Toby Keith was taken from us last week at the age of 62 after a battle with cancer. The Country & Western singer entertained national audiences for 30 years after putting in his time on the oil and football fields and supper clubs of what was once called America’s Dust Bowl.
As a review of more than one hundred song parodies in the Parody As a Weapon series should clearly reveal, there are very few tunes that I listen to that were recorded in this century, or even in the last decade of the 20th century. Outside of Cold Play’s “Viva La Vida” and a wee bit of The Dropkick Murphys, any recordings that I have from the 21st century tend to be C&W, and Toby Keith’s Greatest Hits are featured therein.
Of course, my favorite Toby Keith song is “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue”, which is a righteously angry response to the 9/11 attacks. Still, before and after this, Toby Keith recorded songs that just about every man (and many women) could relate to as far as their subject matter and sentiments were concerned.
“As Good As I Once Was” provides a comic look at the effects of aging on ego and outlook. “American Soldier” is a tribute to those who put on a military uniform and serve, and “Stays in Mexico” is a twist on the slogan promoted by the Las Vegas Tourist Bureau (“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”), His catalogue goes on and on in this regard, bringing a real Oklahoma -size smile to many faces.
Though Toby Keith was for a long time a registered democrat, his instincts were conservative, and his feud with The Dixie Chicks stemmed from that band pandering to anti-war European audiences by criticizing the Commander-in-Chief while our troops were committed to fighting. His contributions to American culture were recognized when President Donald Trump presented him with the National Medal of Arts before leaving office in January of 2021.
I have appropriated one of Toby Keith’s tunes to pay tribute to the man and the artist. “I Love This Bar” is a love song directed at one’s favorite watering hole. It should be pointed out that even the transvestite person featured in the video used the rest room appropriate for the sex assigned at birth.
The Good Lord is always looking for quality entertainment in heaven and at times the Seraphim and Cherubim might begin to wear. I feel pretty certain that Toby Keith could make Him smile, and if he’s allowed to do a tour of Valhalla, the welcome for Toby there will be overwhelming.
He liked cowboys
Our armed forces
Lots of beer for the horses
He liked parties
And good whiskey
Pretty girls getting frisky
And he sang about how he would right some wrongs
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I loved his songs
Disliked Saddam
Bin Laden
Thought the Taliban rotten
Maybe Rom Coms
And chick flicks
And for awhile the Dixie Chicks
And just like Clint Eastwood learned to like the Hmongs
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I loved his songs
I loved his songs
They sure fit my taste
If you ain’t as good as you once was
That punch might hit your face
Start banging gongs
Willie does bongs
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I loved his songs
He’s got vacations
And love affairs
Lots of truths and a few dares
Good for laughing
And thinking
Even if you quit drinking
And it stays in Mexico where it belongs
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I loved his songs
(Yes I do)
I liked the man
(I liked the man)
And his politics
(And his politics)
And except for the song about Earl
I didn’t like the Dixie Chicks
But I loved his songs
They’re my kind of rhyme
And the real life subject matter
Made them always worth my time
Among the strongs
Toby belongs
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I loved his songs
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I just loved his old songs
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