About The Song
Country singer Jeannie C. Riley’s 1968 sassy country-pop track about a slut-shamed single mom who clap-backed hard at her haters titled “Harper Valley PTA” was the singer’s biggest career hit.
First, it scored her the number one spot on both country and pop charts, making her the first woman to do so. She owned that feat until Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” duplicated the success in 1981. Second, it won her the 1968 Grammy Award for Best Country and Western Vocal Performance and a CMA Award for Single of the Year. It also earned nominations in the pop genre.
Decades later, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and was included in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.”
“Harper Valley PTA” tells the story of a mini-skirt-loving single mom named Mrs. Johnson, who was slut shamed by the holier-than-thou members of the Parent Teacher Association through a letter. The note said that she wore her dresses way too high. She drank and ran wild around with men, and they didn’t think she should be raising her little girl that way.
The most insulting part was that they had her teenage daughter deliver it to her. So, she showed up at one PTA meeting, sporting her trademark miniskirt, and called them out on their hypocrisy one by one.
According to the song’s writer, Tom T. Hall, it was actually based on a true story. Back when he was a child, around 8 or 9, there was the same free-spirited mom of one of his classmates in their small town of Olive Hill in Kentucky.
The local school board didn’t approve of her “modern ways,” and they were taking out their frustrations on her daughter. So she, too, showed up at a PTA meeting and berated every member for their indiscretions – an unheard move of that time.
He said, “I never thought anyone would say, ‘Hey, I’m doing OK. Leave me alone.’” He then wrote the song 20 years later.
There were a couple of cultural references that Hall injected into the song. The short hemlines were in reference to the miniskirt and mini-dress that were gaining popularity then. Peyton Place was a TV show based on a small town that hides its scandals and moral hypocrisy behind a placid facade. It was in its fourth season when the song was released. Lastly, the song’s final line was a popular catchphrase from Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.
In 1968, women were still miles behind in rights, and the song perfectly tapped into their anger toward society’s double standards. It was a sassy wake-up call that no one should put people down simply because of their appearance.
Video
Lyrics
I wanna tell you all a story ’bout
A Harper Valley widowed wife
Who had a teenage daughter
Who attended Harper Valley Junior High
Well, her daughter came home one afternoon
And didn’t even stop to play
And she said, “mom, I got a note here from the Harper Valley PTA”
Well, the note said, “Mrs. Johnson
You’re wearin’ your dresses way too high
It’s reported you’ve been drinking
And a-running ’round with men and goin’ wild
And we don’t believe you oughta be a-bringin’ up
Your little girl this way”
And it was signed by the Secretary
Harper Valley PTA
Well, it happened that the PTA was gonna meet
That very afternoon
And they were sure surprised
When Mrs. Johnson wore her miniskirt into the room
And as she walked up to the blackboard
I can still recall the words she had to say
She said, “I’d like to address this meeting of the Harper Valley PTA
Well, there’s Bobby Taylor sittin’ there
And seven times he’s asked me for a date
And Mrs. Taylor sure seems to use a lotta ice
Whenever he’s away
And Mr. Baker can you tell us why
Your secretary had to leave this town?
And shouldn’t widow Jones be told to keep
Her window shades all pulled completely down
Well, Mr. Harper couldn’t be here
‘Cause he stayed too long at Kelly’s Bar again
And if you smell Shirley Thompson’s breath
You’ll find she’s had a little nip of gin
And then you have the nerve to tell me
You think that as the mother I’m not fit
Well, this is just a little Peyton Place
And you’re all Harper Valley hypocrites”
No, I wouldn’t put you on because it really did
It happened just this way
The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley PTA
The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley PTA