Beyoncé – COWBOY CARTER

I am a 65-year-old white cisgender male—not precisely in the Beyoncé demographic. But I am also a musichead who likes a broad range of genres (with Americana and singer-songwriters dominating). Of course, I know Beyoncé, and I have listened to many of her songs and liked some of them. I have heard several of her albums (album guy vs. a singles guy), but none has resonated with me; therefore, I have not been a Beyoncé fan (spoiler alert: I am now). I appreciate her as an artist, but she hasn’t clicked with me. The pre-release hype for this album was that it would be her Country album. I listened to the two singles “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and “16 CARRIAGES,” and they are Country (ish), and I liked them – enough so that I was motivated to listen to COWBOY CARTER the moment it was released (9:00 MST on March 28, 2024 – one of the benefits of living in Phoenix is I get to hear new releases “early”). On first listen, a Beyoncé album resonated with me for the first time. COWBOY CARTER has been in constant rotation since, and with each listen, I like it even more and have become obsessed with trying to figure it out. In his review, New York Times music critic Jon Pareles points out that Beyoncé albums are “meant to be discussed and footnoted, not just listened to.” That is precisely what I find myself doing.

As much as I love the album, I also recognize it as a hodgepodge. It feels like Bey is showing off: “Look at all the genres I can do and how profound I can be!” Then it hits me, Bey is pissed at the music industry. Despite all her success, she is underrated. Consider Jay-Z’s recent speech at the Grammys, where he calls them out for slighting his wife: “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and has never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work.” So Bey has made an album for guys like me and the old white guys who vote for the Grammys (and anyone else who has not accepted her genius): “Here you go, assholes, try to dismiss this.” COWBOY CARTER is like how Taylor Swift’s folklore opened my ears to her music by working in a style in my comfort zone (in TSwift’s case, Americana). Beyoncé is playing in a place closer to my neighborhood (Country, rock, folk, Americana, old school R&B, etc.), something an old white musichead can understand. I can’t dismiss COWBOY CARTER; it is brilliant; it is the gateway drug for people like me. This is just what I needed to become a Beyoncé fan.

So, on to the music, let’s start with the teaser singles and then move on to the rest of the album.

“TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” is what I would expect in a Beyoncé Country song: sassy, danceable, twangy guitar and banjo (courtesy of Rhiannon Giddens), and most importantly, a banger. It is Queen Bey’s version of a hoedown: “Furs, spurs, boots.” This is a great first single and could be the song we remember from this album a decade from now (but there are several other candidates, too). “16 CARRIAGES” is a different beast; it is a serious song where Bey contemplates the sacrifices of being a mega pop star for a quarter of a century. I assume the 16 carriages refers to the semis associated with an arena concert. I wonder if she chose 16 to reference the Junior Parker/Elvis song “Mystery Train” (“Train I ride, sixteen coaches long”). Sonically, it is adventurous and a more challenging listen than the pure fun of “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.” It suggests the new album is not a novelty but a big statement. It sounds better in the context of the album. The two singles accurately foreshadow COWBOY CARTER: it is fun but also a huge artistic statement. Bey has met me at a place where I can more than intellectually appreciate her; I can now enter the BeyHive as a fan.

After signaling that COWBOY CARTER would be a Country album (including the two teaser singles), she does a bait-and-switch and says, “This isn’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.” It has Country elements, but it is more in the tradition of a singer-songwriter album (ironic given that Bey creates more like a movie director, that is, collaboratively, vs. the typical solitary methods of singer-songwriters). It is also genre-diverse, and Beyoncé puts on a clinic of her magnificent voice performed in several styles (Country, pop, hip-hop, rock, folk-rock, and even opera) – it is like there are ten different vocalists on the album.

“AMERICAN REQUIEM” opens as a solemn hymn with a riff that reminds me of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” Lyrically, Bey is claiming her right to the Country genre by alluding to her controversial performance of “Daddy Lessons” with the Dixie Chicks at the 2016 Country Music Awards. She was criticized by Country fans who found issues with her liberal politics and lack of Country cred.

“It’s a lot of talkin’ goin’ on
While I sing my song
Can you hear me?
I said, ‘Do you hear me?'”

