D-I-V-O-R-C-E

"D-I-V-O-R-C-E" is a song written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman, and recorded by American country music artist Tammy Wynette.

In this case, the soon-to-be-divorcee spells out words such as "divorce", "Joe" (the name of the woman's four-year-old son), "hell", and "custody" to shield the young, carefree boy from the cruel, harsh realities of the world surrounding him and the ultimate breakup of his mother and father.

Country music historian Bill Malone wrote that Wynette's own tumultuous life (five marriages) "encompassed the jagged reality so many women have faced."

Therefore, he asserts that Wynette identified so well with "D-I-V-O-R-C-E"; her rendition, Malone wrote, is "painfully sincere—there is no irony here—and if there is a soap opera quality to the dialogue, the content well mirrors both her own life and contemporary experience.

12 in July[6] Sheb Wooley recorded a spoof version of the song under his Ben Colder pseudonym in 1969 with a dog in place of the little boy in the lyrics and spelt out words such as vet and quarantine.