"Follow Your Arrow" | ||||
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![]() UK physical single cover [1] | ||||
Single by Kacey Musgraves | ||||
from the album Same Trailer Different Park | ||||
Released | October 21, 2013 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:21 | |||
Label | Mercury Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Kacey Musgraves singles chronology | ||||
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"Follow Your Arrow" is a song recorded by American country music singer and songwriter Kacey Musgraves. The song is featured on her major label debut album, Same Trailer Different Park . It was released on October 21, 2013, as the album's third single. [2] It was written by Musgraves, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. It was named Song Of The Year at the 2014 CMA Awards. Rolling Stone ranked 'Follow Your Arrow' number 39 on its list of '100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time'. [3]
Suggesting that any given choice will elicit criticism from others, the narrator states that one's best course is to remain true to oneself ("follow your arrow"). One line of the song includes support of the gay community. [4]
The song is in the key of F major with a main chord pattern of F – Dm – B♭– Gm – C and a vocal range between F3 and C5. It is in a 4/4 time signature with a moderate tempo. [5]
The music video was directed by Honey and Kacey Musgraves and premiered in December 2013. [6]
Musgraves performed the song on November 6 at the 2013 Country Music Association Awards. On January 26, Musgraves performed the song at the 56th annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. [7]
"Follow Your Arrow" has been widely acclaimed by most critics and fans since its release, despite receiving initial criticism from some conservative groups.
Billboard listed "Follow Your Arrow" at number 2 on their list of 20 Best Songs of 2013, saying that "you didn't have to be a hardcore country fan to boogie along to Kacey Musgraves' exuberant call to make lots of noise and kiss lots of boys — or lots of girls, if that's something you're into." [8] Rolling Stone Magazine ranked the song number 8 in their list of 100 Best Songs of Decade 2010s on December 4, 2019. [9] At the 2013 Country Music Awards, they censored the famous line "Roll up a joint" because they deemed it too controversial for primetime television. [10] "Follow Your Arrow" received mixed reviews from conservatives due to some of the song's lyrics, as they claimed the country tune was "an attack on Christians", while others called it a "sign of [a] shift in country music" due to the song's positive reference to homosexuality. [11]
In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #36 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking. [12]
"Follow Your Arrow" debuted at number 56 on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart for the week of November 2, 2013. [13] It also debuted at number 28 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of November 23, 2013, and at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of February 15, 2014. In the week of February 15, 2014, the song also jumped from number 26 to number 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, giving Musgraves her first top ten single as a recording artist on that chart. As of June 2014, the song has sold 471,000 digital copies in the US. [14]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [21] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
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Shane Lamar McAnally is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. McAnally has written, and/or produced over 50 number one songs. Writing and producing for artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Sam Hunt, Kenny Chesney, Walker Hayes, Kelly Clarkson, Reba McEntire, Luke Bryan, Lady A, Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Brothers Osborne, Old Dominion, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, Midland, and more. He has received Billboard’s Trailblazer Award for his work both in country music and in championing voices in the LGBTQ community.
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Kacey Lee Musgraves is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 2007, Musgraves appeared on the fifth season of the USA Network singing competition Nashville Star, where she finished in seventh place. In 2012, she signed with Mercury Nashville and released the hit single "Merry Go 'Round". Her major-label debut studio album, Same Trailer Different Park (2013), won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
"Merry Go 'Round" is the debut single by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves. It was released in September 2012 as the lead single from her 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.
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Brandy Lynn Clark is an American country music singer-songwriter. Her songs have been recorded by Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, the Band Perry, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Currington, Darius Rucker, and Kacey Musgraves. She debuted as an artist in her own right in 2013 with her album 12 Stories and has released four additional studio albums. Clark is a sixteen-time Grammy Award nominee, including the 2015 Best New Artist award, and won the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year as a co-writer on "Follow Your Arrow". In 2023, Clark and frequent collaborator Shane McAnally wrote the music and lyrics for the musical Shucked, earning a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Original Score.
Same Trailer Different Park is the debut studio album by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves, released on March 19, 2013, through Mercury Nashville. Musgraves co-wrote all 12 tracks and co-produced the album with Luke Laird and Shane McAnally. Met with widespread critical acclaim, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
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