point. (Of the other seven, two deal with a happy relationship - no concerns being expressed about maintenance - two with the problems of being in love but not in a relationship, and three with other matters.) Thirteen of the Lesley Gore songs deal with the problems of various stages in a love affair. (Four of the other seven deal with happy or happily remembered relationships, one with being in love, and two with other matters.)
In the problem songs by Tammy Wynette, only a few stances seem available to the singer. If it is a matter of maintenance, the sole question is what the woman must do to keep her man. "Stand By Your Man" is the exemplar, but similar attitudes appear in "Singing My Song" and "I'll See Him Through". "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" takes a slightly different approach (and is the one example in which the man is implicitly challenged to change his behavior), but still focuses on the woman's behavior. In most cases, there's an assumption that men will stray, and women simply have to tolerate that. In "Bedtime Story", the woman has welcomed back a straying husband. Songs of hoped-for restoration - "The Ways to Love a Man", "Apartment No. 9" - either describe what the woman must do, or indicate that she'll passively wait for her lover's return. "Take Me to Your World" is a naked plea for the man to rescue her from a dead-end job. "Run, Woman, Run" involves a woman - not the singer - who has separated from her husband; the singer urges her to go back to him. Finally, in the breakup songs ("D-I-V-O-R-C-E", "'Til I Can Make It On My Own"), the breakup seems invariably to be at the choice of the man, and the singer's reaction is helpless sorrow.
Some of Lesley Gore's problem songs show the same stances. "It's My Party" and its sequel "Judy's Turn to Cry" involve breakup and restoration, and detail the singer's sadness at the breakup and her maneuvering for restoration. "Look of Love" is another song of sorrow after a breakup. "That's the Way Boys Are" and "Maybe I Know" reflect the same assumptions about male nature and female necessity as "Stand By Your Man". But there are other positions available; "You Don't Own Me", "Hey Now", and "What Am I Gonna Do With You" directly confront the boy with a demand for better treatment, and in "I Won't Love You Anymore" and "Off and Running" it is the girl who initiates a breakup. In two songs ("She's a Fool" and "Wonder Boy"), the girl is an active party, aiming at winning a boy's love.
Comparing the two, it seems as though the singer in Tammy Wynette's songs is generally reactive or passive, more concerned with her own behavior; Lesley Gore's implied narrator, though frequently behaving similarly, is more likely to be assertive, demanding or enacting change.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Several possible explanations occur to me. One is that country is, historically, a more conservative genre than rock. Country is (or presents itself as) rural where rock is urban; country is more likely to be oriented towards traditional mores and religion; and these facts are consistent with the difference mentioned above.
Another explanation has to do with the implied ages of the singers. Lesley Gore's songs are primarily about teenagers and their ephemeral relationships; Tammy Wynette's are mostly about somewhat older people, and about marriage. Marriage is expected to be a more durable relationship, and calls for greater efforts - and, perhaps, greater tolerance - to preserve it. The sort of challenge presented in some of Lesley Gore's songs is a higher-risk action in the context of marriage, and, depending on the weight that's placed on the preservation of marriage, may simply be unacceptably dangerous.
Yet another explanation: the ability to endure a bad situation has value. So does the ability to take action to change it. Taking action can take two forms: to act on one's own, or to demand action by others. Paradoxically, perhaps, the first two - endurance and personal action - involve greater, if more circumscribed, control over the situation: I can do these things regardless of what my partner does, and if they fail the responsibility lies solely with him. Overt demands or negotiation make the allotment of responsibility somewhat murkier, and thus involve somewhat greater risk to self-image.
I don't know about this last one. It may be mere psychobabble - but hey, I'm from California, so I'm entitled. In any event, I find the contrast between the two interesting. (The contrast between Tammy Wynette and Mary Chapin Carpenter - this time, between two country singers - is also intriguing, but I'll leave that for another post.)
First, I should point out that the comparison is an inapt one, in a number of ways. Though the two singers began their careers at about the same time (LG's first hit was in 1963, TW's in 1966), Lesley Gore's was much briefer. Tammy Wynette is, as far as I can tell, a fairly important figure in the history of country music; her most famous song, "Stand By Your Man", still epitomizes a certain cultural stance. Lesley Gore has no such importance; she is, if anything, the queen of bubblegum. Her most famous song was "It's My Party", a plaint of teen jealousy and heartbreak, and most of her work stayed in that same general area.
