Today is Bey Day, which means the Beyhive's schedule is packed after Beyoncé released her eighth studio album on March 29. On Cowboy Carter , the singer offers fans a wealth of new material, with a total of 27 songs (including some brief interludes). It lasted nearly an hour and twenty minutes. Instead of celebrating the Renaissance in the first act, she becomes more personal in the second act.
While she proudly declares that Cowboy Carter is "not a country album, it's a Beyoncé album," it's quintessentially country in the scope of its storytelling.
Bey opens up about her innermost issues and experiences, from her first forays into country music to her family roots. The album contains themes of murder, betrayal and loss. No one was safe - especially the girl with the fiery auburn hair.
These are Cowboy Carter's most touching and thought-provoking lyrics.
"I used to be told that I spoke too country, but I was rebuffed and told 'I wasn't country enough'."
About Cowboy Carter Beyoncé faced backlash after her performance at the 2016 Country Music Awards, challenging the meaning of country music in her first song, "American Requiem." Nothing sets the tone for a country-inspired album like calling out the genre's institutions and keeping its roots firmly planted.
"If you get lost, I will take you that way. I was born to be a protector."
"Protector", the fourth song from "Cowboy Carter" , The song opens with the voice of Bey's 6-year-old daughter Rumi Carter (who is credited as a featured artist), indicating who the song was written for. The song is a promise to all of her children, including Rumi's twin brother Sir and sister Blue Ivy, that no matter what happens to them, they will be protected, loved and inspired.
"I'll defend you in gossip, you know how people love to start and trend"
In the breezy unscripted "Bodyguard," Beyoncé consoles her lover (aka husband Jay-Z) and references the tabloid attention and fan reaction their relationship has received from the beginning.
"I raised that man, I raised his children, I know my man better than he knows himself"
Beyoncé transformed Dolly Parton's 1973 hit "Jolene" from a wistful plea to a blunt warning. Her perspective is woven into the details of her own love story with Jay-Z, their decades-long relationship and three children adding even more emotional resonance and more reasons for Jolene to get the hell out of here.
"If you piss me off, I'm just like my dad, I'm colder than the water on the Titanic"
The murder ballad "Daughter" follows "Jolene" and further outlines what might have happened to Jolene if she hadn't left. But Bey also mentioned her connection to her father, Mathew Knowles, drawing parallels to her 2016 song "Daddy Lessons," which tells the story of her father teaching her how to stand up to and fend off dangerous men.
"Beins"
Bey packs her rodeo bag on "YA YA," where she acknowledges her family's history by spelling out "Beyince" while proudly shouting out their American roots. Her mother, Tina Knowles, previously explained that many of their relatives had the last name "Beyince" due to a clerical error that officials would not change on their birth certificates. So Tina named her daughter Beyoncé to ensure the right name would stick.
"AOTY, I didn't win, I didn't perform on them"
In the final segment of "Sweet Honey Buckiin," Beyoncé acknowledged how the Grammys snubbed her for Album of the Year, just weeks after Jay-Z gave the Recording Academy a shout-out at the 2024 awards show. He noted that despite being the most decorated Grammy winner in history, the singer has never won the top award. Her reaction? She just keeps writing better music.
