Larry Pierce was a comedic-country music singer who specialized in songs wi… Read Full Bio ↴Larry Pierce was a comedic-country music singer who specialized in songs with raunchy lyrics. He was known in the business as "The Master of Dirty Country Music," and had quietly been building a following of dedicated fans since 1993.

Born Larry G. Pierce on July 18, 1950, he lived most of his life in the small Central Indiana town of Middletown and had been married to his wife Sandy since June 17, 1982, and had three children. Pierce worked in an auto parts factory for over 30 years until being forced into retirement due to plant closure. Larry died on November 19, 2018 in his garage which was known for hosting concerts and get-togethers

Larry wrote his first dirty song "Love Letters" as kind of a joke, playing guitar and entertaining friends on the weekend. Then in 1993, someone submitted some of his songs to Laughing Hyena Entertainment, a label that specializes in truck stop comedy and distributes almost exclusively at truck stops across the country. Ten years and thirteen albums later, he was approached by an independent film company from New York City (Milkhouse Productions) to do a full length documentary on his life and career as a dirty country singer (Dirty Country Movie--The Larry Pierce Story). Then in 2005 was approached by a raunchy touring rock band from Colorado Springs (-itis) to do a live show with them in Minneapolis, and has since traveled the country and done several live shows with them. Pierce then recorded his fourteenth album (Pussywhipped) on a new private label with his newfound band and announced the release on The Howard Stern Show 1/9/07. Before his death, Pierce had become somewhat of a regular on Howard’s show, including phone-in’s and live appearances, while his music is often played coming in and out of radio breaks.

Pretty Woman
Larry Pierce Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Got a secret
Can you keep it?
Swear this one you'll save
Better lock it in your pocket
Taking this one to the grave
If I show you
Then I know you won't tell what I said
'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead

Why do you smile like you've been told a secret?
Now you're telling lies
'Cause you have sworn to keep it
But no one keeps a secret
No one keeps a secret
Why when we do our darkest deeds do we tell?
They burn in our brains
Become a living hell
'Cause everybody tells
Everybody tells
Got a secret
Can you keep it?
Swear this one you'll save
Better lock it in your pocket
Taking this one to the grave
If I show you
Then I know you won't tell what I said
'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead
Look into my eyes
Now you're getting sleepy
Are you hypnotized by secrets that you're keeping?
I know what you're keeping
I know what you're keeping
Got a secret
Can you keep it?
Swear, this one you'll save
Better lock it in your pocket
Taking this one to the grave
If I show you
Then I know you won't tell what I said
'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead
Allison?
Yes, Catherine?
I have something I want to tell you but you have to promise never to tell anyone.
I promise
Do you swear on your life?
I swear on my life
You swore you'd never tell
You swore you'd never tell
You swore you'd never tell
You swore you'd never tell
Got a secret
Can you keep it?
Swear, this one you'll save
Better lock it in your pocket
Taking this one to the grave
If I show you
Then I know you won't tell what I said
'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead
Got a secret
Can you keep it?
Swear, this one you'll save
Better lock it in your pocket
Taking this one to the grave
If I show you
Then I know you won't tell what I said
'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead
Got a secret
Can you keep it?
Swear, this one you'll save
Better lock it in your pocket
Taking this one to the grave
If I show you

Then I know you won't tell what I said
'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Larry Pierce's song "Pretty Woman" describe the importance of keeping a secret, and the consequences that come with revealing it. The singer asks the listener if they can keep a secret, and if they swear to do so, tells them something confidential. The listener is then warned that nobody is truly able to keep secrets, as they burrow deep into our consciousness and haunt us. The singer notes the irony that while we keep the darkest of secrets, we have an almost uncontrollable urge to share them with others, leading to the ultimate breach of trust. The song concludes with a conversation between two people where one swears on their life to keep the other's secret, leading to the repeated chorus of "You swore you'd never tell."

The song speaks to the human urge to share our deepest and darkest secrets, while we mask it with the confidence that the other person will keep our secret safe. The lyrics of the song contain a warning about the potential risks of divulging secrets, and the profound guilt that comes with it. The song is also a cautionary tale about making promises that we can't keep and the consequences of breaking those promises.

Line by Line Meaning

Got a secret
I have something I want to keep hidden

Can you keep it?
Can you promise not to tell anyone?

Swear this one you'll save
Promise me you'll never reveal it

Better lock it in your pocket
Keep it safe and secure

Taking this one to the grave
I'll never speak of this until I die

If I show you
If I reveal this to you

Then I know you won't tell what I said
I trust you to keep my secret

'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead
If you do tell, the consequences will be severe

Why do you smile like you've been told a secret?
Why do you look like you're hiding something?

Now you're telling lies
Now you're being dishonest

'Cause you have sworn to keep it
Because you promised to keep it hidden