“It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” is a countrypolitan song written by J. D. “Jay” Miller and recorded by American country music singer Kitty Wells. It was released in 1952 as the answer song to Hank Thompson’s hit “The Wild Side of Life”.
The song was a major hit for Wells, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and becoming the first number-one country single by a solo female artist. It was also a critical success, with many critics praising Wells’s powerful vocals and the song’s message of female empowerment.
The lyrics of “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” are a response to Thompson’s song, which blamed women for the downfall of men. Wells’s song counters that it is men who are to blame for leading women astray. She sings of the pain and heartbreak that women experience when they are betrayed by their men, and she argues that it is these experiences that turn them into “honky tonk angels.”
“It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” is a landmark song in the history of country music. It was a groundbreaking song for female artists, and it helped to change the way that women were portrayed in country music. The song is also a powerful reminder of the pain and heartbreak that can be caused by infidelity.