“Chariot” refers to judgment day, anticipates a heavenly family reunion and says, “I gave Jesus my life/I stepped right up and got washed in the blood.” Although a lady does a rotten job of building hedges in her life, she resists the temptation to be unfaithful to her man on “When I Think About Cheatin’.” “Holdin’ You” proclaims, “I don’t need whiskey to drown out the pain.” In stark contrast …
“When It Rains” puts faith in Jim Beam to beat the blues (“When it rains I pour a couple more rounds/Till the hurtin’ and the heartache start to drown”). Wilson boasts of tending bar at 15 (“Pocahontas Proud”). She portrays herself as a rowdy, hard-drinking, profane, flirtatious honky-tonker on “Here for the Party” and the hit “Redneck Woman.” She threatens a potential “Homewrecker” with physical violence. Mild profanities are common.
Profanity. Alcohol. The urge to raise Cain. Gretchen Wilson claims to be a Christian yet is consciously positioning herself as country music’s bad girl. Her smash single states, “You might think I’m trashy, a little too hard core/But in my neck of the woods, I’m just the girl next door.” Move teens to a different neighborhood.
