When the authors of 'Heartache by the Numbers: Country Music's 500 Greatest Singles' wrote that Tammy Wynette's 'Stand By Your Man' "could well be the most controversial record in the history of country music," we're pretty sure they were talking about male chauvinist pigs in the age of Women's Liberation. Forty years later, the song has finally become the anthem of the National Pig Association.

Pig farmers, it seems, are losing money at an alarming rate, due in part to the soaring cost of corn and soybeans. In England, farmers claim to be taking a loss of 26 pounds for every pig they raise. So the country's National Pig Association came up with an idea to drum up consumer support for higher prices. The campaign, believe it or not, is called 'Stand By Your Ham.'

"Stand by your ham/ Sausages, pork and bacon/ Help us to stay in business/ Because our pigs are worth it," warbles a We-Are-the-World chorus of actual pig farmers, who, dwindling profits aside, should still keep their day jobs. Yet the little ditty has done its duty, attracting much-needed attention to the farmers' dilemma.

Here in the States, at least one farm-industry advocate has saluted the Brits' hammy performance. Gary Truitt, a columnist for Farm World, has a few knockoff ideas of his own -- Jim Croce's 'Swine in a Bottle,' for instance, which doesn't sound especially appetizing. "My personal favorite," he submits, "is a rewrite of the old Frankie Valli song 'Walk Like a Man' to -- you guessed it -- 'Taste Like a Ham.'"

Actually, Gary, we hadn't guessed it. With songwriting like that, how ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm?

Next: Singer's Tunes Tooted by Toothbrush

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