Since the release of their first album in 2010, the Turnpike Troubadours have captivated audiences with their authentic sound and vivid lyricism. Their ability to write lifelike characters into songs that tell realistic stories is seemingly unmatched by any present-day artist. Turns out, those stories might be much more realistic, and those characters a lot more lifelike than we previously thought.
In their 2012 album Goodbye Normal Street, lead singer Evan Felker introduced a character named “Lorrie” through their hit song “Good Lord Lorrie.” Felker begins the song, by singing, “Lorrie lit a cigarette and smiled and waved the smoke out of her face,” going on to describe Lorrie as his love interest from De Queen, Arkansas. The basic plot of the song is that no matter how hard Felker and Lorrie try to make their relationship work, things just keep going wrong.
“Well good Lord, Lorrie, I love you. Could it go more wrong?”
The song is easily one of their most popular, having amassed nearly 65 million streams on Spotify alone since its release. But, it wasn’t until the release of their song “The Mercury” in 2015 that people began to see a common theme in the mentioning of Lorrie.
“Lorrie laughs like she just don’t care. Got a red bandana and raven hair”
Then, once again in “The Housefire” from their 2017 album, A Long Way from Your Heart:
“Lorrie grabbed the baby and we made it safe outside. She never missed a note”
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we might have received an answer. A user under the name @pigsflyshop suggested early yesterday via an Instagram post that she is, in fact, the real Lorrie. And, it’s safe to say, she’s not too happy about it.
Finally done with her years of silence, the self-identified Lorrie began by saying, “Hearing my life sung through the speakers at Walmart while I’m buying f****** toilet paper is the most demeaning and cruel joke I could have ever imagined I’d have played on me.” Though many fans can only dream of having a Turnpike Troubadours song written about them, it is understandable that hearing your personal life being played all around you could be undoubtedly difficult.
“All the songs about me are gross, and one sided. They are unfair. I’m glorified, then ripped to shreds. Speculated about, blamed, used when needed. I’m an excuse for addiction, but never have I ever been a step in recovery. Zero amends. It takes two, dude.”
The reference to addiction refers to the reason behind the group’s hiatus beginning in May of 2019. The band briefly parted ways to allow lead singer, Evan Felker, to concentrate on personal issues as he entered treatment for alcoholism. He is now a little over 4 years sober.
The entire caption seems to be mostly directed at Felker as she later implies she means no harm to some members of the band whom she still appreciates:
“I care deeply for some of the boys in y’all’s band. Sorry guys. I just do not care to feel small and secretive anymore. Fair is fair.”
With already groundbreaking claims, the post even suggested the artwork from the band’s most recent album, A Cat in the Rain, was a stolen design.
“Also. The, “Cat In The Rain”, artwork is a direct f****** rip off of the graphic design that I did for @jakeflintmusic in 2020. Do not even get me started on what you have knowingly “borrowed” from our music community with zero credit.“
Here is a side-by-side comparison of the artwork for Jake Flint’s self-titled album, and “A Cat In The Rain,” the artwork she claims is a rip off:
This claim is especially concerning given that her account is labeled as a “Leather & graphic design” company. Still, the entire caption is being met with much skepticism from fans as responses flood in. As a result, the user followed up with what was hoped to be a more clear statement:
The follow-up post maintains her original claims that both she is Lorrie and that the artwork used in the latest album does not belong to the band. The reason it took nearly 15 years to come out and reveal herself is simply because she never planned on doing so. She ends the post warning readers with the phrase “Don’t drink and internet, kids,” suggesting that she was perhaps not in a sober state when making the original post.
The Troubadours have not yet made any comments regarding the situation, leaving many suspicious as to how credible these claims are. Nonetheless, the mystery surrounding the real-life inspiration behind these songs only deepens as we begin to no more.