For a Song: Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)

BR5-49: Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)

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Things are kind of serious around here, as we await the arrival of Hurricane Irene on Saturday. So I wanted to lighten the mood. To my ear, Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts) could not be more of a country song. But, even though BR5-49 recorded the song for Arista Nashville, they received minimal support from the label. The lyrics tell of a former punk rocker gone country, and the tongue is firmly in cheek. But the idea is not really that far fetched. There was a musical sub-genre in the 1980s and 90s known as cow punk. Jason and the Scorchers and Rank and File were two of the better known bands in this category. Also, John Doe and Exene Cervenka of the punk band X went on to form The Knitters as a side project, and an outlet for their form of country. So I find it easy to imagine that fans of punk might have traveled the same road. Little Ramona dons leather boots and western wear as a rebellion from the conformity of punk fashion. I find the irony of that irresistible. From Monty Python’s Life of Bryan: “Yes, we are all individuals!” “Eh, I’m not.”