Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)

"Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)" is a song written by Kerry Kurt Phillips, Howard Perdew and Rick Blaylock, and recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie. It was released in July 1993 as the second single from his CD Honky Tonk Attitude. It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart.

"Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)"
Single by Joe Diffie
from the album Honky Tonk Attitude
B-side"I Can Walk the Line (If It Ain't Too Straight)"
ReleasedJuly 19, 1993
GenreCountry
Length3:47 (album version)
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Howard Perdew, Rick Blaylock, Kerry Kurt Phillips
Producer(s)Bob Montgomery, Johnny Slate
Joe Diffie singles chronology
"Honky Tonk Attitude"
(1993)		 "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)"
(1993)		 "John Deere Green"
(1993)

Content

The song begins at a slow pace accompanied by piano, with the narrator explaining that he has no fear of dying, but that he wants to go on being himself after he has died. After the introduction, the tempo increases and the narrator elaborates on his initial point, by stating that he wishes to have his body placed against a jukebox should he die, so that he will still be in a familiar atmosphere after death. The radio edit omits one repetition of the chorus.

Lawsuit

In 1999, the song was part of a lawsuit when another songwriter named Everett Ellis attempted to sue the writers of "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox", as he thought that the song infringed on a copyright to his own composition, "Lay Me Out by the Jukebox When I Die".[1]

Music video

The music video for the song begins with two men smuggling a fully dressed male corpse out of a funeral home. They proceed to take it out for a night on the town. The night of fun ends with the now-abandoned corpse (wearing sunglasses and a party hat) propped up next to the jukebox. Diffie (who plays the song at the bar) walks up to the corpse afterwards, thinking it's a living person, and tells him that, since the bar is closing, he needs to leave... adding "you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here". Diffie then claps the corpse on his shoulder and leaves. The corpse begins to sway and collapses next to the jukebox. The video has been described as "Weekend at Bernie's goes country" (The second edition of the film had been released during the summer of the song's release.).

Chart positions

"Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)" debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of July 24, 1993.

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[2] 2
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[3] 22
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] 3

Year-end charts
Chart (1993) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[5] 26
US Country Songs (Billboard)[6] 13

References
  1. "Everett A. ELLIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Joe DIFFIE et al., Defendants-Appellees". US Court of Appeals. 1999-03-10. Archived from the original on 2012-12-17. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  2. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2268." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. October 16, 1993. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  3. "Joe Diffie Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard.
  4. "Joe Diffie Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  5. "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1993". RPM. December 18, 1993. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  6. "Best of 1993: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1993. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
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