Listening to Telling Me Lies from the Trio album (1987) always affects me greatly. Part of it is the tight harmony among Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris.
The song was the album’s second single, and it reached #3 on the US Billboard country singles charts. The recording was nominated for a Grammy award in 1988 for Country Song of the Year.
The message is painful:
You told me you needed my company
And I believed in your flattering ways
You told me you needed me forever
Nearly gave you the rest of my days
Should’ve seen you for what you are
Should never have come back for more
Should’ve locked up all my silver
Brought the key right to your door
The song first appeared on Linda Thompson’s One Clear Moment album (1985), her first solo collection “after divorcing husband and former collaborator, Richard Thompson.” The track was written by Linda Thompson and Betsy Cook, as were most of the songs on the album, which many critics believed included many well-written songs, often marred by that era’s heavy-handed production.
Don’t put your life in the hands of a man
With a face for every season
Don’t waste your time in the arms of a man
Who’s no stranger to treason
Listen to Telling Me Lies:
Linda Thompson here
Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris here or here
I cover my ears, I close my eyes
Still hear your voice and it’s telling me lies
Telling me lies
***
For good measure, another 1980s female trio with tight harmonies, though a somewhat different style:
You work too hard to take this abuse
Be on your guard jerks on the loose
Listen to Keep On Doing What You Do/ Jerks On The Loose – the Roches, written by by Terre and Suzzy Roche, from the Keep On Doing album (1982)