"John Deere Green" is a song by country music artist Joe Diffie

Joe Diffie

Joe Logan Diffie is an American country music singer known for his ballads and novelty songs. Between 1990 and 2004, Diffie charted 35 cuts on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, including five number one singles: his debut release "Home", "If the Devil Danced ", "Third Rock from the Sun",...

. It is the third single from his 1993 album Honky Tonk Attitude

Honky Tonk Attitude

Honky Tonk Attitude is the third studio album by American country music artist Joe Diffie. Released in 1993, it features the singles "Honky Tonk Attitude", "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox ", "John Deere Green", and "In My Own Backyard", which respectively reached #5, #3, #5, and #19 on the Hot...

. It was released in November 1993 and peaked at #5 on the country charts.

Content

The song is a moderate up-tempo describing a boy named Billy Bob, who is in love with a girl named Charlene, both of whom "met in high school in the (19)60s

1960s

The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...

". One night, he hauls a can of "John Deere

John Deere

John Deere was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company, one of the largest and leading agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world...

 green" paint to the top of a water tower

Water tower

A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....

 and paints the words "Billy Bob loves Charlene," as well as an outline of a heart

Heart (symbol)

The heart has long been used as a symbol to refer to the spiritual, emotional, moral, and in the past, also intellectual core of a human being...

, on the tower. The second verse describes the two of them raising a family on an 80-acre farm that they purchased, while the bridge reveals that the heart and words are still painted on the tower, despite efforts by the town to cover it up.

Radio version

Diffie recorded a new version of "John Deere Green" for radio airplay. This version includes a more electronic-sounding drum track (it is unknown whether a drum machine or an electronic drum kit was used in this recording) as well as Diffie's vocal sounding slightly different than that of the album version. The radio version also eliminates the album version's second instrumental break and fourth refrain by immediately proceeding to the song's outro.

Cover versions

The most notable cover version is a Norwegian cover by the band "Hellbillies

Hellbillies

The Hellbillies are a Norwegian country rock group formed in 1990. As of 2010, they have released twelve albums—including a compilation and two live albums—as well as one live concert DVD...

". Their version, "Bondeblå" (a light blue color named after the farmers' blue overalls) from the album Drag (1996) tells about a boy on his first time service in the Norwegian military who insists on wearing a blue knitted sweater and matching hat that his mother knitted for him over his uniform, and how the other soldiers mistreat him, making him do their chores and bugging him consistently. However, in time he turns out fine and ends up as a highly ranked officer in the Norwegian army.

Chart positions

Chart (1993-1994)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	69
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	6