Tim McGraw - Country Boys And Girls(64 visits)

Every Friday night thereÕs a steady cloud of dust
That leads back to a field filled with pickup trucks.
Got old Hank cranking way up loud
Got coolers in the back,
Tailgates down.
ThereÕs a big fire burninÕ but donÕt be alarmed,
ItÕs just country boys and girls gettinÕ down on the farm.

The line country boys and girls gettin' down on the farm is repeated in every verse and in the chorus, so when I first started hearing the song I figured the title must be something like, "Gettin' Down on the Farm." Later, I was surprised to find out that it was actually called "Down on the Farm."

Hold on, now. That changes things. I had thought the down went with gettin', as in "dancing, partying, and having fun in general." But now they were telling me that the down goes with on the farm, just like it goes with on the corner in the similarly-titled song by Creedence Clearwater Revival, or with by the bay in the traditional kids' song. In other words, where I thought I was hearing this:

[ [gettin' down] [on the farm] ],

I was really hearing this:

[ gettin' [down on the farm] ].

What they're telling me is: It's not that they country boys and girls are boogieing on the farm; they're arriving at a state of being down on the farm. Is that what they're telling me? Because the rest of the lyrics strongly suggest the "boogie" reading.

Or maybe the reading was supposed to be "country boys and girls getting down down on the farm," and one of the downs was , the same as you might say, "Did you get everything you wanted to get done?" instead of "Did you get everything you wanted to get done done?" (Actually, I make sure to say both dones, but it sure does sound weird.)

Hey, thinking about all this has made me realize: You can also get down on a farm by going there and plucking a goose!

posted by Neal at
9 Comments: said...
Thanks for a thought-provoking post. I'm literal-minded myself, but maybe not such a stickler for grammar as yourself. Cheers, and thanks for the entertaining AND intelligent reading.
said...
Is it possible that they are becoming psychologically depressed, on a farm?
said...
maybe they were [gettin' down][on the farm] and the title is completely seperate, since [down on the farm] is where the song is about.
Anonymous said...
Don't you ever say 'Did you get done everything you wanted to get done?' Just as incorrect as the first option you present, but doesn't it just feel right?
said...
Anonymous: Your phrasing sounds right and IS right. You're allowed to rephrase "get X done" as "get done X" if X is long enough. In this case, X = everything you wanted to get done. (The linguists' name for this is "heavy-NP shift.") But if I forget to say the done before I start in on everything you wanted to get done, then I either have to start again, or stubbornly stay on the course I've embarked upon. Often I'll choose the latter, just to hear how bad it sounds.
Jason Bontrager said...
So is there a linguistic term for intentionally leaving out a word so as to imply something that you don't want to state explicitly? They boys and girls might very well be gettin' *something* down on the farm, but the lyricist just doesn't want to come right out and say what that something *is*.
said...
i'd go with "gettin [some] down on the farm"
said...
In a collection of world music, I have a song whose title is given as Dil Laga Ya Ta; the refrain goes Dil laga ya / Ta dil legi. Whatever that means.
said...
I'm gonna go with the psychologically depressed read (down on my luck), or even better, the nagging and oppressive version (bearing down on me).

"Everyone's gettin' down on the farm, but I think things will turn around."

Is the song about The Grapes of Wrath?

About Me Name:Neal Whitman

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