Love at the Five and Dime
Encyclopedia
"Love at the Five and Dime" is a single by American country music artist Kathy Mattea
. Released in 1986, it was the first single from the album Walk the Way the Wind Blows
. The song was Mattea's breakthrough hit, becoming her first top 10 hit and eventually peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard
Hot Country Singles & Tracks
chart.
Several years later, the relationship hits a rocky patch as Eddie and Rita become unfaithful to one another -- Rita falling for one of Eddie's fellow band members, and Eddie running off with the bass man's wife. However, both extra relationships are short lived, and it isn't long before Eddie and Rita are back together, having apparently forgiven each other.
The song then shifts to the present, when Eddie and Rita have apparently married. Eddie is now an insurance salesman and retired from the band, forced to do so due to arthritis. Rita, meanwhile, is now a housewife with a part-time job at the dime store.
Throughout the song, two themes reprise themselves: 1. The parallel between Eddie and Rita's relationship and love stories told in dime-store novels; and 2. The couple dancing to and singing along with a song with the lyrics, "Dance a little closer to me, dance a little closer now/Dance a little closer tonight."
Kathy Mattea
Kathleen Alice "Kathy" Mattea is an American country music and bluegrass performer who often brings folk, Celtic and traditional country sounds to her music. Active since 1983 as a recording artist, she has recorded seventeen albums and has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot...
. Released in 1986, it was the first single from the album Walk the Way the Wind Blows
Walk the Way the Wind Blows
Walk the Way the Wind Blows is the third album released by American country music singer Kathy Mattea. It was released in 1986 on Mercury Records. This album produced Mattea's first Top Ten country hit in "Love at the Five and Dime", which reached #3 on the Billboard country charts...
. The song was Mattea's breakthrough hit, becoming her first top 10 hit and eventually peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Singles & Tracks
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart.
Song story
"Love at the Five and Dime" recounts, over a period of many years, a love story between a dime store clerk (Rita) and an aspiring steel guitar player (Eddie). Early in the relationship, Rita's mother disapproves of the relationship because Eddie plays the bars until the early hours of the morning, with Rita in attendance.Several years later, the relationship hits a rocky patch as Eddie and Rita become unfaithful to one another -- Rita falling for one of Eddie's fellow band members, and Eddie running off with the bass man's wife. However, both extra relationships are short lived, and it isn't long before Eddie and Rita are back together, having apparently forgiven each other.
The song then shifts to the present, when Eddie and Rita have apparently married. Eddie is now an insurance salesman and retired from the band, forced to do so due to arthritis. Rita, meanwhile, is now a housewife with a part-time job at the dime store.
Throughout the song, two themes reprise themselves: 1. The parallel between Eddie and Rita's relationship and love stories told in dime-store novels; and 2. The couple dancing to and singing along with a song with the lyrics, "Dance a little closer to me, dance a little closer now/Dance a little closer tonight."
Chart performance
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 3 |