However, there is another, more apt, point of comparison. Both singers (if these albums are at all indicative) had a relatively narrow thematic range. Of the twenty songs on the Tammy Wynette album, thirteen concern themselves with the problems of maintenance, restoration, or breakup of a marriage - or possibly another type of relationship; some of them are not clear on this point. (Of the other seven, two deal with a happy relationship - no concerns being expressed about maintenance - two with the problems of being in love but not in a relationship, and three with other matters.) Thirteen of the Lesley Gore songs deal with the problems of various stages in a love affair. (Four of the other seven deal with happy or happily remembered relationships, one with being in love, and two with other matters.)
In the problem songs by Tammy Wynette, only a few stances seem available to the singer. If it is a matter of maintenance, the sole question is what the woman must do to keep her man. "Stand By Your Man" is the exemplar, but similar attitudes appear in "Singing My Song" and "I'll See Him Through". "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" takes a slightly different approach (and is the one example in which the man is implicitly challenged to change his behavior), but still focuses on the woman's behavior. In most cases, there's an assumption that men will stray, and women simply have to tolerate that. In "Bedtime Story", the woman has welcomed back a straying husband. Songs of hoped-for restoration - "The Ways to Love a Man", "Apartment No. 9" - either describe what the woman must do, or indicate that she'll passively wait for her lover's return. "Take Me to Your World" is a naked plea for the man to rescue her from a dead-end job. "Run, Woman, Run" involves a woman - not the singer - who has separated from her husband; the singer urges her to go back to him. Finally, in the breakup songs ("D-I-V-O-R-C-E", "'Til I Can Make It On My Own"), the breakup seems invariably to be at the choice of the man, and the singer's reaction is helpless sorrow.
Some of Lesley Gore's problem songs show the same stances. "It's My Party" and its sequel "Judy's Turn to Cry" involve breakup and restoration, and detail the singer's sadness at the breakup and her maneuvering for restoration. "Look of Love" is another song of sorrow after a breakup. "That's the Way Boys Are" and "Maybe I Know" reflect the same assumptions about male nature and female necessity as "Stand By Your Man". But there are other positions available; "You Don't Own Me", "Hey Now", and "What Am I Gonna Do With You" directly confront the boy with a demand for better treatment, and in "I Won't Love You Anymore" and "Off and Running" it is the girl who initiates a breakup. In two songs ("She's a Fool" and "Wonder Boy"), the girl is an active party, aiming at winning a boy's love.
Comparing the two, it seems as though the singer in Tammy Wynette's songs is generally reactive or passive, more concerned with her own behavior; Lesley Gore's implied narrator, though frequently behaving similarly, is more likely to be assertive, demanding or enacting change.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Several possible explanations occur to me. One is that country is, historically, a more conservative genre than rock. Country is (or presents itself as) rural where rock is urban; country is more likely to be oriented towards traditional mores and religion; and these facts are consistent with the difference mentioned above.
Another explanation has to do with the implied ages of the singers. Lesley Gore's songs are primarily about teenagers and their ephemeral relationships; Tammy Wynette's are mostly about somewhat older people, and about marriage. Marriage is expected to be a more durable relationship, and calls for greater efforts - and, perhaps, greater tolerance - to preserve it. The sort of challenge presented in some of Lesley Gore's songs is a higher-risk action in the context of marriage, and, depending on the weight that's placed on the preservation of marriage, may simply be unacceptably dangerous.
Yet another explanation: the ability to endure a bad situation has value. So does the ability to take action to change it. Taking action can take two forms: to act on one's own, or to demand action by others. Paradoxically, perhaps, the first two - endurance and personal action - involve greater, if more circumscribed, control over the situation: I can do these things regardless of what my partner does, and if they fail the responsibility lies solely with him. Overt demands or negotiation make the allotment of responsibility somewhat murkier, and thus involve somewhat greater risk to self-image.
I don't know about this last one. It may be mere psychobabble - but hey, I'm from California, so I'm entitled. In any event, I find the contrast between the two interesting. (The contrast between Tammy Wynette and Mary Chapin Carpenter - this time, between two country singers - is also intriguing, but I'll leave that for another post.)
