Jeannie C. Riley – Harper Valley P.T.A.

todayOctober 15, 2020 2181 9 2

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Harper Valley P.T.A. is a single from the album with the same title from 1968, by Jannie C. Riley. Charted #1 in US and #12 in UK.

“Harper Valley P.T.A.” is a country song written by Tom T. Hall which in 1968 became a major international hit single for country singer Jeannie C. Riley. Riley’s record, her debut, sold over six million copies as a single, and it made her the first woman to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.S. Hot Country Singles charts with the same song (but not at the same time), a feat that would not be repeated until Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” 13 years later in 1981. It was also Riley’s only Top 40 pop hit.

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The country singer Margie Singleton asked Tom T. Hall to write her a song similar to “Ode To Billie Joe,” which she had covered the previous year. After driving past a school called Harpeth Valley Elementary School in Bellevue, Tennessee, he noted the name and wrote “Harper Valley P.T.A.” about a fictional confrontation between a young widow Stella Johnson and a local PTA group who objected to her manner of dress, social drinking, and friendliness with town’s men folk. Jeannie C. Riley, who was working as a secretary in Nashville for Jerry Chesnut, got to hear the song and recorded it herself and it became a massive hit for her.

A “PTA” is a Parent Teacher Association. Popular in small towns of the United States, the organizations work to improve school conditions and encourage communication between parents and teachers. In some cases, the members of PTAs can be righteous and petty, and the characters in this song are depicted as such. The song struck a nerve with many women who felt some empathy with the character Stella Johnson.

This proved to be Riley’s only major Pop hit single, though she had further success on the Country charts. In the mid-’70s Riley became a Christian and began recording on the God’s Country label. In 1981, she recorded the gospel album From Harper Valley To The Mountain Top. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, she continued to be a popular contemporary Christian recording and performing artist.

This hit inspired a 1978 film and a 1981 spin-off television series, both starring Barbara Eden playing Stella Johnson.

Jeannie C. Riley - Harper Valley P.T.A.
Jeannie C. Riley - Harper Valley P.T.A.

“Harper Valley P.T.A.” este o melodie compusă de Tom T. Hall, care a devenit hit internațional în 1968, pentru Jeannie C. Riley. D. Discul s-a vândut în peste 6 milioane de exemplare.

Jeannie C. Riley a primit un Grammy pentru această melodie, la categoria “Best Country Vocal Performance, Female”.

Jeannie cântă d-na Johnson, o văduvă care are o fiică elevă în  anul 2 de liceu, care vine acasă cu o notă scrisă de secretara de la PTA (Parent-Teacher Association), pentru mama ei,  precum că are fusta prea scurtă, consumă alcool și flirtează cu mulți bărbați. Enervată la culme, d-na Johnson să decide să vorbească cu cei de la PTA.

Spre supriză celor de la PTA, care aveau o ședința, d-na Johnson apare într-o fustă mini, și începe să povestească de indiscretiile membrilor, mulți fiind prezenți la ședință. Membrii aveau tot felul de indiscreții și relații, iar în final d-na Johnsons, le spune că sânt ipocriți.

Jeannie C. Riley - Harper Valley P.T.A.

Versuri:
I wanna tell you all the story ’bout
A Harper Valley widowed wife
Who had a teenage daughter
Who attended Harper Valley Junior High
Well, her daughter came home one afternoon
And didn’t even stop to play
And she said, “mom, I got a note here from the Harper Valley PTA”
Well, the note said, “Mrs. Johnson
You’re wearin’ your dresses way too high
It’s reported you’ve been drinking
And a-running round with men and goin’ wild
And we don’t believe you oughta be a-bringin’ up
Your little girl this way”
And it was signed by the Secretary
Harper Valley PTA
Well, it happened that the PTA was gonna meet
That very afternoon
And they were sure surprised
When Mrs. Johnson wore her miniskirt into the room
And as she walked up to the blackboard
I can still recall the words she had to say
She said, “I’d like to address this meeting of the Harper Valley PTA
Well, there’s Bobby Taylor sittin’ there
And seven times he’s asked me for a date
And Mrs. Taylor sure seems to use a lotta ice
Whenever he’s away
And Mr. Baker can you tell us why
Your secretary had to leave this town?
And shouldn’t widow Jones be told to keep
Her window shades all pulled completely down
Well, Mr. Harper couldn’t be here
‘Cause he stayed too long at Kelly’s Bar again
And if you smell Shirley Thompson’s breath
You’ll find she’s had a little nip of gin
And then you have the nerve to tell me
You think that as a mother I’m not fit
Well, this is just a little Peyton Place
And you’re all Harper Valley hypocrites”
No, I wouldn’t put you on because it really did
It happened just this way
The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley PTA
The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley PTA

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