This crap still happens in the deep south. I used to do airbrushed tattoos at an indoor flea market in Mississippi. A lady asked me to put a tattoo on the upper part of her left breast. I did the tattoo for her but the entire time the people in the surrounding booths were running back and forth, pointing and judging her. Once her tattoo was completed she moved on and one of them (the judgmental people) came and disparaged her for asking me (BTW I'm a man) to do that. I said the lady was a breast cancer survivor and she wanted to see if a tattoo would cover up the scar from her chemotherapy port. I told her that if I got to help her smile the next time she looked in the mirror, I did my job!

This is one of many songs written by Tom T Hall, a renown storyteller in a genre known for storytelling. When this song was written dresses were much higher all over. "Miniskirts" were quite popular. Too much ice = too much drinking, secretary left cause she got pregnant, and "Peyton Place" was a soap opera with everybody sleeping around.

As a widow, she moved into a small town and she was beautiful and the rumors started flying ! The married women were worried she would be a distraction to their husbands ! As the rumors got more caustic she took things into her own hands and confronted the hypocrites in town at the PTA meeting !

I remember when this came out. I still remember all the words to this song. Thanks for another cool reaction! 🔥☮️❤️👵🏼

Sometimes I forget how old I am (65) when I just can't believe someone hasn't heard a certain song before....it always takes me by surprise...and then I remember...oh yeah :( These days you don't dare B*tch at a PTA....or you get an FBI file....truth. ARMY grandma

One thing many people have missed over the years is that this song is being sung from the point of view of the daughter that brought home the note to her mother. It's not evident at first, as it's spoken from the 3rd person perspective, but at the end, she clearly states it was the day, "my momma socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A."

I heard that Jeanie C. Riley was going to receive an award for this song. She had her gown designed--a long number like they wore in the 70's. The record label wouldn't let her wear it, since she'd sang about mini skirts. She had to have her dress cut into a mini-skirt for the show. Anybody else see the irony of a song about an empowered woman, being sung by a woman who didn't even have control over what she wore?

Having been raised in a very small Midwestern town, this kind of thing was known to happen on occasion. If you wanted to talk about someone else's faults, you'd best be certain that your own closet was clear of any skeletons! Because if not, your dirty laundry was getting aired right then and there! Or as I like to say..."Those who stir the shit, should have to lick the spoon!" Lol! Great reaction! This has been a song I sang in karaoke since before I was even old enough to drink and at 51 I still love it!

The guy playing the steel guitar is fantastic.

I'm a variety cover band singer and you'd be amazed how often this is still requested and they all dance. Jeannie C Riley disappeared from the mainstream spotlight right after recording this and moved to gospel. This song was a hit on both country and pop charts.

Oh, yeah. Back in the day, small towns always gossiped about other folks business. I love this song. Things have definitely changed.

Jeannie C spilled the tea 😉

In real life. This woman is now elderly and so so sweet and kind. She lives a quiet godly life in my home town.

I was a kid when this song came out & I can still sing all the words to this song, love it!

Written by the one and only Tom T Hall. Another song on these lines "The Lord Knows I'm Drinking" - Cal Smith

I believe the proper expression for what you were trying to convey is "Remove the log from your eye before complaining about the splinter in mine." Or, "Don't throw rocks when you live in a glass house." Love the reaction, btw.

Love this song! Same era/same hairstyle/same story telling, but more intense, is Bobbie Gentry's Ode to Billy Joe. That is STILL my earworm often after all these decades. They even made a movie out of it with Robbie Benson.

Seen her sing this live in the early 80s. She was adorable.

This was one of my favorite songs as a kid - love it and your reactions. LOL

To understand this song, you need to know what family values were popular and in force when it was written. Love this song.

Always loved this song. This was back in time when times were definitely changing. Men and boys wore crew cuts and women and girls wore their dresses no shorter than an inch above the knee. Single mothers we're frowned upon as if it was their fault their husbands left them. Then boom, men were wearing long hair styles and women were wearing short skirts and some even wore pants to school. Older folks didn't take too kindly to the change . I remember the first time the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, us kids laughed at their long hair and my parents agreed these funny looking young men weren't going to go very far. Times sure have changed.

Love this song when it first came out and still to this day.

Love this song. An woman wears miniskirts that are the current fashion. Scandalous! There was a TV movie based on this song.

She was one of my favorites growing up! Listened to the 8 track and album all of the time!!

Take the time to Google or whatever search engine you prefer and check out Jeanie C. Riley, her home town is Anson Texas, my friend, I live in Anson Texas and have met her once, lovely lady can't say enough about her. She had many songs published like this that spoke of the life and struggles of the common folk.

