Beyoncé’s 7 Most Revealing Lyrics From Cowboy Carter

It’s Bey Day, meaning the Beyhive’s schedule is full after Beyoncé released her eighth studio album on March 29. On Cowboy Carter, the singer gave fans plenty of new material to dive into, with an astounding 27 songs (including a few short interludes) spread across nearly an hour and 20 minutes. And unlike act i’s celebratory Renaissance, she gets a little more personal on act ii.

While she proudly declared that Cowboy Carter “isn’t a country album, it’s a Beyoncé album,” it is classically country in the scope of its storytelling.

Bey opens up about issues and experiences near and dear to her heart, from her first foray into country music to her family lineage. The album contains themes of murder, betrayal, and loss. And nobody is safe — especially that one girl with flaming locks of auburn hair.

These are the most emotional and revealing lyrics from Cowboy Carter.

“Used to say I spoke too country, and the rejection came, said ‘I wasn’t country ’nough.’”

On Cowboy Carter’s first song, “Ameriican Requiem,” Beyoncé challenges the notion of what it means to be country, driven by the backlash she received after performing at the 2016 Country Music Awards. Nothing sets the tone for a country-inspired album like calling out the genre’s institution and firmly planting her roots down.

“I will lead you down that road if you lose your way, born to be a protector”

“Protector,” the fourth track on Cowboy Carter, begins with the voice of Bey’s 6-year-old daughter, Rumi Carter (who is credited as a featured artist), signaling who the song is meant for. The track is a promise to all of her children, including Rumi’s twin brother, Sir, and big sister, Blue Ivy, that they will be protected, loved, and uplifted no matter what happens to them.

“I’ll defend you in the gossip, you know how people like to start sh*t and pop sh*t”

On the breezy jam “Bodyguard,” Beyoncé comforts her lover (aka husband Jay-Z) as she invokes the tabloid attention and fan reactions their relationship has received from the start.

“I raised that man, I raised his kids, I know my man better than he knows himself”

Beyoncé transforms Dolly Parton’s 1973 hit “Jolene” from a yearning plea into a straight-up warning. Her perspective weaves in details from her own love story with Jay-Z, with their decades-long relationship and three children adding more emotional resonance and more reason to tell Jolene to scram.

“If you cross me, I’m just like my father, I am colder than Titanic water”

The murder ballad “Daughter” follows “Jolene” and further outlines what could happen to Jolene if she doesn’t leave. But Bey also invokes her connection to her father, Mathew Knowles, and draws a parallel to her 2016 song “Daddy Lessons,” which tells the story of her dad teaching her how to fight and fend off dangerous men.

“B-E-Y-I-N-C-E”

Bey gets into her rodeo bag on “YA YA,” where she acknowledges her family’s history by spelling out “Beyince” while proudly shouting out their American roots. Her mother, Tina Knowles, previously explained that many of their relatives have the last name “Beyince” due to a clerical error that officials wouldn’t change on their birth certificates. As a result, Tina named her daughter Beyoncé to make sure the proper name lives on.

“A-O-T-Y, I ain’t win, I ain’t stuntin’ ’bout them”

In the last part of “Sweet Honey Buckiin,” Beyoncé acknowledges how the Grammys have snubbed her for Album of the Year, just weeks after Jay-Z called out the Recording Academy during the 2024 ceremony. He mentioned the singer never won the top prize despite being the most awarded Grammy winner in history. Her response? She simply keeps writing better music.