Do we have some Turnpike Troubadours drama brewing?
Any Turnpike fan is surely familiar with Lorrie, the main character from one of the band’s signature songs “Good Lord Lorrie.”
In the song, Lorrie serves as the love interest for Evan Felker’s narrator, who tells the story of a love gone wrong because of his actions.
“Well Lorrie said I wonder what we ever went through
All this trouble for
You ain’t half of who I thought you was
And this ain’t fun no more
And her words cut clean through drunk and dark
And dimmin’ doorway light
Well I’ve had all I can handle
Hope you’re happy now, goodnight
Guess her folks were right”
And she’s a recurring character in many Turnpike songs, including serving as the hero in “The Housefire” and the main character from a bar in “The Mercury.”
“Her kind of loving is a little like a fist fight
Alright, alright
The kind of thing you never see before midnight
Girl, I know you’re gonna wreck this town
Won’t tell me where to be when the walls start falling”
But despite hearing all about her, we’ve never really known the story behind Lorrie. Was she a real person, or just a character written by some of the best songwriters in country music?
Well we may have our answer.
An Oklahoma woman has come forward and claimed to be “Lorrie” from the songs – and she’s not happy about it.
The woman’s name is Ali Harter-Street, and she’s credited with doing the artwork for Turnpike’s Diamonds & Gasoline album cover way back in 2010, so she obviously has a connection with the band.
Harter-Street is a singer and songwriter from Oklahoma herself, and she also runs Pigs Fly Shop, a company that creates handmade leather goods and custom artwork.
And in a late-night post, Harter-Street spoke out on knowing that she’s been “Lorrie” for all these years.
“Being Lorrie is the last thing I ever thought I’d be.
Hearing my life sung through the speakers at Walmart while I’m buying f*ckin’ toilet paper is the most demeaning and cruel joke I could have ever imagined I’d have played on me.
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.
My biggest regrets and traumas, OUR personal things… have been put on display and exploited for “art”, and a dime.
You are f*ckin’ WELCOME for your hits. And the free artwork for Diamonds & Gasoline.
I tried to kill you and the space you took up in my life with this song I wrote… I know you’ve heard it. And you still won’t shut the f*ck up. Just… Shut. Up.”
First of all, which Walmart plays Turnpike and how can I shop there?
It’s not clear which song she’s referring to, but Harter released her latest album Near the Knuckle in 2020, and used the cover art for the album as the photo accompanying her Instagram post.
And while I get not wanting your personal business out there for the world to hear, Lorrie isn’t really portrayed as the “bad guy” in any of the songs she’s mentioned in. She’s usually used as a character to point out the flaws in the narrator, serving as a reminder of what he’s lost due to his own actions.
But that songs weren’t her only problem with Turnpike. She also blasted the band for allegedly ripping off her work for the cover of their latest album, A Cat In The Rain.
“Also. The, “Cat In The Rain”, artwork is a direct f*ckin’ rip off of the graphic design that I did for Jake Flint in 2020. Patches designed and photoshopped on fabric? Come the f*ck on. Jake did it first.
Do not even get me started on what you have knowingly “borrowed” from our music community with zero credit.”
Here’s the cover for Jake Flint’s 2020 self-titled album:
And here’s the cover for Turnpike’s 2023 album:
Harter-Street ends her post by saying that she still cares for some of the boys in Turnpike, but that she’s tired of remaining quiet about her role as “Lorrie.”
“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.”
You can check out her full post here:
View this post on Instagram
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if Turnpike has anything to say about Harter-Street’s claims, or whether her pleas mark the end of “Lorrie” in future songs. (She didn’t appear in any songs on their latest album).
In the meantime, despite how the real “Lorrie” may feel about, she’s forever become immortalized through some of the greatest country songs to ever come out of Oklahoma.
