Unless you're from Texas, you've probably never heard any of Charlie Robison's records, because he's never hit it big, though he's been recording sad, touching, tragic, romantic, funny, and party-hard songs for over a decade. His music's primarily country-based, but he throws enough swing, Tejano, and traditional Irish stylings into the brew that Music Row won't touch him, and Clear-Channel wouldn't know where to format him. Shame, because he's recorded over a dozen utterly-fantastic pop songs (and over four dozen that are simply great), while creating a sound that--though it does borrow from the likes of Doug Sahm, Willie Nelson, and Ray Wylie Hubbard--is entirely his own, with a witty, just-this-side-of-cynical tone (that makes his few straight songs all the more compelling) that bespeaks of his intelligence and his love for the common man.
As far his love for the common woman goes, well...that's (sometimes) another matter entirely. Robison was married to Dixie Chick* Emily (Erwin) Robison for nine years (they divorced only two months ago), and he penned this song with her, and it's semi-autobiographical. If you live in the rural South, then you'll recognize most of the details from weddings you've attended. I know I've seen 'em all. Some folks find the backwoodsy details here too outlandish, thinking that Robison (here and elsewhere) is exaggerating the stereotype for comic effect; I disagree. I think he's just reporting what he's seen (and I've seen worse).
His blunt assessment (here) of his bride could easily be taken as misogynistic, but I think it's just an honest assessment (possibly from someone's who's had a few too many before deciding to speak), and truth sometimes ain't always pretty. Heck, if Bruce Springsteen can get away with "You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright," then I have no problems with Robison's lyrics here. I'd even go so far as to say that his lyrics here are better than Springsteen's (in that particular song of the Boss's), 'cause Robison harbors no illusions, pulls no punches, offers no romantic (meaning fairy-tale) solutions; better than all of those sentiments, he offers the one thing he can give, for better or worse: himself.
*Note: Robison's brother David--who's married to country singer Kelly Willis--wrote "Traveling Soldier" for the Chicks.
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