"Gunpowder & Lead" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Miranda Lambert | ||||
from the album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend | ||||
Released | January 14, 2008 | |||
Recorded | 2007 | |||
Genre | Country rock | |||
Length | 3:11 | |||
Label | Columbia Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Miranda Lambert singles chronology | ||||
|
"Gunpowder & Lead" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in January 2008 as the third single from her album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend . The album's third single, it became Lambert's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs in July 2008. With over 1,000,000 digital downloads, "Gunpowder & Lead" was certified Platinum by the RIAA on December 3, 2010. The song was written by Lambert and Heather Little.
The song was made available as downloadable content for the game Rock Band on December 16, 2008.
The song is a moderate up-tempo song in the key of G backed by resonator guitar. Its lyrics focus on the narrator, who tells of her plans to shoot her abusive husband once he is let out of jail. [1]
The radio edit omits sound effects which are heard on the album version: door slowly creaking open at the beginning, and the sound of a gunshot at the end with the sound of the door slowly creaking closed.
The song has been compared to "Goodbye Earl" by the Dixie Chicks and "Independence Day" by Martina McBride, both of which feature abused wives killing their husbands as well. [1] According to Lambert, the song's storyline was inspired by a point in her life when her parents would take abuse victims into their home, and she had to share her bedroom with a mother and daughter. [1]
The song received a "thumbs up" from Engine 145 reviewer Matt C. He compared the song 's theme of female liberation to "Goodbye Earl" and "Independence Day", and although he said that it was also thematically similar to Lambert's previous single "Kerosene", he considered it "too well crafted to be considered purely derivative." [2] Kevin J. Coyne of Country Universe was also positive, and gave the song an A+ rating. "The stroke of brilliance was focusing the song completely around the moment of tension: her waiting at home with a loaded shotgun, ready to defend herself after he makes bail and comes back home to finish the fight." [3]
"Gunpowder & Lead" was named the 90th best song of 2007 by Pitchfork . [4] The song was deemed the 9th best single of 2008 by Rough Trade. [5] Billboard and Paste ranked the song number three and number four, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Miranda Lambert songs. [6] [7]
The music video used for "Gunpowder & Lead" is a live performance from the CMA Music Festival, in Nashville, TN.[ citation needed ]
"Gunpowder & Lead" debuted at number 51 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the chart week of January 19, 2008. The song became Lambert's first Top 10 hit; it peaked at number 7 on August 16, 2008. It has sold over 2,207,000 in the US as of November 2015. [8]
Chart (2008) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Country ( Billboard ) [9] | 19 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [10] | 52 |
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [11] | 7 |
Chart (2008) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [12] | 41 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [13] | 3× Platinum | 2,207,000 [8] |
United States (RIAA) [14] Mastertone | Gold | 500,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
American Idol finalists Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart, Skylar Laine and Jessica Meuse performed this song on their respective seasons.
Alaina and Reinhart performed the song as a duet on the Top 4 results show of season 10, and Laine performed this song during the theme of "Their Personal Idols" on the show's eleventh season.
Liz Davis performed the song on her knockout round on season 3 of The Voice .
Miranda Leigh Lambert is an American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place on the television program Nashville Star, a singing competition which aired on the USA Network. Outside her solo career, she is a member of the Pistol Annies, a group she formed in 2011 alongside Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. Lambert has been honored by the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards. Lambert has been honored with more Academy of Country Music Awards than any artist in history and was named by the Chicago Tribune as the "greatest country music artist of all time" in 2019.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the second studio album by American country music artist, Miranda Lambert, released May 1, 2007, by Columbia Nashville. It was produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke.
"Kerosene" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in September 2005 as the third single and title-track to her debut album of the same name. It reached number 15 on the Hot Country Songs chart, Lambert's first Top 20 country hit. It also peaked at number 61 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The working title of the song was "Kerosene ".
American country music singer Miranda Lambert has released ten studio albums, one extended play, one video album, and has made 23 other album appearances. She has released 39 singles, nine promotional singles, and 37 music videos. Lambert has sold 7 million albums in the United States, with her first seven studio albums being certified platinum. In 2001, Lambert released a self-titled and self-financed independent album. After gaining exposure as the third-place winner of the television competition Nashville Star, Lambert signed with Epic Nashville in 2004.
"White Liar" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in August 2009 as the second single from her album Revolution. Lambert performed "White Liar" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on October 6, 2009, and on the 2009 CMA Awards on November 11, 2009. In December 2009, the song became Lambert's second Top 10 hit and reached a peak of number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of February 6, 2010. The song was written by Lambert and Natalie Hemby.
