Cheater, Cheater

This was the first single for the husband and wife duo Joey + Rory, who are the songwriter/guitarist Rory Feek and the singer Joey Feek. It is not a personal song, and the stage antics during their performances are purely for show, but the song is a fan favorite that strikes a chord with lots of people who have experienced infidelity. When we spoke with Joey and Rory in 2010, Rory told us this story: "We had a lady who told us at a show one time that she was with this guy, her boyfriend, and he was in really bad health. She gave him her kidney, and then he cheated on her. So it don't get any worse than that. We had a lady, actually, last night who came up in the middle of our show - I mean, we were done, we played with Don Williams in Salina, Kansas, and we're at a autograph line afterwards. And there were just tons of people, all excited. And this woman bought a 'Cheater, Cheater' t-shirt. Most people just love that song, and they're excited, but she didn't just love the song, she was bawling. She was just crying. Her heart was broken, and she said, 'Unfortunately, this song really spoke to me.' And Joey just held onto her while she cried. She was so hurt. So believe it or not, that song, as silly as it is and fun as it is, it actually helps some people out there, they don't know what to do with the pain and stuff that they're feeling, and it gives them a little bit of strength."

In our interview, Joey told us about how this song has affected people. Said Joey: "You know, it's something to share a song and sing a song live, and for the humor and the fun of it. But when you see it firsthand, and you look into a woman's eyes and she's just there and she's hurting so bad, and she doesn't know what to do but all she wants to do is give you a hug, it's something powerful. And I think that is when you know you've touched someone; it may be under a terrible circumstance like that, but it's real life, and it's happening to them today. For an artist, it's something that you feel like, Well, maybe I helped them to work through something. And that's the ultimate. That's really why we do what we do. It's to touch people in a way with music."

OK, one more cheating story from Rory: "I got to read you this one e-mail I just found it. This is our favorite e-mail we ever got. It says, I love this song and would like to know where I can purchase it. I live in Knoxville, Tennessee, and when I heard this song I thought this is exactly what I'm going through right now. I have been with this man for 17 years and he has chosen to have another woman from Morgan County. I have two kids with this man and he don't care about us no more. He don't even have nothing to do with his own children. So when I heard this, I was like, Oh my gosh, this song is just what I'm going through right now. This woman is a white trash ho', because she told me she don't give a F about me or my kids. I pretty much lost it then and felt I had every right to whoop her ass right then, which I did. I am 39 years old, and I never thought I would live my life like this. At first it hurt really bad and I thought I would rather be dead than alive, because the pain was so much. I recorded it on CMT, so every time he thinks he can stop by, I play it as loud as the TV will go. I would love to listen on a CD while I'm in the car. This song gives me strength to know, Hey, I'm not to blame. It was him and that white trash ho."