Dwayne Gill & the Stolen Tractor

Did you laugh at the joke in the video?  Read on if you didn't understand.  Dwayne Gill is a very funny man from my hometown of Detroit.  He works as a Michigan state policeman by day and tells jokes on nights and weekends. 

In his comedy club act, he talks about getting assigned to his first post—not in his urban area of southeast Michigan, but—in rural Ionia County.  There, he is assigned his first case to investigate: a stolen John Deere tractor.  He makes the mistake of asking the farmer what color the stolen tractor was. 

This is ridiculous—and funny—to anyone who lives in a suburban or rural location.  The John Deere brand of tractor is always green and yellow.  Being an urban guy, Dwayne didn’t know that tractor companies each have their signature color.

John Deere farm tractor (photo source: www.deere.com)

John Deere farm tractor (photo source: www.deere.com)

He extends the joke by saying, “It isn’t every day that you see a John Deere tractor rolling down Eight Mile Road [a major street of Detroit]...with M&M [famous Detroit rap singer] driving!"

In this joke set, Dwayne is making fun of differences between U.S. urban and rural cultures and what they know and don’t know.  One positive kind of humor is when the comedian makes fun of him/herself in the joke.  This is called self-deprecating humor.  As you can hear from the audience laughter, people think Dwayne is a funny guy.

Did you recently hear a joke you didn’t understand?  Write us with the details.  If we can answer it, we might feature it on our next show!

I saw Dwayne Gill live in Grand Rapids at the Sunday Night Funnies comedy club.  

I saw Dwayne Gill live in Grand Rapids at the Sunday Night Funnies comedy club.  

Alan Headbloom

Alan advises Americans how to be global citizens and expats how to fit in to Michigan culture without annoying their native coworkers and clients. He also tweets and blogs at the intersection of language and culture. Over decades, he's traveled, studied, or lived on six continents, putting strange foods into his mouth and emitting strange sounds from it. His use of English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Hausa, and Japanese all improve with alcohol use. He gives invited public presentations on culture and unsolicited private advice on English grammar and usage; the latter isn't always appreciated. Visit his website for information on consulting, coaching, or speaking engagements.