“Sorry You Asked?” (1995) – Dwight Yoakam * Written by Dwight Yoakam * Produced by Pete Anderson * CD: Gone * Label: Reprise * Billboard charts: #59 (Country)
Never a proper establishment country artist, Dwight Yoakam caught the US country airwaves via the west coast a la Buck and Merle. He was a honky tonk dance floor top ten regular during the first eight years of his discography (1986-1993), which included a bad-press fling with Basic Instinct-era Sharon Stone. His 1995 Gone album, though, would be the first one in the cult-country, low-to-no charting realm where he still abides. The leadoff track had big fun with his new rep as a crappy romantic partner, and stands as the world’s funniest breakup song. No other country radio offering before (or elsewhere, even Bob Dylan’s “Ballad in Plain D,” which also featured a meddling sister) contained such diagnostic lyrics as “well, we started having problems…” The mariachi trumpet comes off more as vindictive “Understand Your Man” Yoakam hokum than as “Ring of Fire” nostalgia. The trashed-up relationship scenario would become a comfortable go-to theme for Dwight in later songs like “Santa Can’t Stay” (1997) and “Intentional Heartache” (2005) (and his role as a full blown antagonist in the 1996 Sling Blade film monkeys with the persona), but “Sorry You Asked?” was the masterpiece.