D.I.V.O.R.C.E.

"D.I.V.O.R.C.E."
Single by Billy Connolly
Released	1975
Format	7"
Genre	Novelty

"D.I.V.O.R.C.E." is a 1975 UK number-one single by Scottish folk singer and comedian Billy Connolly. A comedy song, it reached #1 for one week in November 1975^[1] and was one of the few songs of its genre to reach this milestone.

The song is a parody of the Tammy Wynette song "D-I-V-O-R-C-E",^[2] and Connolly's version to date has been his only #1 UK single,^[1] though in the late 1970s he had a further two UK hits which parodied contemporary songs. He later dropped musical performances from his act.

"D.I.V.O.R.C.E." has a similar theme to Wynette's original in that the events in the song lead to a couple divorcing, however in Connolly's song the words are spelled out for the benefit of a dog rather than for a child as in Wynette's version, and the divorce is sparked by a riotous visit to a veterinarian^[3] that results in the husband being bitten by both the dog and his wife.

Some versions of the song, such as the live performance included on the album Get Right Intae Him!, are censored, with the words "f-ing C" being bleeped.

Preceded by "Space Oddity" by David Bowie

UK number one single November 22, 1975 for one week

Succeeded by "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "UK charts archive". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=2623. Retrieved 2010-03-08. 
2. ^ "Rock and roll years: the 1970s". The Scotsman. 2003-10-16. http://news.scotsman.com/100bestscottishalbums/Rock-and-roll-years-the.2470393.jp. Retrieved 2010-03-08. 
3. ^ Brian Beacom (2009-09-21). "The story of Billy Connolly in 11 and a half chapters". The Herald. http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/film-tv-features/the-story-of-billy-connolly-in-11-and-a-half-chapters-1.921179. Retrieved 2010-03-08.