The Philosophy of Modern Song: Cheaper to Keep Her

By Tony Attwood

Prelude:  I tried at first to write a set of reviews of Dylan’s “Philosophy” book but I found I really couldn’t do it – so I then started to ask if anyone else would like to try, but no one came forth.   (And to be clear I mean, come forth by reviewing what Dylan says about the songs, not primarily about the songs themselves).

Thus with no offers on the table, I am now writing reviews not of the book but of the songs that Bob chose to include in the book, and doing so totally from my own perspective.  If nothing else, it gives you a chance to hear the occasional song that Bob chose, which perhaps you might not have heard before, and maybe you might wish to consider your own thoughts on why Bob included each particular song.

So now we have “Cheaper to Keep Her” – which is a song I have never heard before today – although quite possibly that is because I have lived most of my life in England and I guess it was never heard on UK radio.   And I’ll also admit to ignorance about the performer too.   But let’s start with the song.

It has a jazz-blues feel but uses the chords that can be found in a classic 12 bar blues.  And here’s my second admission, I find the notion that any person and/or relationship is to be reduced to finance as offensive.

So quite clearly this is not a song that appeals to me, although the music stripped of the lyrics has a nice swing to it.   Add to this the fact that before today I didn’t know about Johnnie Harrison Taylor who was born in 1934 and passed away in 2000, and you can quite reasonably conclude I’m in unknown lands.

And that might well have you shuddering and leaving this page, not least because I had to look it up to discover that the singer has had a number of hits in the USA, including “Disco Lady” which reached number 1.  If it was a hit in England, I missed it, not least because around this time I was living in Algeria, so I’ll use that excuse to explain my ignorance.

But of course my ignorance counts for nought for this track, I have found out today, sold over 2.5 million copies in the USA and Cashbox made it the number 1 song of the year.

Taylor started out as a gospel singer and was in a group with Sam Cooke early on, and it has been said that his voice was very similar to that of Sam Cooke.    He also later recorded with Booker T and the MGs, and had a number of hits both on the Hot 100 chart and in the R&B chart, including “Cheaper to Keep Her”.

Wiki tells me that “Taylor, along with Isaac Hayes and The Staple Singers, was one of the label’s flagship artists, who were credited for keeping the company afloat in the late 1960s and early 1970s after the death of its biggest star, Otis Redding…”

The site also tells me that “Stax billed Johnnie Taylor as ‘The Philosopher of Soul’.  He was also known as,”the Blues Wailer.”

And although it is not relevant to the music, I must admit I was fascinated to read of the singer’s “highly complex personal life” which apparently was not revealed until after his demise, particularly in Rolling Stone, and which led to difficulties in allocating how much of his subsequent royalties each of his numerous heirs should receive.  And this is not me just digging around in the dirt, at least I don’t think so, but due to the fact that the song in question has the title “Cheaper to Keep Her”.   I haven’t really studied the situation, but reading about his multiple children with different mothers, the song does take on a new meaning.

But to be clear “Cheaper to keep her” was not written by Taylor but by Mack Rice.

When your little girl make you mad
And you get an attitude and pack your bags
Five little children that you're leaving behind
Son, you're gonna pay some alimony or do some time

That's why it's cheaper to keep her
Help me say it, y'all
It's cheaper to keep her (it's cheaper to keep her)
See, when you get through staring that judge in the face
You're gonna wanna cuss the whole human race
That's why it's cheaper to keep her (it's cheaper to keep her)
(It's cheaper to keep her)
(It's cheaper, it's cheaper, it's cheaper, it's cheaper)
(It's cheaper to keep her)

You didn't pay but two dollars to bring the little girl home
Now you're about to pay two thousand to leave her alone
You see another woman out there and you wanna make a change
She ain't gonna want you 'cause you won't have a damn thing

• Detroit City
• Take Me from This Garden of Evil
• Pump it up
• There stands the glass
• Waist Deep in the Big Muddy
• My Generation and Desolation Row
• Dirty Life and Times
• The Philosophy of Modern Song: “Old Violin” by Johnny Paycheck