Merry Go 'Round (Kacey Musgraves song)

"Merry Go 'Round"
Single by Kacey Musgraves
from the album Same Trailer Different Park
Released September 10, 2012
Format Digital download
Genre Country
Length 3:27
Label Mercury Nashville
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Kacey Musgraves singles chronology
"Oh, Tonight" (with Josh Abbott Band)
(2011)		 "Merry Go 'Round"
(2012)		 "Blowin' Smoke"
(2013)
This article describes the Kacey Musgraves song. For other uses, see merry-go-round (disambiguation).

"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.

"Merry Go Round" won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 56th Grammy Awards.[1]

Content

The song is a cynical observation on life in the American heartland.[2] 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.[3] 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.[2] 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."[4]

Rolling Stone named it the 49th best single of 2012.[5] It also made "NPR Music's 100 Favorite Songs of 2012" list.[6] It was number 1 on Billboard's "10 Best Country Singles of 2013" list.[7]

Music video

The music video was directed by Perry Bean and premiered in September 2012.[8]

Commercial performance

"Merry Go 'Round" peaked at No. 14 on the Hot Country Songs chart.[1] 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.[9]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2012–13) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[10] 84
Canada Country (Billboard)[11] 26
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 63
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[13] 14
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[14] 10

Year-end charts

Chart (2013) Position
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[15] 63
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[16] 52

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 825,000[9]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 Wade Jessen (February 6, 2014). "Kacey Musgraves, Hunter Hayes Show Grammy Growth On Country Charts". Billboard.
  2. 1 2 "Kacey Musgraves, ‘Merry Go Round’ – Song Review". Tasteofcountry.com. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  3. ↑ "'Merry Go 'Round' sheet music". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Kacey Musgraves - "Merry Go 'Round"". Engine 145. 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  5. ↑ "50 Best Songs of 2012: Kacey Musgraves, 'Merry Go Round'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  6. ↑ "Music's 100 Favorite Songs Of 2012 : Best Music Of 2012". NPR. 2012-12-22. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  7. ↑ "Billboard Top 10 List". Billboard. 2013-12-23. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  8. ↑ "CMT : Videos : Kacey Musgraves : Merry Go 'Round". Country Music Television. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  9. 1 2 Bjorke, Matt (2013-02-12). "Country Chart News - The Top 30 Digital Singles - Feb 12, 2014: Cole Swindell Dominates; Scotty McCreery Hits Gold". Roughstock.
  10. ↑ "Kacey Musgraves – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Kacey Musgraves.
  11. ↑ "Kacey Musgraves – Chart history" Billboard Canada Country for Kacey Musgraves.
  12. ↑ "Kacey Musgraves – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Kacey Musgraves.
  13. ↑ "Kacey Musgraves – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Kacey Musgraves.
  14. ↑ "Kacey Musgraves – Chart history" Billboard Country Airplay for Kacey Musgraves.
  15. ↑ "Billboard Country Update for December 16, 2013" (PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 16, 2013. p. 21. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Best of 2013: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  17. ↑ "American single certifications – Kacey Musgraves – Merry Go %27Round". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 10, 2014. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

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