Should You Love Him or Leave Him? Ask Tammy Wynette!

Some of you "out there" may be contemplating a divorce and thinking, should I "love him or leave him?" Deciding whether or not to divorce can be a difficult decision to make. No doubt, there are many factors weighing on your decision. And everyone should understand that deciding whether or not to divorce is a very personal question, to be answered only by you, and not by any relatives or friends, and certainly not by divorce lawyers or judges.

On a lighter note, did you know that country music legend, Tammy Wynette, the "First Lady of Country Music," helped write and sang, in 1968, two songs which address both sides of this issue? The first song, "Stand By Your Man," was reportedly co-written by Ms. Wynette and producer Billy Sherrill in an Epic studio in only fifteen minutes. This legendary song, which went against the grain of the womens' liberation movement, suggested that a woman should love and "stand by [her] man," no matter what faults he possessed. On the other hand, Wynette's other top song that year, "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," suggested that sometimes a woman must leave her man.

I don't mean to make light of difficult decisions being made by men and women everywhere about whether or not to get a divorce. But it is interesting to remember that, in 1968, one country music legend produced songs going in both directions!