DON'T get confused, this ain't hell, today they're pickin' banjos in heaven as well.

Of course, I don't know if that statement is factually accurate, but I wanted to put the sentiment out there anyway. One of my own, dontcha know.

It seemed to fit the mood of the moment, after hearing about the death of songwriter Paul Craft, pictured. He may not be a household name, but you have probably heard at least one of his songs.

Craft, 76, who died at the weekend, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this month. His work has been recorded by such luminaries as Willie Nelson and The Eagles.

Possibly his most famous song, nominated for a Grammy, was recorded by Bobby Bare: Drop Kick Me Jesus (Through the Goalposts of Life). It contains the immortal couplet, "Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights / Drop kick me Jesus, through the goalposts of life".

There's a lot of humour in Country and Western music, an art form which is too often - and wrongly - associated with misery (for every "Please, Daddy, don't get drunk this Christmas, I don't want to see my mommy cry", there's an "If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?").

The daddy of them all is probably Shel Silverstein's A Boy Named Sue, made famous by Johnny Cash. You've got to love a lyricist who can come up with such poetic gold as "Some gal would giggle and I'd get red / And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head / I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named Sue".

One of my personal favourites is Billy Currington's Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer, which topped the Billboard country chart.

It could well have been written with yours truly in mind: "I ain't much for mowin' thick grass / I'm too slow for workin' too fast / I don't do windows so honey don't ask / But I'm pretty good at drinkin' beer."

As you might have divined from the opening sentence, I have long held a secret ambition to write a Country song. There's probably good money in it.

Maybe I could take a leaf out of Paul Craft's book. I'm not big on American football, though ... would proper soccerball work?

Perhaps something along the lines of "I met her at the footie / an auburn-haired beauty / I thought we could have been class / but was shocked when she said she would pass"?

I know, I know. Don't call us, we'll call you.