"I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)" is a debut song written by

Johnny MacRae Johnny MacRae (February 15, 1929—July 3, 2013), born Fred A. MacRae, nicknamed "Dog" was an American country music composer credited with 235 songs released by recording artists including Ray Charles, George Jones, and Reba McEntire. His best kn ...

and Steve Clark, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Doug Stone Doug Stone (born Douglas Jackson Brooks; June 19, 1956) is an American country music singer and actor. He debuted in 1990 with the single "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)", the first release from his 1990 self-titled debut album for Epic Recor ...

. It was released in February 1990 as the first single from his self titled debut album. It peaked at #4 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart and #5 on The Canadian RPM Tracks chart. It was also nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Male Country Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance was awarded between 1965 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Male *In 1968 it was a ...

Content

In this song, the narrator describes the anguish he feels knowing that the woman who left him has found love with another man and will never come back to him. His pain is so great he is considering suicide or murder to end it. Killing himself (and being shipped home in a pauper's casket) or killing them (and spending his life in prison) seem preferable to having "her and him together" on his mind.

Music video

The music video was directed by directing duo Deaton-Flanigen. The video features Stone singing the song in a motel room, with him hitchhiking for a ride. At the end of the video, it shows his former lover marrying another man. As Stone walks away, the woman takes a glance at him as the limo that she and her new husband is in leaves the church.

Critical reception

Brian Mansfield Brian Mansfield (born September 24, 1963) is an American writer and journalist. Early life and education Mansfield grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from David Lipscomb High School. In 1984, Mansfield received a bachelor's degre ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

praised the song by calling it "a towering expression of self-pity that most singers could spend a career trying to top".

Chart performance

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I'd Be Better Off In A Pine Box 1990 debut singles 1990 songs Doug Stone songs Music videos directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions Epic Records singles Song recordings produced by Doug Johnson (record producer) Songs written by Johnny MacRae Songs about death