Y’all never heard “Don’t mess with Texas”? Never antagonize a woman who can answer the question you and what army. Especially a global superstar who turns to her medium to express and heal herself and in turn others. A lifelong student of music, she studies, delving further into the art, and emerges with an unimaginable offering. Cowboy Carter isn’t a country album, it’s a Beyoncé album, thrilling and layered like the lady herself.
Racists were incensed to see Beyoncé perform “Daddy Lessons” with The Chicks at the 2016 CMA Awards. One woman yelled “Get that black bitch off the stage!” I bet her mother or aunt would have screamed the same thing at Linda Martell during her performances, maybe even at the Grand Ole Opry. In the special “IMPACT x Nightline: It’s Beyoncé’s Country” a sour man in a cowboy hat and ill-fitting attire says that “just because you sing rap with a twang doesn’t make it country.” Racist dog whistles never fail to be nonsensical. Pitying them is energy they do not deserve. Let them raise their blood pressure. We have art to create.
Cowboy Carter is a journey through musical history. Led by a Texas born icon with immense vocal range and superior flow with family roots in Alabama and Louisiana. Certified Black country folk. The South is the bedrock of Black America, Cowboy Carter is a love letter to her. The reminder that we’ve always been here, belong here, and deserve to take up space here. The United States was built on our backs over the stolen land of the indigenous people of Turtle Island. Undeniable facts. The bell of reckoning rings and the Queen adds to the soundtrack.
This album is a ride through the desert, up and around the mountain, and down the river to the juke joint to stomp, shake, roll, and drink 120 proof hooch. A full-bodied journey to heal, love, dance, nurture, reprimand, and honor. “Ameriican Requiem” rises like daybreak, sunlight steadily filling the room. This country cannot continue to colonize, lie, and demonize in and out of the contiguous 48. It’s past due to break itself down and rebuild, “big ideas, are buried here”. Atone for sins or expire. We’ll give you 78 minutes to decide.
Black people have steadily demanded our just due of basic respect. We soar with “Blackbiird”, despite generational trauma and pain in our bones. Attempts to drag us back will not succeed, that period is over. Moving forward requires reflection on the grit and determination required to survive. Some of us had to grow up quickly, “16 Carriages” tenderly acknowledges the struggle.
We can create safe spaces and uplift the small ones coming behind us. The fight for equity is really for them, not us. They deserve more and in the “Protector” role we build the stage for them to shine. Simultaneously, we must give ourselves grace. “My Rose”, my love, flaws make you a whole person. Embrace them to sit comfortably in your skin.
With a secure foundation we head out. If you don’t want to come, then don’t just like Willie told you. With everything we’ve survived joy is a right. “Texas Hold ‘Em” blares as the dance floor fills for a little line dancin’. At the bar there’s a woman with a story to tell. She’s her lover’s “Bodyguard”, partner in crime and plays no games. A rival creeps into her space but Miss “Jolene” needs to watch out. Pretty sure there’s a pistol in that purse. She can’t help being her father’s “Daughter” and in the end, laid out that other lady and her lover for playing in her face. It’s best not to cross her.
Remember that we’re innovators. Our ancestral traditions came with us across the Atlantic. We’ve adapted and created rich customs, unique and vast. Just like “Spaghetti” we can’t be confined by the powers that be. We’re too powerful and resilient, that might be why they fear us. Linda told you, Shaboozey showed you. Formidable but always human. Fallible like any other, dedicated to people who shed “Alligator Tears”, consuming without replenishing. Draining loving energy. Eventually we break free from bad situations. “Just For Fun” is the prayer for strength and restoration. Ask for help to move through the darkness.
The prayer is answered on “II Most Wanted”. A good friend, or love, whatever you need, rides shotgun. They keep you lifted and pour into you when you are depleted. Feel the breeze on your skin, breathe deeply, and remember how to feel freely. Lighter and brighter get dressed in “Levii’s Jeans” and continue the journey. “Flamenco”, a reminder that what was left behind didn’t deserve you anyway.
Remembering who we are arises from recalling who we come from. Loving assistance comes from the hands that hold your name. Ancestors move when you acknowledge and elevate them. “Ya Ya” is the ode, the call, the cry spanning genres and generations. Another reminder that we’ve lived here, toiled here, and died here for centuries. We are a part of the new America, the one that will offer equity and liberation for all.
Rooted in our personhood, the good times roll. Good loving, good moves, good gracious. “Desert Eagle” for the equestrians, “Riiverdance” with light feet, and lovers raise “II Hands II Heaven”. Dancing under moonlight, barreling through the desert, making divine connections. There is magic in these sounds. Grounded and heady, reverent and hopeful. Occupy the precious space where you can just be. Keep a strong boundary around it, it’s yours to protect.
Beware, there’s specter hanging over us, a “Tyrant” determined to create chaos and send us back to a bleak period. Vying to separate us from autonomy and personhood. If they strike, seek your rightful vengeance. Use what you’ve got to get what you deserve. Make them rue the day they stepped outside of themselves and darkened your doorstep. When this work is done, whew “Sweet ★ Honey ★ Buckin’” we’re heading back home with all we’ve learned. Winding down the original route with fresh eyes, sweet memories, and fiery confidence.
Living with the truth in us, we demolish the crumbling house we never settled in. We lay the foundation for a new home and build with other survivors who are the fabric of this nation. We will live fully in our new space. Beautiful, vibrant, resilient, multifaceted, innovative people. Violent perpetrators need to acknowledge the sins of theft, colonization, genocide, enslavement, and division. The crimes of lynching, creating reservations, and using internment camps. Failure to atone will find them expelled from our world. Have mercy on us as we move forward. Fire purifies past sins, them old are ideas buried here. “Amen.”
