Gretchen Wilson Reveals Surprising Inspiration For ‘Redneck Woman’

Gretchen Wilson has revealed the inspiration for her career-making song “Redneck Woman.”

The country music star said in a recent interview that it all started during a conversation with country music singer-songwriter John Rich.

Rich had worked as a songwriter and producer for many artists. He co-wrote the No. 1 hits “Redneck Woman” for Wilson and “Mississippi Girl” for Faith Hill.

“The day that we wrote ‘Redneck Woman’ was a day that John and I were sitting around watching country music videos and Faith Hill’s ‘Breathe’ was on,” Wilson told Taste of Country. “She’s gorgeous. She looks like a supermodel. She’s rolling around in satin sheets. And that was the inspiration behind ‘Redneck Woman.'”

“I looked at John and said, ‘This is probably never gonna happen for me because I’ll never look like that, and I’ll never be that. That is just not the kind of woman I am,'” she added. “He looked at me [and asked], ‘Well, what kind of woman are you then?’ And I said, ‘I’m a redneck woman.’ Then he said, ‘What’s the matter with that?'” Wilson continued. “We, at that moment, decided to be as authentic as we could about that kind of a woman, and I felt like it was a responsibility almost at that point to speak to those girls who felt like me.”

“Redneck Woman,” a song from Wilson’s album Here for the Party, hit No. 1 on country radio. The 2004 album sold 5 million copies.

(Photo: John VanderHaagen)