Follow Your Arrow

"Follow Your Arrow"

Kacey Musgraves

If you save yourself for marriage

You're a bore

If you don't save yourself for marriage

You're a horr...ible person

If you won't have a drink

Then you're a prude

But they'll call you a drunk

As soon as you down the first one

If you can't lose the weight

Then you're just fat

But if you lose too much

Then you're on crack

You're damned if you do

And you're damned if you don't

So you might as well just do

Whatever you want

So

Make lots of noise

Kiss lots of boys

Or kiss lots of girls

If that's something you're into

When the straight and narrow

Gets a little too straight

Roll up a joint, or don't

Just follow your arrow

Wherever it points, yeah

Follow your arrow

Wherever it points

If you don't go to church

You'll go to hell

If you're the first one

On the front row

You're self-righteous

Son of a-

Can't win for losing

You'll just disappoint 'em

Just 'cause you can't beat 'em

Don't mean you should join 'em

So make lots of noise

Kiss lots of boys

Or kiss lots of girls

If that's something you're into

When the straight and narrow

Gets a little too straight

Roll up a joint, or don't

Just follow your arrow

Wherever it points, yeah

Follow your arrow

Wherever it points

Say what you think

Love who you love

'Cause you just get

So many trips 'round the sun

Yeah, you only

Only live once

So make lots of noise

Kiss lots of boys

Or kiss lots of girls

If that's what you're into

When the straight and narrow

Gets a little too straight

Roll up a joint, I would

And follow your arrow

Wherever it points, yeah

Follow your arrow

Wherever it points

Sometimes a song really resonates with me and as I thing music should be it is also beautiful poetry. I came across this song as a free download from my Starbucks app.  One listen, and I was hooked.  After listening to "Follow Your Arrow" from Musgraves' Same Trailer Different Park! the Nashville-based singer-songwriter's first album for Mercury Records, it's clear that this is a girl who has something to say. A true language artist, Kacey nimbly spins webs of words to create the quirky puns, shrewd metaphors, and steely ironies that fill the record.

On "Follow Your Arrow," she points out the hypocrisies that society imposes on even the most conservative among us (If you save yourself for marriage you're a bore/If you don't save yourself for marriage you're a horr...ible person) which she balances with a chorus that preaches throwing caution and propriety to the wind: (Make lots of noise/Kiss lots of boys/Or kiss lots of girls if that's something your into/When the straight and narrow gets a little too straight/Roll up a joint/Or don't/Follow your arrow wherever it points.) Her message is clear: Be yourself and be happy.

Musgraves' first two singles, “Merry Go ‘Round” and “Blowin’ Smoke,” struck a chord with country fans because of Musgraves’ outspoken lyrics. Her third single, “Follow Your Arrow,” was released to radio this week and turns the real talk up to ten. In it she discusses a few controversial topics, including one mainstream country rarely — if ever — tackles: homosexuality. “Kiss lots of boys/Or kiss lots of girls if that’s something you’re into,” she sings.

“Well I hope it gets attention because I think it’s definitely time for those issues to be accepted in country music — I mean it’s 2013,” she said. “Regardless of your political beliefs, everybody should be able to love who they want to love and live how they want to live. We’re all driven by the same emotions; we all want to be loved and want to feel the same things. So, hopefully people will put aside their personal, political agenda and just agree with that fact.”

Here's the song if your interested in listening:

Kacey Musgraves - 'Follow Your Arrow' from The Listener Label on Vimeo.