Following a string of successes, Garth Brooks’ “Papa Loved Mama” was released in 1992 as the fourth single from his album Ropin’ the Wind. The song went on to reach No. 3 on the Billboard Country Songs chart.
Written by Garth Brooks and songwriter Kim Williams, “Papa Loved Mama” may seem like a love song between a couple – but as you listen to it, you’ll soon find out there’s a dark end to the story.
It is told from the perspective of a trucker’s son who recalled the challenges his parents had to face. As a trucker, his father had to spend most of his time away from home, so it was impossible for him to take care of his wife’s needs. Even though he checked on her from time to time, “she needed more to hold than just a telephone.”
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Sadly, their inconvenient situation led her into another man’s arms.
The story intensified one evening as the son’s father came home to surprise his wife with roses and wine – only to find their children home alone while his wife was nowhere to be found. The son recalled how he heard his father smashed the wine bottle against the wall before storming out of their home.
He sped off in his truck until he found his wife with her lover at a local motel, and “he never hit the brakes, and he was shifting gears.” It turned out the boy’s father killed his mother in a fit of jealous rage, something he saw coming all along.
Truly, this is one of Garth Brooks’ songs that helped his third studio album Ropin’ the Wind to enter the Billboard 200 chart and the Top Country Albums chart at No. 1 – making it the first album by a country singer to top both of these charts since more than a decade earlier.
Make sure to listen to “Papa Loved Mama” by Garth Brooks in the video below.