“I know you ain’t in love with him, break up with him.”

So, this is where we’re at now? I really do not understand why pop-country has become the mating call of the douchebag. The above quote is the tagline from a song by Old Dominion called, “Break Up With Him.” This is a song in which some guy, let’s assume he’s wearing pre-worn jeans and a sparkly shirt, is endeavoring to convince a lady, presumably in a troubled relationship, that she does not love her boyfriend and that she should leave him and come over to this ingrates place. What an asshole.

How about you mind your own business and keep out of other people’s affairs?  Hey, sometimes the ties the bind get a little loose, but no real gentleman would consider purposefully breaking up a relationship. Couples have trouble all the time. That does not give every insolent troglodyte within Tinder range the go-ahead to encroach on a precarious couple. I bet he wears flip flops with long pants. Douchewad.

Okay, I got that out. So let’s look at the bigger picture here. What does this say about the general attitude we harbor towards relationships? Is this the kind of decorum we want to imbue into our young people regarding how to treat and respect others? Sure, there’s tons of irreverent behavior romanticized in music. It just seems like other people’s relationships should be hallowed ground. Is nothing sacred!

Mind Your Own Business is a sentiment we find far back as the titular Hank Williams song and is echoed as current as “Biscuits” by Kacey Musgraves.

Before all you fella’s that like this song get hotheaded, (we wouldn’t want you to melt the gel in your spikey hair and burn your eyes), let me address cheating songs. Yes, cheating songs are a tale as old as time in country music. Notwithstanding, I don’t recall a song in which it was glorified. Hank Jr and Waylon never sang a cheating song where the cheater later told all his buddies about it while they high fived and ordered another round of vegas-bombs without tipping. No, old school cheating songs were the laments of guilty souls.

I learned a lot from the music of my youth. How to drink, how to be witty, how to write, how to love, how to stop- collaborate- and listen. I also learned a lot about what not to do. The advice of tortured lyrics ring through my conscience whenever I meet with a moral conundrum. Maybe this song is a warning on how not to act. In that case I’m back on board.

Furthermore I belie---hold on, my ex-girlfriend just texted me. “...got into a fight….he’s an ass….need a drink….”  You know what guys? I’m going to have to get back to you.