JEFF FOXWORTHY: ORIGINAL REDNECK KEEPS 'EM LAUGHING

For more than a decade, comedian Jeff Foxworthy has become synonymous with his "You might be a Redneck if..." jokes. But it wasn't until a week or two ago that he came to a realization as to why the jokes remain so popular.

"They're the only one-liners out there," he drawled from his home in Atlanta, Ga. "You say the sentence, you get a laugh. Most comics don't do one-liners anymore."

The Southeast Missourian has launched a local version of the redneck jokes with its "You are so Swampeast Missouri if..." contest.

Foxworthy called the local contest idea "totally flattering."

"In a bizarre way," he said, "these jokes became part of the culture, I guess."

But it wasn't always that way. About 14 years ago, Foxworthy was about to trade his $30,000-a-year job to work comedy clubs for $20 a night. At first things were rough with 500 shows a year. He toured Cape Girardeau in 1994 at the Show Me Center to an enthusiastic audience.

"The third million frequent flier mile takes the thrill out of air travel," he deadpanned.

But after a few years on the comedy circuit, Foxworthy hit upon his "hook."

The whole thing started in Detroit, Mich. One night after a show, some club members were kidding Foxworthy about his Southern accent.

(Yes, it's real. "Who would make up this accent?" he said. "You'd make up an accent like Antonio Banderas.")

Earlier in the evening, Foxworthy had noticed the club was attached to a bowling alley that offered valet parking.

"I told them, 'Whoa, if you don't think you have rednecks here just look at the window.' Walking back to the hotel, I realize that a lot of people don't realize they're rednecks," he said.

Later that night he jotted down 10 redneck jokes and performed them the next night. "It just clicked," he said. "People were laughing and elbowing each other."

His wife found that folded piece of yellow paper with the original 10 jokes and had it framed.

"It's hanging next to the front door of my house," he said. "I'm looking at it right now. It's a reminder."

The redneck appeal is rather intriguing. He defines it as "an absolute lack of sophistication." But no one gets hurt or angry. He's turned what was once an insult word a into badge of honor. And it may be because Foxworthy admits upfront that he's one of the biggest rednecks around.

"When I was in the third grade, my uncle as a joke painted the letters M A L E on our mailbox, and nobody got it. My whole life was like that. We had a dirt yard and we were totally happy," he said.

Truthfulness, he said, is what makes the "whole redneck thing" work.

"You might be a redneck if your working TV sits on top of your non-working TV," he said. "I tell that most nights and get a big laugh. People all over the audience turn and point at someone else."

He said that audiences know he's not laughing at them, he's laughing with them -- and at himself.

The other day he was flipping through the channels with his wife and two daughters, ages 7 and 5. One of the station stops was a re-run of the "Jeff Foxworthy Show," which ran two seasons.

"I was on the screen at the time, their daddy was on the screen, and my kids said 'Keeping going. Where's the Rugrats?'" he said. "They're totally unimpressed, which is exactly the way it should be."

Most mornings he can be found shuttling six or seven little girls to school. "They're mine, my brothers and my neighbors," he said. "I call it the Estrogen Wagon."

He also keeps busy with a new weekly radio show that counts down the top country favorites. He counts down songs, interviews country stars and talks to people. More than 70 stations have jumped aboard in its first few months.

"I call the bowling alley in Nashville and ask them which country singer stinks the most. It's fun."

He always wanted to do a radio show, but didn't want to get up early every morning.

"It's hard to be funny at 4 a.m. if you've been to bed," he observed. "And if you haven't been to bed, you think you're funny, but you're not."

And of course, he still travels for standup comedy. He performed at the Illinois State Fair in DuQuoin Saturday.

The redneck jokes are still part of his standup show today, but only a small part. This summer, he published his 10th book called "The Final Helping of You Might Be a Redneck if..."

But moving away from redneck jokes may not be so easy. Since the release of his book, the public outcry has been loud. People don't want Foxworthy to quit.

If redneck jokes stay around, that's OK, said Foxworthy. "They still make me laugh."

He keeps a pad on the corner of his office desk and jots down redneck jokes when they strike. Many of those have appeared on his Page-a-Day calendars that he has published for five or six years.

"Sometimes, I think there can't be that many more redneck jokes, but each year I come up with 365 new ones," he said.

This Georgia redneck has proven that "Hick is Chick."

You might be a redneck if ...

You have a house that's mobile and five cars that aren't.

Your gene pool doesn't have a "deep end."

It's easier to spray weed killer on your front yard than mow it.

You can't tell what color your car is because of the dirt.

You've ever been too drunk to fish.

You've ever worn shorts to a funeral home.

In an effort to watch your cholesterol, you eat Spam Lite.

You've spray painted your girlfriend's name on an overpass.

Your Junior/Senior prom had a day care.

Your dog and your wallet are both on chains.

Your dad walks you to school because you are both in the same grade.

There are more than five McDonald's bags currently on the floorboard of your car.

Your car has never had a full tank of gas.

You think a subdivision is part of a math problem.

You've never paid for a haircut.

You own more cowboy boots than sneakers.

You watch cartoons long after your kids get bored.

Your family tree does not fork.