Tag Archives: Cowboy Carter

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Song of the Day #5,837: ‘Alliigator Tears’ – Beyoncé

The Ladies of 2024
#1 – Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter

I don’t think there was any suspense over which album would end up in the top spot. Beyoncé’s latest opus has left all competition in the dust on its way to what — God willing — should be her first ever Album of the Year Grammy.

The icon has now delivered four straight albums of emotionally resonant, genre-bending work, starting with her 2013 self-titled album, then 2016’s Lemonade, 2022’s Renaissance, and now Cowboy Carter, part two of a planned trilogy. For my money, this is the best of them.

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Song of the Day #5,774: ‘Bodyguard’ – Beyoncé

Continuing my countdown of the songs on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter…

#1a. ‘Bodyguard’

This is the song I find myself returning to most on an album chock full of bangers. ‘Bodyguard’ has a very different sound than I’ve ever heard from Beyoncé — imagine if a song on Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours contained the phrase “I’m ’bout to lose it, turn around and John Wayne that ass.” It fits her like a glove.

On an album filled with a lot of allusions to moments in her personal life, this track seems refreshingly separate from all that. It feels like a love song about two laid-back road trippers, an anthem for the free of heart.

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Song of the Day #5,773: ‘Daughter’ – Beyoncé

Continuing my countdown of the songs on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter…

#1b. ‘Daughter’

If the ‘Jolene’ rewrite felt a little too cute, a little too removed from the messiness and trauma of a relationship shattered by infidelity, Beyoncé makes up for that in ‘Daughter.’

This song is as emotionally raw as it is musically beautiful, a confession of anger, jealousy, and regret set against a delicate backdrop of Spanish guitar and swelling strings.

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Song of the Day #5,772: ‘Ya Ya’ – Beyoncé

Continuing my countdown of the songs on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter…

#1c. ‘Ya Ya’

More than a country album, Cowboy Carter is an album about genre — the many ways musical genres can be twisted, combined, and misunderstood. And no song on the album better captures that concept than ‘Ya Ya.’

This foot-stomping epic takes a tour through the history of American music, dabbling in dance, folk rock, surf rock and doo-wop, all with a raucous delivery reminiscent of peak Tina Turner.

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Song of the Day #5,771: ‘Tyrant’ – Beyoncé

Continuing my countdown of the songs on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter…

#1d. ‘Tyrant’

As I get to my four favorite tracks on this excellent album, the order doesn’t really matter. Depending on my mood, any one of these could be my #1. So that’s how I’m numbering them.

‘Tyrant’ is definitely a contender for the album’s best track, and the blend of country themes with a trap beat (and Dolly Parton!) makes it one of the songs that exemplifies Cowboy Carter‘s approach to genre. Queen Bey has said “this isn’t a country album, it’s a Beyoncé album.” ‘Tyrant’ is thrilling proof that it’s both.

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