Music Review: Carrie Underwood "Two Black Cadillacs"

Carrie Underwood

Two Black Cadillacs

Album: Blown Away

Year: 2012

       Two women get away with murder in the grim “Two Black Cadillacs.”

     Somber guitars open the single, setting a theatrical tone.  It’s a long processional to the gravesite of a celebrated man in the community.   In the front are two black Cadillacs, the widow and the mistress.  Neither has met the other before. (“Two black Cadillacs driving in a slow parade/Headlights shining bright in the middle of the day/One’s for his wife/The other for the woman who loved him at night/Two black Cadillacs meeting for the first time.”)

        In the chorus, the preacher praises the numerous hours the man spent feeding the hungry at the church’s soup kitchen. The man’s brother recalls the times he stood up for him in school and stood by him during a difficult divorce. However, the two women stand stone-faced and stare ahead. Their black veils hiding their indifference. As the preacher said the final prayer, they went through the motions of the service. Unbeknowsnt to everyone else, they played a part in his death. (“And the preacher said he was a good man/And his brother said he was a good friend/But the women in the two black veils didn’t bother to cry/Bye, Bye/Yeah they took turns and put a rose down/Threw a handful of dirt into the deep ground/He’s not the only one who had a secret to hide/Bye bye, bye bye.”)

         In between the chorus and next verse, the background singers repeat “two black cadillacs, two black cadillacs,” sensationalizing the women.

          In the second verse, the man’s wife had suspicions that something was going on. When he left his phone on the table to take a shower, she took it and dialed the last number. The other woman answered. After talking, they discovered the elaborate ruses he used to deceive them and keep them believing they both were the only one. They started plotting their revenge. It took two months but he finally paid for his sins. (“Two months ago his wife called the number on his phone/Turns out he been lying to both of them for oh so long/They decided then he’d never get away for doing this to them/Two black cadillacs waiting for the right time, right time.”)

     The chorus is sung again.     

          The background singers repeat “two black cadillacs” again, upping the drama even more, licking their lips at every bit of gossip.  

          In the bridge, they exchange satsified smiles at a job well done and then stand next to their respective families. His murder is something which the two of them will only ever know. (“It was the first time and last time they saw each other face to face/They shared a crimson smile and just walked away
And left the secret at the grave.”)

             The chorus is sung again.

          The pitying strings and guitar continue to play for a minute or so, musing on the darkness in the world.

             Carrie Underwood replays the story as a emphatic newswoman delivering the breaking story on the 11 p.m. news. She can see the Peabody in her sights, thinking of the women on her newscast, retelling their story of the man who wronged them both with tears in her eyes. She’ll nod with a sympathetic smile, handing them tissues while asking them to describe the moment they decided to kill him.

          Nonetheless, the one question left out will be: why are the women being glorified for committing the far more heinous act? Cheating, lying, and betrayal are wrong. The man wasn’t who he seemed. However, it doesn’t justify the women murdering him. The women are portrayed as sweet angels who were hurt by the big mean man and not like the cold-blooded psychos they are.  

 The vengeful “Two Black Cadillacs” condones murder for a twisted form of female empowerment while unaware of its own hypocriscy.