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The song tells the story of a Junior High student who is sent home with a note to her single mother from the PTA of the school decrying her Scandal ous behavior by small-town standards. The mother decides to speak to a meeting of the PTA where she addresses various episodes of misbehavior on the part of several of its members, concluding, "This is just a little Peyton Place / And you're all Harper Valley hypocrites."

In an interview, Hall admitted his inspiration for the song was passing by the Harpeth Valley Elementary School in Bellevue, Tennessee , not far from his then-home in Franklin . He liked the sound of the name and decided to write a song using a similar place name.

The song was later the inspiration for a 1978 Motion Picture and a 1981 Television Series , both starring Barbara Eden .


TRIVIA

Riley's recording became the first song by a female country artist to top both the U.S. pop and country charts. Her accomplishment would not be repeated until 1981 when Dolly Parton 's " 9 To 5 ", which was also to inspire a film and a television series, reached number 1 on the country and pop charts.


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