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.

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.

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

↑ "Everett A. ELLIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Joe DIFFIE et al., Defendants-Appellees.". US Court of Appeals. 1999-03-10. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
↑ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2268." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. October 16, 1993. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
↑ "Joe Diffie – Chart history" Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 for Joe Diffie.
↑ "Joe Diffie – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Joe Diffie.
↑ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1993". RPM. December 18, 1993. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
↑ "Best of 1993: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1993. Retrieved August 5, 2013.

Joe Diffie singles

A Thousand Winding Roads	"Home" "If You Want Me To" "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)" "New Way (To Light Up an Old Flame)"

Regular Joe	"Is It Cold in Here" "Ships That Don't Come In" "Next Thing Smokin'" "Startin' Over Blues"

Honky Tonk Attitude	"Honky Tonk Attitude" "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)" "John Deere Green" "In My Own Backyard"

Third Rock from the Sun	"Third Rock from the Sun" "Pickup Man" "So Help Me Girl" "I'm in Love with a Capital "U"" "That Road Not Taken"

Life's So Funny	"Bigger Than the Beatles" "C-O-U-N-T-R-Y" "Whole Lotta Gone"

Twice Upon a Time	"This Is Your Brain" "Somethin' Like This" "The Promised Land"

Greatest Hits	"Texas Size Heartache" "Poor Me"

A Night to Remember	"A Night to Remember" "The Quittin' Kind" "It's Always Somethin'" "Better Off Gone"

In Another World	"In Another World" "This Pretender"

Tougher Than Nails	"Tougher Than Nails" "If I Could Only Bring You Back"

All in the Same Boat	"All in the Same Boat" (with Aaron Tippin and Sammy Kershaw)

TBD	"Girl Ridin' Shotgun" (featuring D-Thrash of Jawga Boyz)

Guest singles	"Not Too Much to Ask" (with Mary Chapin Carpenter)

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