Released September 10, 2012 Genre Country Label Mercury Nashville | Format Digital download Length 3:27 | |
Writer(s) Kacey Musgraves
Josh Osborne
Shane McAnally | ||
"Merry Go 'Round" is the debut single from American country music artist Kacey Musgraves. It was released in September 2012 as the lead single from Musgraves' debut album Same Trailer Different Park. Musgraves co-wrote and co-produced the song with Shane McAnally, with additional writing from Josh Osborne and production assistance from Luke Laird.
Contents
"Merry Go 'Round" won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 56th Grammy Awards.
Content
The song is a cynical observation on life in the American heartland. It is a first-person view from a woman who deals with disillusionment with modern life. The chorus, "Momma's hooked on Mary Kay, brother's hooked on Mary Jane, and daddy's hooked on Mary two doors down" provides a simple but effective view on the woman's family and life, using the rhyme of "merry/mary/marry" as a play-on-words, later stating her life is a "Merry-go-round" and stating that couples tend to get married out of boredom or obligation. It also uses samples of the nursery rhyme Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary as a continued play-on-words. The latter part of the song retells another traditional nursery rhyme, Jack and Jill, in a modernized fashion. It is in the key of F-sharp major, in a 2/2 time signature with an approximate tempo of 88 beats per minute. The song's main accompaniment is guitar and banjo.
Critical reception
Giving it 4.5 stars out of 5, Billy Dukes of Taste of Country compared the song's style and Musgraves' voice favorably to Miranda Lambert. It received a "thumbs up" from Juli Thanki of Engine 145, who said that she "writes with a maturity beyond her 24 years, delivering an unflinching look into small-town life that’s more nuanced than the highly romanticized rural anthems offered up by many of her male counterparts."
Rolling Stone named it the 49th best single of 2012. It also made "NPR Music's 100 Favorite Songs of 2012" list. It was number 1 on Billboard's "10 Best Country Singles of 2013" list.
Music video
The music video was directed by Perry Bean and premiered in September 2012.
Commercial performance
"Merry Go 'Round" peaked at No. 14 on the Hot Country Songs chart. The song reached the top 10 of the Billboard Country Airplay chart. The song has sold 825,000 copies in the US as of February 2014.