This song was another aspect of the 60s revolution, and it was played and referenced everywhere. Tom T Hall, RIP, was a great songwriter. This aspect was a revolt against the hypocritical demands by the establishment that everyone act publicly in accordance with the establishment morality. I remember my mother and neighbor ladies sitting around only a couple of years earlier talking about another local woman who frequently wore pants -- even to church! She was clearly a hussy! (Which was a polite word for a street walker, which of course is also a euphemism.)

Anyone who grew up in a small town can appreciate.

There is a second to this song made years later by her. It is just as great need to listen to it to.

That was the song that put Tom T Hall on the map. That song took over the country. Now EVERYONE wanted to see what else Tom T wrote.

I remember playing this record on the record player when I was a kid. It was my mom's record but we played it often along with a couple of Nancy Sinatra LPs.

This is actually a movie, a VERY enjoyable watch 😄

Mama went and dropped a diss track at that PTA meeting. Lol Your expressions were cracking me up. One of my faves!!! Also one my “if I had the guts to karaoke this is one of the songs I would do” songs. 😝

Something else to keep in mind is that this song was written, during the Vietnam War, and most of the young widows in the country were War Widows. A lot of the small town older generation expected those ladies to spend the rest of their lives mourning their dead husbands--not go out and find a new love....Like some sort of creepy living memorial....like they did Jackie Kennedy--It's why so many trash-talked her when she married Onasis..

This song rocks, love it!

5oyrs later and still makes me smile thanks my friend

As others have commented. This was written by Tom T. Hall. He was a gifted song writer and singer. I'd suggest reacting to one of his songs. Some good options: "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died" "Faster Horses" "Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine"

I cant wait to see your reactio n on this song..... hahaha just what I expected from you lol. How times have changed.

Classic 💖🎶

You nailed it. This song inspired a movie too that was cute in it's own way. This song is on my own play list just because it's a fun one sing along to.

I also remember when this came out and it still is funny today! It's as easy to understand now as it was then!

I'm sure it's hard for all you young'ins to believe, but in 1968 Women's Lib was just getting started. Burning bras and mini skirts were still revolutionary in those days. In my own school system girls were not allowed to wear pants until 1970.

Another great reaction and comments! Love this song!

She marched in wearing her miniskirt and read them for filth!! 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻

My cousin and I used to act out this song in the living room back in the day.

My favorite song when I was a kid!

So this was a TV Show as well with Barbara Eden. Loved that show. I hate never entered a PTA meeting without singing this and wanting to walk in looking like a hussy.

One of my all time favorite songs because it exposes the hypocrisy of the judgmental people. It came out in 1969 and it’s full of the lingo of the time. My favorite is when she says my mama “socked” it to the PTA.😂

I loved this movie as a kid!! (And the SHORT LIVED tv show)

She puts them all in line

Written by Tom T. Hall from Olive Hill KY.. If anyone ever lived there they would understand this song. Small town politics.

My family owned a ranch in LaJoya, Tx when this came out. We hosted trail rides on weekends. We had a family band and I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve sang this song for folks.

i remember this song coming out when I was a little kid, thought it was great.

I think people love this song because we've all been there; someone is commenting on your life, and you want so much to turn the tables and say 'let's talk about you for a bit' but she took it to the next level on them. People love to tell you what they think you should do when they can't clean up their own messes. Closest I even came to this was a 'friend' of the family said more than once (and people with a chronic illness of any sort can relate to this) that I didn't 'look' all that sick and she said, "Is this condition you supposedly have even real? I know I have never heard of it before." And one day, when I was feeling really unwell, before I could stop myself, I snapped back with, "Well, I imagine there are a lot of things you have never heard of before and a lot of things you don't know anything about." She got huffy and acted offended, but I didn't apologize, and she never commented on my health again.

The song was very popular back in the day; we've all dealt with hypocrits of the ilk being referenced in the song. Cheered on Jeannie's song 'socking it to them.' All these years later, still remembered every word of the song.

I love her voice! And this song is great. This was when country music was good!

I was a child of the 80s with a Single mom who had several boyfriends so I really loved this song as a kid.

If you like this song, you ought to watch the movie based on this song, called (intrestingly enough) “Harper Valley P.T.A.”, starring Barbara Eden (from “I Dream of Jeannie” t.v. show fame). She does an excellent portrayal of the mother!

if you notice it says "it's been rumored" she was running wild

This's song came out shortly after the modern day women's movement got its start. In some people's minds, it wasn't a good thing for women to be single parents, for women to wear mini-skirts, and for women to be strong and independent. People looked down on women like the one in this song. She got the letter from the First Self Righteous Parent Teacher Association of Harper Valley, and she went to their meeting and gave them a much deserved **** you for having the nerve to put her down when the things they were doing were much worse. The movie did a good job of fleshing the story out, and starred Barbara Eden.

