Let me recommend Mary Chapin Carpenter. I'm sure some of you are already fans, but she is truly a fantastic artist and person. She's even more liberal than the Chicks, and talented as hell to boot.
This is probably my favorite performance of hers. It took place at the 1993 Country Music Awards, where she sang the song "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" accompanied by *six* of country music's most amazing female superstars--Emmylou Harris, Kathy Mattea, Suzy Bogguss, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, and Pam Tillis.
On a more personal level, this is one of my favorite "housecleaning" songs. It's upbeat and sassy enough to keep me from feeling tired too quickly. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2v-Cgk-rm4Lyrics (because the video is old, and the clarity isn't perfect)
He Thinks He'll Keep HerShe makes his coffee
She makes his bed
She does the laundry
She keeps him fed
When she was twenty-one, she wore her mother's lace
She said 'forever' with a smile upon her face
She does the carpool
She PTA's
Doctors and dentists
She drives all day
When she was 29, she delivered number three
And every Christmas card showed a perfect family
Everything runs right on time
Years of practice and design
Spit and polished 'til it shines
(He thinks he'll keep her)
Everything is so benign
The safest place you'll ever find
God forbid you change your mind
(He thinks he'll keep her)
She packs his suitcase
She sits and waits
With no expression
Upon her face
When she was thirty-six, she met him at their door
She said 'I'm sorry, I don't love you anymore'
Everything runs right on time
Years of practice and design
Spit and polished 'til it shines
(He thinks he'll keep her)
Everything is so benign
The safest place you'll ever find
God forbid you change your mind
(He thinks he'll keep her)
For fifteen years she had a job, and not one raise in pay
Now she's in the typing pool at minimum wage
Everything runs right on time
Years of practice and design
Spit and polished 'til it shines
(He thinks he'll keep her)
Everything is so benign
The safest place you'll ever find
At least until you change your mind
(He thinks he'll keep her)
:hi: