Ballad of ol' betsy a car or a woman?

[joshferrell]

I know it's about a car  but when I listen to it I can't help to think it's about a woman,it just seems funnier that way and it makes me laugh lol. anyone else have that experience? if not try listening to it as if it's about a woman and I think you'll get why I think it's so funny.. it's almost like they did it on purpose. especially the "she's seen them come and go" line 

[Sheriff John Stone]

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Brian was good at that. "Don't Worry Baby" was a car-oriented song that was also a love song. In some ways "Spirit Of America" has a similar feel. It's about a car and driver, but it almost sounds like a love song.

[Manchini]

I've thought that too. But I can't accept it as a love song. It doesn't strike me as being about infatuation or break-ups. Instead, I see it more as being about inevitable loss: death. In other words, I can see it being about the death of a mother or grandmother. I mean, they just sound so choked up at the end!

But it's most likely just about a car. goshdarn 'er, it's sad though.

[Eireannach]

It certainly makes the line about "taking a beating" take on a whole different slant.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Brian was good at that. "Don't Worry Baby" was a car-oriented song that was also a love song.

Think you mean "Roger Christian was good at that".

[brother john]

I know it's about a car  but when I listen to it I can't help to think it's about a woman,it just seems funnier that way and it makes me laugh lol. anyone else have that experience? if not try listening to it as if it's about a woman and I think you'll get why I think it's so funny.. it's almost like they did it on purpose. especially the "she's seen them come and go" line 

For heaven's sake... the whole point of this song is that it is using the posited conceit of car/woman 'ambiguity' as a joke/ironic comment.

The sad thing is that back in 1960something there would have been people who wouldn't have raised an eyebrow at Betsy taking 'some beatings'. But what is almost as sad is that it isn't totally bloody obvious today that the car/woman is supposed to be interchangeable...

Gah...

[Fro]

That's the point.  Good songwriters try to make songs that can be taken in different ways by people.

[Al Jardine: Pick Up Artist]

By Dan Meth.

Doesn't explicitly mention Ballad of Ol' Betsy, but has to do with the mixing stuff.

[jamsvet]

Sounds like some of you have never loved a car. I could have written an ode to my 63 Split Window.

[37!ws]

It's quite clear that Ole' [how the foda they got THAT spelling I'll never know] Betsy is a WOMAN. Why, they say so in the lyrics:

"Betsy was a lady and that she will remain."

Can't be any clearer than that.

And Love Is A Woman.

Therefore, Mike Love's real name is Betsy.

[lance]

The song is about a car but you are meant to think its about a woman. 'Betsy was a lady and that she will remain, Betsy took some beatings but she never once complained.'

That sh*t is hilarious.

[drbeachboy]

Seriously? Come on guys! Most people refer to their cars in the feminine. My father called his 48 Chevy "Betsy" even before the song was released. People did that back then. As for beatings, the car was not taken care of by it's former owner(s). That is what you said when a car had bad paint or rust, torn interior and dings on the body. The car in the song is 30-31 years old. That is why she (the car) is referred to as a "Lady".

[lance]

Uh. we know

Unless you are saying that the intentional ambiguity is not an intentional, humorous device; in which case, you're wrong.

[drbeachboy]

Uh. we know

Unless you are saying that the intentional ambiguity is not an intentional, humorous device; in which case, you're wrong.

It's hard to tell in here sometimes, you know? If it is humor, it feels of the "Dumb and Dumber" kind. I suppose my age has me at a disadvantage identifying the humor of today's times. It's not always that humorous.  

[lance]

No, I meant the humor in the song.
Yeah, though, I will freely admit that my own sense of humour, while healthy, alive and kicking, sucks monkey balls.

[drbeachboy]

No, I meant the humor in the song.
Yeah, though, I will freely admit that my own sense of humour, while healthy, alive and kicking, sucks monkey balls.

Growing up in the 60s, that song was serious about how people felt about their cars, especially cars that were restored from scratch or tricked out. I never found any humor in the song. I suspect young people today don't feel that way now. They just trade it in for a new one.

[jamsvet]

Cars meant something back in the day. It's hard to get nostalgic about a Jetta.

[doing]

I don't see how it can't be both a car AND a woman. You guys ever see Christine?

[lance]

No, I meant the humor in the song.
Yeah, though, I will freely admit that my own sense of humour, while healthy, alive and kicking, sucks monkey balls.

Growing up in the 60s, that song was serious about how people felt about their cars, especially cars that were restored from scratch or tricked out. I never found any humor in the song. I suspect young people today don't feel that way now. They just trade it in for a new one.

Well, obviously I can't prove it, and Christian is dead so he can't tell us but I think that the humorous ambiguity in the lyrics is intentional.