SARSAPARILLA (REIMBED VIDEOS)
Today, I’m working on a piece for a short story collection I’m doing with “Living Just to Watch it All Go By” and listening to music. Somehow, I got sucked into listening to various country songs, when I began to notice a pattern emerging. In the matter of a few minutes I managed to find a cornucopia of songs themed around child-trauma/child-abuse/child-murder and Jesus. This is literally just what I was able to find off the top of my head, if you can find another one please mention it in the comments.
I have compiled the songs below for your pleasure.
The Christmas Shoes, by Newsong:
In this song a boy’s mother is dying of cancer, and he must brave the snows to buy her a pair of shoes he can’t afford on Christmas Eve so she can look beautiful when she kicks the bucket (on Christmas, presumably) and meets Christ.
Angels Among Us, by Alabama:
In this song, two children get lost in the woods, and are helped by an old man… but don’t worry! The old man is really an angel.Some advice: I have instructed my little brother and sister, in the event they ever get lost, to try not to take the chance that someone is an angel. I figure they’re better off finding a lady with kids, a sassy black woman who tells it the way it is, or a Mormon in a pressed white shirt and black slacks.
Concrete Angel, Martina McBride:
A little girl gets the shit kicked out of her everyday and nobody gives a damn until she dies.
Independence Day, Martina McBride:
A little girl lives in an abusive home, and goes to a parade oblivious to the fact that while she is gone her mother is killing her father and burning the house down.
Fancy, Reba McEntire:
A mother forces her daughter to become a prostitute.
The Little Girl, John Michael Montgomery:
A little girl’s parents enjoy a spirited bout of murder/suicide as she hangs out behind the couch with Jesus.
Alyssa Lies, Jason Michael Carroll:
A little girl lies about how her parents beat the crap out of her until she dies and gets to hang out with Jesus.
Me and Emily, Rachel Proctor:
A woman whose husband beats the crap out her leaves in the middle of the night with her small child before her husband can start on the kid.