Revolution is the third studio album by American country music singer Miranda Lambert. It was released on September 29, 2009, via Columbia Records Nashville. The album includes the singles "Dead Flowers", "White Liar", "The House That Built Me", "Only Prettier", and "Heart Like Mine", all of which charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
"The House That Built Me" is a song written by Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin, and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. Blake Shelton was originally set to record the song, but when Lambert heard it, she emotionally reacted to the lyrics, and immediately wanted to record it for herself. It was released in March 2010 as the third single from her third studio album, Revolution. It is the fastest-rising single of her career, reaching the Top 20 in its eighth week. For the chart week of June 12, 2010, the song became Lambert's first number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and held its place at the top for four consecutive weeks. It is also Lambert's first single of her career that she did not have a hand in writing. Additionally, it was her second single to receive a platinum certification from the RIAA on January 31, 2011.
Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth is an American singer and songwriter from Rossville, Georgia. She was the runner-up on the tenth season of American Idol. Her debut studio album, Wildflower, was released on October 11, 2011. Her second album, Road Less Traveled, was released January 27, 2017. Alaina later achieved her first number one on the Country Airplay chart with the album's title track. Her second number one came later that year when she simultaneously topped five Billboard charts with her friend and former classmate Kane Brown on their duet "What Ifs". In addition to this song with Brown, Alaina became an in-demand duet vocalist throughout the next few years, appearing on number one collaborations with Hardy, Devin Dawson, and Dustin Lynch. Her third studio album, Sitting Pretty on Top of the World, was released on September 3, 2021.
"Over You" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in January 2012 as the second single from Lambert's album Four the Record.
"Fastest Girl in Town" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in June 2012 as the third single from Lambert's album Four the Record. The song was written by Lambert and Angaleena Presley.
Racheal Lynn Woodward, better known as RaeLynn, is an American singer and songwriter who was a contestant on The Voice in season two (2012). She was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
"Mama's Broken Heart" is a song recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released on January 14, 2013 as the fourth single from Lambert's album, Four the Record (2011). "Mama's Broken Heart" was written by Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally and Kacey Musgraves, and is about a woman losing control after a break-up and ignoring her mother's advice on dealing with such a situation.
"Automatic" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in February 2014 and served as the lead single from her fifth studio album, Platinum. Lambert co-wrote the song with Nicolle Galyon and Natalie Hemby. It was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song.
"Somethin' Bad" is a song recorded as a duet by American country music artists Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood. The song was written by Chris DeStefano, Brett James and Priscilla Renea. It was released as the second single from Lambert's fifth studio album Platinum in advance of the album's release two weeks later. The song premiered at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18, 2014, and was released for sale the next day.
"Girl Crush" is a song written by Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose, and performed by American country music group Little Big Town. It was released on December 15, 2014 as the second single from their sixth studio album, Pain Killer. The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics, won five music awards, including two Grammys, reaching number 3 on the Country Airplay charts and number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, ended up being the second-most played song of 2015 on the format, and is certified Sextuple Platinum in the US.
The Weight of These Wings is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released on November 18, 2016, via RCA Records Nashville. The album consists of two discs, with Disc 1 titled The Nerve, and Disc 2 titled The Heart. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and No. 3 on the all-genre US Billboard 200 chart, and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In addition to winning Album of the Year at the 2017 ACM Awards, it is considered by several music publications as one of the best albums of the year. In 2020, the album was ranked at 480 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.
"Tin Man" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released to radio on April 3, 2017, as the third single from Lambert's sixth studio album The Weight of These Wings (2016). The song was written by Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, with an acoustic version appearing on the trio's 2021 collaborative album The Marfa Tapes.
"Drowns the Whiskey" is a song written by Josh Thompson, Brandon Kinney, and Jeff Middleton and recorded by American country music singer Jason Aldean featuring Miranda Lambert. It was released in May 2018 as the second single from Aldean's album Rearview Town.
"It All Comes Out in the Wash" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released on July 18, 2019, as the lead-off single from Lambert's seventh studio album Wildcard. The album was released on November 1, 2019.
"Bluebird" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released on December 9, 2019, as the second single from Lambert's seventh studio album Wildcard. The album was released on November 1, 2019. "Bluebird" won the CMA Award for Video of the Year and was nominated for Single and Song of the Year at the 54th Annual Country Music Association Awards. It was also nominated for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.