“BACKBIIRD” A great example of Beyoncé’s genius on COUNTRY CARTER is covering the Beatles’ (more specifically, McCartney’s) “Blackbird.” In the past, McCartney has said that the lyrics were inspired by hearing the call of a blackbird in India and racial tension in the Southern United States. The lyric: “you were only waiting for this moment to arise” is about black people’s struggle in the US. In 2018, McCartney elaborated on the song’s meaning, explaining that “Blackbird” should be interpreted as “black girl” (“bird” is a British term, similar to the American term “chick” for girls/women) in the context of the civil rights troubles in southern 1960s US, specifically the Little Rock Nine. Beyoncé uses the song to point out the struggle of black women (blackbirds) in Country music – a genre black people helped invent. To emphasize her point, she is joined on the track by four contemporary “blackbirds” of Nashville: Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, and Tiera Kennedy. It is a relatively straight cover of the Beatles classic, but the fact that Bey and black Nashville artists are performing it is Bey’s demand for women of color to get their “moment to arise” in Country music.

“PROTECTOR” opens up with Carter’s daughter, Rumi, asking her mom to play the lullaby, and Mom obliges. The song is a gorgeous Country ballad. The arrangement is acoustic guitar-focused with a dash of Gary Clark Jr.’s slide guitar. Lyrically, it is a mom’s pledge to protect their child.

“MY ROSE” is a Beyoncé choir (Bey overdubbing herself – an old Joni trick). It is a short song about accepting your and others’ beauty.

“SMOKE HOUR ★ WILLIE NELSON” is a hip-hop skit featuring Willie introducing “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.” But first, there is the spinning of an imaginary radio dial where we hear snippets of Son House’s “Grinnin’ in Your Face,” Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s “Down by the Riverside,” Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline”, and Roy Hamilton’s “Don’t Let Go.” Then Willie instructs us to spark one up and enjoy “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.”

“BODYGUARD” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. It has a sexy lilt and is neither Country nor R&B, but closer to Stealy Dan with better vocals, that is pop jazz. This is the Raphael Saadiq show – he rocks the house with his funky bass, guitar, and production. I love Lemar Carter’s Motownish drums – man, can he create a groove.

“DOLLY P/JOLENE” – Dolly throws Bey a soft pitch that Bey hits out of the park. This is not a reverent cover; Bey changes the album’s mood from Dolly’s resignation to defiance. There are even some lyric changes like: “Jolene, I know I’m a queen, Jolene/I’m still a Creole banshe bitch from Louisiane (Don’t try me).” Yup, don’t mess with QueenBey!

“DAUGHTER” is not about the narrator’s daughter but the narrator as the daughter of her father. Bey’s vocals and arrangement reminded me of Joan Baez. At the bridge, she becomes an opera singer and performs the famous opera aria “Caro Mio Ben,” a song about loneliness due to the absence of a loved one. The aria’s message is in stark contrast to the narrator’s violent mood toward their lover’s infidelity.

“SPAGHETTII” Bey presents a witness, Linda Martell, the first Black female artist to join the Grand Ole Opry, who says in the spoken word section of “SPAGHETTII”: “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand, but in practice, well, some may feel confined.” Bey doesn’t feel confined and proceeds to rap, contrasting with the rest of the album’s predominantly Country, pop, and R&B styles. I assume “spaghetti” refers to “Spaghetti Westerns,” genre busters like Bey.

“ALIIGATOR TEAR” sonically has a singer-songwriter vibe, a cross between Laura Marling and Sheryl Crow. The song suggests that some of her accolades, for example, her many Grammys, are unctuousness (alligator tears). I love The-Dream’s (Terius Adamu Ya Gesteelde-Diamant) production.

“SMOKE HOUR II” is another Willie Nelson spoken word interlude. This time Willie is giving his full endorsement of Beyoncé genre jumping “…if there’s one thing you can take away from my set today, let it be this: sometimes you don’t know what you like until someone you trust turns you on to some real good shit. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I’m here.”

