| "Simple Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Charlie Daniels | ||||
| from the album Simple Man | ||||
| Released | August 1989 | |||
| Genre | Country, Southern Rock | |||
| Length | 3:24 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Writer(s) | Charlie Daniels, Taz DiGregorio, Gavin, Charles Hayward | |||
| Producer | James Stroud | |||
| Charlie Daniels singles chronology | ||||
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"Simple Man", is the title of a song written and recorded by the Charlie Daniels Band. It was released in August 1989 as the lead single from their 1989 album of the same name Simple Man. [1]
The song is the lament of a self-proclaimed honest man, who expresses frustration at barely getting by despite making an honest living, while dishonest politicians and criminals are allowed to get away with anything. Expressing frustration at a judicial system that he believes is too lenient with drug dealers, rapists and child abusers, he suggests more severe forms of justice, such as hanging ("I'd take a big tall tree and a short piece of rope/I'd hang 'em up high and let 'em swing 'til the sun goes down") and allowing swamp animals such as alligators to eat convicted criminals ("Just take them rascals out in the swamp/Put 'em on their knees and tie 'em to a stump/Let the rattlers and the bugs and the alligators do the rest"). The man blames a society that has foresaken God and as a result has become a lawless society, then reaffirms his support of the death penalty for the most severe crimes ("The Good Book says it so I know it's the truth/An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth").
The music video was directed by Larry Boothby and premiered in late 1989.
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 12 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 15 |