I picked the song “Goodbye Earl” by the Dixie Chicks because as a kid I always thought the song was catchy and funny but didn’t really know the true meaning behind the song until later on. Listening to this song now makes me upset knowing one in four women experience domestic abuse in our country. After doing a little more research about the song, I found an article that talked about how after playing “Goodbye Earl”, some radio stations would play a message for victims of domestic abuse and a hotline they could call.
When looking over the lyrics, I wanted to make sure I emphasized a few things in my found poem in particular. I emphasized/ bolded the lyrics anytime they mentioned ‘she’ or ‘her’ because women in particular face a lot challenges on a daily basis and have the highest rape, domestic abuse and sexual abuse percentages than anyone else. I also decided to isolate ‘dark glasses’, ‘long sleeved blouses’, and ‘make-up’ to emphasize some of the things women use to not only hide bruising or scars but to hide other insecurities too. We as society might not even notice that someone is going through such a terrible hardship such as domestic abuse because of it being hidden.
bobbiejean87@gmail.com. “’Goodbye Earl’: The Story Behind The Chicks’ Controversial Hit.” Wide Open Country, 15 Jan. 2021, www.wideopencountry.com/goodbye-earl-story-behind-song/.
