My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died

"My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died"
Single by Roger Miller
from the album Words and Music
B-side "You're My Kingdom"
Released September 1966
Format 7" single
Genre Pop
Label Smash Records
Songwriter(s) Roger Miller
Roger Miller singles chronology
"You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd"
(1966)		 "My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died"
(1966)		 "Heartbreak Hotel"
(1966)

"You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd"
(1966)		 "My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died"
(1966)		 "Heartbreak Hotel"
(1966)

"My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died" is a 1966 song by Roger Miller. It was the fourth of four singles released from Miller's fourth LP, Words and Music, all of which became U.S. Top 40 Country hits.

Chart history

The song became a hit in the U.S. on both the Billboard Hot 100 (#58) and Country (#39) charts. On Cash Box it reached #45.[1] The song was a bigger hit in Canada, where it peaked at number 26 on the Pop singles chart.[2]

Lyrical content

In "My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died," Miller employs a series of curious word pictures to depict the love between himself and his late uncle. These include:

  • "Keep on the sunny side," implying an easy, carefree life and happy days of youth, which according to the lyrics involve good food, fun attractions, cheap pleasures, and free rides since he has no ride of his own yet.
  • An "illustrated guide," cheap keys, a man kissing an "alligator," as well as "chicken" and "lickin'." Chicken is gay parlance for very young men. Fried chicken suggests a coming of age, while the need for a guide implies youth and inexperience.
  • "Apples are for eatin' and snakes are for hissin'; I've heard about a-huggin' and I've heard about kissin'." The snake and apple are Garden of Eden imagery, suggesting pleasurable temptations.

The veiled but very suggestive imagery and happy sound of the song along with the blunt and provocative title portraying his uncle as a "she" imply possibly losing his virginity to his uncle and also enjoying the experience on an ongoing basis.

Chart performance

Chart (1966) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 79
Canada RPM Top Singles [3] 26
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [4] 58
U.S. Billboard Country 39
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [5] 45

References

  1. ↑ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 8, 1966
  2. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1966-10-10. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  3. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1966-10-10. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  4. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  5. ↑ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 8, 1966
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