“JUST FOR FUN” (with Willie Jones) is a lovely modern country rock tune with a heavy dose of gospel produced by Dave Hamelin (The Stills). I have never heard of Willie Jones – he kills it with his sweet country voice. It turns out that Willie is an X Factor kid. Pretty low on the totem pole – this is one hell of a bump. It is refreshing that Bey ultimately does this music thing for fun:

“I’m goin’ all out just for fun, I am the man, I know it
And everywhere I go, they know my name
So I laugh and I lie and the coyotes cry
And, uh, time moves quickly and so do I, so do I
So I’ll say my goodbye”

“II MOST WANTED” (with Miley Cyrus) is a jam! These two are perfect duet partners. They are both distinctively different singers, but they are both divas. The song sounds like an interpolation of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.” Googling this song, it appears it is a tribute to Beyoncé’s mother-in-law, Gloria Carter, and her wife, Roxanne Wiltshire. Love these lyrics:

“I’ll be your shotgun rider
‘Til the day I, ’til the day I die”

This should be a massive hit on Country Radio, or the world is wrong. I would love for Lady Gaga and someone like Annie Lenox to cover this.

“LEVII’S JEANS” (with Post Malone) is a trashy Country song with modern R&B production values. I love it!

“Boy, I’ll let you be my Levi’s jeans
So you can hug that ass all day long”

Tacky but damn clever. Post Malone is a perfect cameo with his rap-singing. Tip of the hat to Nile Rogers for the funky folk guitar riff.

“FLAMENCO” is a short song that has a Joni Mitchell vibe: vocally, the arrangement, and lyrically (“Realize that you don’t know what you got until it’s gone”).

“THE LINDA MARTELL SHOW” is a spoken word interlude where Martell introduces the wildest song on the album. “YA YA” has a lot going on – this is the most over-the-top track on the album – lyrically and in the arrangement. It is a brilliant pop cocktail of 60s pop (“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” and “Good Vibrations”), Tina Turner, James Brown, Little Richard, and Elvis. Bey is resurrecting the Chitlin Circuit and reminding us of the genius of that juxtapositioned with the whitest of pop music from the 60s, which coexisted with Motown and Stax. It is, without exaggeration, a tour de force. I hope it is a huge hit.

“OH LOUISIANA” is a cover/sample of a Chuck Berry song. It is a brief tribute to Bey’s Louisiana Creole heritage. It is also the second time she invokes Berry, who supercharged Country music to help create Rock ‘n Roll.

“DESERT EAGLE” is a short funk jam with a prominent bass riff. The song is sexual (desert eagle is a sex position).

“RIIVERDANCE” is an Irish dance tune performed over a rhythm of Dolly-inspired nail percussion. The dance feels like an analogy of the excitement of love.

“II HANDS II HEAVEN” is the kind of pop and hip hop I equate with Beyoncé. Lyrically, I am not sure what is going on here, but Bey’s vocals are outstanding.

“TYRANT” (with Dolly Parton)—beyond the intro, this is barely Dolly. Again, she is working in the pop/hip-hop genre. She uses the term “tyrant” to describe her power, especially her sexual power.

“SWEET ★ HONEY ★ BUCKIIN’ (with Shaboozey)” is three songs. The “SWEET” section opens with a hip-hop Patsy Cline interpolation, then goes into a Shaboozey rap. This first section focuses on how far black folks have come: “We’ve come a long way from the rough ride from the railroads to the rodeos, sweet country home.” In the “HONEY” section, Bey is joined by Pharrell Williams. It has a 60’s girl group feel and is about making love. The “BUCKIIN” section also includes Pharrell and has a hip-hop feel. This section means she is “bucking” trends and will do what Bey will do.

“AMEN” ends the album with a song that echoes the opening track. It is a hymn that brilliantly concludes the album:

“This house was built with blood and bone
And it crumbled, yes, it crumbled
The statues they made were beautiful
But they were lies of stone, they werе lies of stone
Trumpets blarе with silent sound
I need to make you proud
Tell me, can you hear me now?”

Beyoncé has delivered an impressive piece of art. It is a history lesson on how the black (and female) experience has been significant in developing Country music and other “white” pop forms. Despite demanding to be taken seriously, the album is fun. I am embarrassed as a musichead that I did not understand what a significant talent Beyoncé is. Her vocals are insane – it is like several vocalists are on the album. The juxtapositions are a bit messy, but I am okay with that, I like the variety. This is the most sophisticated pop I have heard in a long time.