“Superman“
Donna Fargo
Written by Donna Fargo
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
April 21, 1973
Donna Fargo spits such fire on this missive across her husband’s bow that you almost feel bad for him, until you remember he’s the producer and he added those space movie sound effects at the end that keep the song from perfection!
And this song is all about perfection: the unrealistic expectation of it, put on women in general and wives in particular, and how the expectation rest on the erroneous assumption that perfection is not only possible, but already present in the husband.
Fargo built an entire song around the derisively calling her husband a superhero, making clear in her ferocious delivery that she’s actually calling him a hypocrite.
And it works because she still so clearly loves him and is just slapping some sense into him. She’s working her heart out to be perfect for him already, and she’d like a little bit of consideration for her efforts, thank you very much.
It reminds me of the sitcom Roseanne of all things. Early on, the titular star fired most of the writing room. Her issue? They kept writing belittling jokes for her to say to Dan. They didn’t understand that she loved her husband and would never belittle him. She’ll still break his chops, though, if he isn’t doing his part.
Fargo has that same spirit on this track, which ironically gains its only imperfection from the production efforts of the song’s own titular character.
“Superman” gets a B+.
Every No. 1 Single of the Seventies
Previous: Charley Pride, “A Shoulder to Cry On” |
Next: Charlie Rich, “Behind Closed Doors”
For a decade that had so many classics this would be average at best. Very surprised this made it to the top. “C-“
I got a 20th Century greatest hits of Donna Fargo’s and this one was one of my favorites off the set. Silly lyrics aside, I loved singing the chorus and thought the production was awesome and awfully funky for a country music single.
Not the greatest song in the world but I personally will gladly listen when it comes on.