Country queens Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert collaborate on the new song “Horses and Divorces” from Musgraves’ upcoming album, Middle of Nowhere, set to release on Friday (May 1). In a recent cover story with Variety, Musgraves discussed not only the inspirations behind her new album but also the past tensions between the two native Texans and Grammy-winning country artists.
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Fans have long speculated about a strained relationship between the two artists, believing that the tension originated from Lambert’s 2011 song “Mama’s Broken Heart,” which Musgraves co-wrote (alongside Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally). At that time, Musgraves had not yet achieved her breakout hit and intended to record “Mama’s Broken Heart” herself. However, she was convinced to let Lambert record it instead. The song became a top 10 hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, leading to several award wins for Lambert. Meanwhile, Musgraves achieved her own breakthrough hit in 2013 with “Merry Go ‘Round” from her debut album, Same Trailer, Different Park.
During the Variety interview, Musgraves confirmed that there was indeed tension between the two singers. “It was grass-fed, grade A,” Musgraves remarked.
“I mean, it’s real and that’s why I love this song because it’s not coming from some contrived place in a writing room,” Musgraves said about “Horses and Divorces.” “We’ve come together after years of honestly not being friends. I had this idea one day when I saw her on Instagram riding one of her horses, and I thought, ‘Well, I guess we have two things in common: horses and divorces.’ And I was like, ‘Wait, that’s a song.’ Then I took it further: ‘What if I write it with her? What if it’s a duet? F–k it, I’m gonna reach out.’ I hadn’t spoken to her in years and was like, ‘Hey, I have this idea. If anyone would get it, it would be you. We’ve had our issues over the years, but this would be really funny.’ And she was like, ‘I’m down.’ I was like, ‘Look, I’m not trying to be your friend, but we should at least write this song.’”
Musgraves added that the writing session for “Horses and Divorces” was healing.
“In our writing session, Miranda said, ‘Hey, I wouldn’t have the career that I have without [“Mama’s Broken Heart”], and I’m really grateful for it,’” Musgraves recalled. “So it was very full circle … It was a plot twist that even I did not see coming, so it really surprised me too. We talked about everything; we’re both older now and have less energy for unnecessary drama. I don’t enjoy having weirdness with anyone out there.”
Musgraves’ Middle of Nowhere also features collaborations with Billy Strings, Willie Nelson, and Gregory Alan Isakov.
In the meantime, Lambert has teased an upcoming announcement of her own — seemingly new music — as her website redirects fans to a site titled countryanddisco.com and includes a presave option along with a countdown.