A couple fun facts; one of these has been already touched on a bit: (1)This was the first country song by a female act to go #1 all genre, aka Hot 100. The second time this happened was about a decade later; Dolly, 9-5. I much prefer this real song over the other commercialized one. (2) Tom T. Hall got the idea for this song as he drove by a school called Harpeth Valley near where he lived. He changed the name(s) to protect the innocent 😆.

Written by the late great Tom T Hall 😎

One of my favorite movies as a kid

Wonderful song!!

Memories of my childhood and my mom and listening to her sing. Thanks for sharing

We ladies loved this song when it came out. BTW, “Peyton Place” was a prime time TV show with soap opera worthy plots.

I love this song. Mama be spilling all the tea.

Love that song

Having lived in small towns all over tornado alley all my life, this is a fair assessment of small town life. 😂

This was made into a movie, with Barbara Eden as the mom!

I adore her and she friended me on Facebook, I could have died!!!

I even remember they even made a movie from this song

I sang this song at my junior high school's talent show even though I had no idea what the song meant at the time! I got second place, though! Not bad for a twelve-year-old in 1978!

When I was in 7-8th grade, I attended a private Christian school. One day my mom told me that the principle wanted to meet with us. Turned out I was seen outside, at our house, in our yard, with shorts on. My mom was ticked off and informed them that what I wore outside of school was none of their business. Needless to say, I was back in public school by 9th grade.

They made a movie from the song. We have it and love it.

There's a type of parody to this song. It's called Harper Valley PTA (Later that night). It's by Sheb Wooley aka Ben Colder. You should check it out, but listen to this first, so you understand all of the references.

Yeah, I remember this ... Late 60s I think. You have to remember things were a bit different back then and the older generation saw miniskirts and go-go boots as a sinful public embarrassment . To me though, at the time on my way to Vietnam, I saw them as Dream Angels . Those days are long gone I'm afraid.

Absolutely love your honest reaction. ❤️ Another story to add to this is... By Jeannie C. Riley Return to Harper Valley PTA

I'm simply amazed that you haven't reacted to this song yet. One of the best songs of the time!

your right 70's country, this was from a movie with Barbara Eden starring, and everyone was wearing mini skirts then. Love this song, and the movie was cute!

The movie they made of this is great.

And the movie is hilarious I love it. It stars Barbara eden and Nanette fabrey

This was released the year I was born. You forget only respectable women joined pta. It was the social media of the time.

They made a movie of this song with Barbara Eden as Mrs. Johnson.

Class Warfare!

Love this

She read them all out and left it at that. Takin' care of business.

The greatest song about hypocrits ever!

There's a movie about this situation with Barbara Eden (of I Dream of Jeannie fame) as the protagonist. It's a great movie. You should check it out if you ever get a chance. 😀

They have a sequel to this song. It is excellent as well. Thanks.

She’s calling everyone out.

This was written by the great Tom T. Hall

Now you gotta react to "Return to Harper Valley" soon as possible so you don't forget the first song.

This was fun. Glad I caught it in my feed. I appreciate your appreciation of it. It was a great song back in the day.

In other words you live in a glass house don't throw rocks. There is a move based on this song, it has the same name as the song, you would really like it.

Oh yes check out the movie Harper valley PTA it's got Barbara Eden from I dream of Jeannie as a lead role and it's just like the song if you can remember the lyrics to the song then that's Harper valley PTA in a nutshell. ♥️💯

Tom T. Hall, America’s storyteller.

I have a vague memory of a Movie with this Title!

YEARS AGO 😃😃❤️❤️

I loved this song when it came out late 70s early 80s if memory serves me right still do love it. They even released a movie or a 1 season sitcom/made for tv movie based on the story of the song and kept the names and all. It's a smallish town based somewhere of the mid 60s to early 70s...a guess... The PTA was a bunch of busy bodies who tried pretending and to look like they were the elites of the town, knew what was best for everyone and everything was gold 💯, all good inside their homes and marriages, when they weren't!!! The things the ladies accused Mrs. Johnson of are all lies and/or exaggerations of things happening, and they did it to discredit, black ball and besmirch her as much as possible, because they had all had children, put on a little weight and looked the part of a house wife, while Mrs. Johnson hadn't put on any weight after having her daughter, still looked like her 18 - 33 year old self who could still wear a mini skirt and they no longer could...They were all worried they would lose their husbands to her and jealous she still looked so good!!! They had been taking little jabs at her when she was out but she ignored it until they messed with her daughter!!! Bobby Taylor has asked her at least 7 times, his wife Mrs. Taylor beside him, uses way too much ice...probably having an affair with ice man. Mr. Baker's secretary - pregnant Jones running around naked and/or haring sex where she can be seen, so close the blinds Mr. Harper is a drunkard Shirley Thompson drinking too early in the day

You should watch the movie "Harper Valley P.T.A." Barbara Eden plays the mother. It's a good movie.