John Deere Green

"John Deere Green"
Single by Joe Diffie
from the album Honky Tonk Attitude
B-side	"Somewhere Under the Rainbow"
Released	November 8, 1993
Recorded	1993
Genre	Country
Length	4:32 (album version)
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	Dennis Linde
Producer(s)	Bob Montgomery Johnny Slate
Joe Diffie singles chronology
"Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)" (1993) "John Deere Green" (1993) "In My Own Backyard" (1994)

"John Deere Green" is a song written by Dennis Linde, and recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie. It was released in November 1993 as the third single from his album Honky Tonk Attitude. The song peaked at number 5 on the country charts.

Content

The song is a moderate up-tempo describing a boy named Billy Bob, who is in love with a girl named Charlene, both of whom "met in high school in the (19)60s". One night, he hauls a can of "John Deere green" paint to the top of a water tower and paints the words "Billy Bob loves Charlene," as well as an outline of a heart, on the tower. The second verse describes the two of them raising a family on an 80-acre farm that they purchased (with a front yard from which Billy Bob’s water tower decorations are viewable), while the bridge reveals that the heart and words continue to remain intact on the tower, despite efforts by the town to erase them.

Radio version

Diffie recorded a new version of "John Deere Green" for radio airplay. This version includes a more electronic-sounding drum track (it is unknown whether a drum machine or an electronic drum kit was used in this recording) as well as Diffie's vocal sounding slightly different from that of the album version. The radio version also eliminates the album version's second instrumental break and fourth refrain by immediately proceeding to the song's outro.

Later versions

The most notable later version of the song is by the Norwegian band Hellbillies. Their version, "Bondeblå" (a light blue color named after the farmers' blue overalls) from the album Drag (1996) tells about a boy on his first time service in the Norwegian military who insists on wearing a blue knitted sweater and matching hat that his mother knitted for him over his uniform, and how the other soldiers mistreat him, making him do their chores and bugging him consistently. However, in time he turns out fine and ends up as a highly ranked officer in the Norwegian army.

Chart positions

Chart (1993–1994)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)	6
US Billboard Hot 100	69
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)	5

Year-end charts

Chart (1994)	Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)	75
US Country Songs (Billboard)	47

References

• Allmusic

External links

• Template:MetroLyrics song