Beyoncé Keeps Boots Stomping, Listeners Hooked with Country Singles

by Aprille Hanson-Spivey

Photos: Columbia Records

The “Queen Bey” has made her way to country radio. It seems like there’s no shortage of opinions about this move since Beyoncé expertly dropped her first two singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” during a Super Bowl LVIII commercial on February 11. It was a teaser to the full album Cowboy Carter which will debut March 29, the second act to her 2022 Grammy-nominated Renaissance album. 

“Texas Hold ‘Em” specifically is historic, hitting No. 1 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and staying there for the past four weeks. She’s the first Black woman ever to claim the top spot on the Billboard Country chart and has two songs in the top 10 with “16 Carriages” at No. 9. 

Obviously, the fans approve. But I have to say I’ve seen a lot of negativity online — big shocker — acting like Beyoncé shouldn’t make country music. I saw one meme circulating about cutting off the song as soon as it started. I don’t get that vitriol at all, though making sense of online negativity is a losing battle. 

In my mind, I’m shocked it’s taken her this long to make a country album. She’s a Texas native, a powerhouse singer-songwriter and already dabbled with country successfully on songs like “Daddy Lessons” on 2016’s Lemonade. 

Plus, she’s Beyoncé. She’s earned the right to take whatever musical risks she wants. While I’ve never done a deep dive into her discography, I will always have my favorite Beyoncé songs floating around my Spotify playlists, dating back to Destiny’s Child. “Texas Hold ‘Em” is now one of them. 

The song is written by Beyoncé and five other writers, Brian Bates, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nathan Ferraro and Raphael Saadiq, which honestly seems like a lot for this song. It’s probably way fewer than normal sadly since country songs these days are either written solo or by an entire football team. 

Right from the first lyrics “This ain't Texas (woo), ain't no hold 'em (hey) / So lay your cards down, down, down, down,” the song hooks you. It’s got a fun Texas swing style about it, particularly the lyrics about “headin’ to the dive bar we always thought was nice.” It’s basically about a woman persuading her man to swing her around the dance floor. 

Sure, it throws in some random “country-ish” things — tornados, rugged whiskey, a heat wave, a hoedown — but at least it doesn’t mention a truck. In Beyoncé’s song, it’s a Lexus. I applaud that honestly, because not every Southern person owns a truck. I love that she enlisted masterful musician Rhiannon Giddens to play banjo and viola on the track, giving it an even more country vibe. 

The song does throw in a pop-ish sound and lyric in the middle of the catchy chorus: “Don’t be a bitch, come take it to the floor now (woo).” I find myself singing that line randomly, so it was a solid choice, even if it meant wandering a bit into a city club sound.

What keeps this from being a great song overall is the last few lines. Sure, it’s fine to deviate a bit, and throw in that catchy ‘bitch’ line, but what in the name of Texas is up with the whispery lines, “Furs, spurs, boots / Solargenic, photogenic, shoot.” Both lyrically and musically they don’t match the rest of the song and it’s unnecessary. I hate that the song didn’t stick the landing because the rest is fun. 

If ‘Texas’ is a must-have popular radio hit, then “16 Carriages” serves as the more retrospective country ballad. Written by Beyoncé, Atia Boggs, Dave Hamelin and again Saadiq, the song, likely an ode to her rise to fame, has had a good amount of critical acclaim. In an American Songwriter article, Alex Hopper pointed to the most likely fan theories about what “16 carriages” actually refers to, her time touring or specifically when her career launched as a teenager. To me, it seems likely that both are true. While the song isn’t exactly classic like Willie’s “On the Road Again,” when he talks about touring, it’s an important song for Beyoncé to release. It’s her opportunity to share, from a more country perspective, what she’s been through in the spotlight for so many years, with lyrics like, “It’s been umpteen summers, and I’m not in my bed / On the back of the bus in a bunk with the band / Goin’ so hard, gotta choose myself / Undеrpaid and overwhelmed / I might cook, clеan, but still won’t fold.” 

I love how later in the song she refers back to these lyrics, changing it to “38 summers and I’m not in my bed” and pointing to how much she misses her kids. 

In those old Westerns, there were sacrifices for a cowboy lifestyle. In ‘16,’ Beyoncé is painting that picture of sacrifice with a Western backdrop, but for her art. While it’s nowhere near as catchy as, say, the Destiny’s Child song, “Survivor,” it’s very much a survival story. The percussion in the song makes the listener feel the drudgery in the journey of making her art. Yes, Beyoncé has a blessed life, but she’s worked hard for it. Creative people know the grind and the sacrifices made to chase our dreams, so the song is very relatable. Much like the great choice to include Giddens, Robert Randolph is the steel guitarist star on this track. It just gives it a very country feel, even with Beyoncé’s fast pacing on the verses. 

I’ve been more drawn to “Texas Hold ‘Em” because it’s the fun song out of the two. But I think “16 Carriages” should be praised. I hope these two singles indicate the kind of musical mix the Cowboy Carter album has in store for fans.