By Carly Maitlen
and Vanessa Renderman

The powerful words of three little ladies are causing a stir in the tame world of country music.

"Goodbye Earl," a Dixie Chicks song, tells how a woman named Wanda and her best friend, Mary Anne, get revenge on Wanda's abusive husband, Earl. Some radio stations are refusing to play it.

The lyrics, "Those black-eyed peas/They tasted all right to me Earl/You're feelin' weak/Why don't you lay down/and sleep Earl/Ain't it dark/Wrapped up in that tarp Earl," explain how the women ended Earl's abuse by poisoning him to death and then pretending he just vanished.

"And it turns out he was a missing person/who nobody missed at all."

After the lyrics in the CD booklet, the Chicks include a statement saying, "The Dixie Chicks do not advocate premeditated murder but love getting even."

The video for "Goodbye Earl" is supposed to be funny. Dennis Franz ("NYPD Blue") plays Earl, and Lauren Holly ("Chicago Hope") and Jane Krakowski ("Ally McBeal") play Mary Anne and Wanda, respectively. They make light of killing Earl, and everyone celebrates and dances at the end of the song.

The Chicks recently did an interview with TV Guide and talked about "Goodbye Earl," calling it their "ode to O.J. Simpson."

Natalie Maines, one of the Dixie Chicks, said in the interview, "I think initially when we heard it, we just thought it was so funny. We're not saying kill your husband if he touches you," she said.

In the song, Wanda reported the abuse to the police, divorced Earl and got a restraining order against him.

"But Earl walked right through that restraining order/And put her in intensive care."

There are no laws that require a person to report domestic violence against women to the police; however, laws do exist that require child and elderly abuse to be reported.

Jerry Bean, the Tippecanoe County prosecutor, said the reason for this discrepancy is that children and the elderly are deemed unable to care for themselves. Because adult women are considered to be able to care for themselves, the law assumes that women are able to leave their abusive husbands and leave their negative situations. However, that is not the case.

Bean said there are multiple reasons that a woman would not leave an abusive relationship, most of which vary as much as each relationship. Both Loper and Bean said it takes a woman an average of seven times to leave her abusive husband before she leaves him for good.

Bean said many people, including juries and lawmakers, don't understand why women don't leave. Because they don't understand the drastically varying types of abuse that occur, these laws may seem inconsequential.

Cheryl Ubelhor, executive director of the Crisis Center in Lafayette, said songs such as "Goodbye Earl" can be perceived as good or bad by survivors of domestic abuse. Each person has his or her own way of perceiving controversial media.

"It has so much to do with the person who's seeing the message," she said.

Cindy Loper, outreach coordinator for the YWCA domestic violence intervention and prevention program, said the song is helping raise the public's awareness of domestic abuse.

"I think the word might get out to more populations if it (a song) is advocating against women and child abuse," said Loper. "It is a very good medium."

Loper said "Goodbye Earl," as well as other songs that discuss domestic violence issues, may seem a little brash.

"It sounds a little crude and tough, but a lot of times that's what happens with domestic abuse topics," said Loper. "I think they (the Dixie Chicks) are very brave for stepping out on a limb to discuss it."

Loper said there are three different types of domestic abuse: physical, emotional and sexual.

"The emotional part is the most devastating because the bruises will go away," said Loper. She said many women do not even realize that the emotional abuse is occurring until later.

Loper and Bean describe many ways for women to be protected against the husbands they leave. There are no-contact orders, restraining orders, stalking, harassment statutes and intimidation statues. The incidents of men not obeying these laws depend on the individuals.

"They have increased the penalty on stalking as of late," said Bean. The penalties for disobeying any of these orders or statutes have increased.

The real problem doesn't exist with the man so much as it does with getting the woman to stay away from the abusive situation.

"The problem is getting her to a safe place and keeping her there long enough until she leaves him for good," said Bean. Most shelters will house a woman for only 30 days, not enough time for most women to stay away for good.

Bean said the song "Goodbye Earl" doesn't do much to promote the issues of domestic violence because of the comical nature of the song.

"No, I don't think a song of that nature is going to get the message out," said Bean. "People are going to listen to that and think 'oh, it's tongue-in-cheek.'"

Ubelhor said some people might see the "Goodbye Earl" video as a great way to get deal with the issue of domestic abuse, while others might think it's making light of the issue.

Nine years ago, two country music channels banned Garth Brooks' video "The Thunder Rolls" because it depicted domestic violence.

In the video, Brooks portrays a cheating husband who comes home to an angry wife. The two have an altercation, and the woman ends up brutally beaten. She gets a gun and shoots Brooks.

The Nashville Network (TNN) and Country Music Television (CMT) chose not to air the video for different reasons.

According to a 1991 story from the Associated Press, TNN spokespersons decided not to air the video because Brooks would not add a message explaining the violent content. CMT didn’t want to run the video because it only wanted to entertain.

"We are a music channel," said Bob Baker, CMT’s director of operations at the time. "We are an entertainment medium. We are not news. We are not social issues. We are not about domestic violence, adultery and murder," he said in the 1991 story.

But "Goodbye Earl" remains on the air.