It’s a brutal truth about the music industry. Two weeks ago, Megan Moroney released her highly-anticipated third studio album Cloud 9, which is off to a hot start as it debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, which is her first #1 debut on that chart, earlier this week.
From songs like her two duets “I Only Miss You” with Ed Sheeran, “Bells & Whistles” with Kacey Musgraves, and honky tonk heaters like “Medicine,” there are some great songs on the tracklist, and one in particular called “Liars & Tigers & Bears” is an incredibly introspective look at her feelings on fame and being a young woman in the very cutthroat beast that is the music industry.
Megan wrote it with Luke Laird and Jessie Jo Dillon, and it opens with Megan pointing out just how contradictory and hypocritical the industry is… you should speak your mind, but don’t be too loud about it so you don’t upset people who might disagree, make yourself pretty but don’t be “too much,” be sweet and soft, but be tough while also not being a total b***… it’s endless, and every word it truth I think pretty much anyone can relate to when it comes to measuring up to standards that society places on all of us:
“Speak your mind, but not too loud
Be sure of yourself, but never too proud
Paint yourself pretty, but don’t do too much
Be soft and not bitchy, but you better be tough
Smile real big, be happy to lose
Don’t have a bad day, there’s cameras on you
Champagne problems, I know, I know
Just a wide-eyed girl learning the ropes
Ooh, look alive
You better watch your back for knives
There’s snakes in the grass and thieves in the night
Liars, and tigers, and bears, oh my
Ooh, don’t cry
They’re gonna take your place in line
So, work ’til it kills you, but don’t actually die
Liars, and tigers, and bears, oh my”
The concept and the lyrics of this song reminds me so much of Kacey Musgraves’ song “Follow Your Arrow,” and Megan has said many times, including in the interview below, how much her writing is inspired by Kacey’s, so I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
In the next verse, she talks about how the country industry wants everyone to look like they’re all friends, even the ones that they’re “pitted against,” and that’s one of my favorite lines, in addition to how she points out that selling your soul “will help you break records”:
“Stay in your lane, but evolve and get better
If you sell your soul, we’ll help you break records
Love everybody, aren’t you all friends?
Even the ones that we’ve pit you against”
It’s no secret that people who “make it” at the level Megan’s at have typically done a lot things they’re probably not proud of to get there, once again that’s the nature of the beast, though in an interview on the Country Heat Weekly podcast, Megan explained that she actually explained that she’s been so “crazy from the start” that she told people, if they tried to make her do something she didn’t want to do, she would “have my vocal cords removed and I will place them on your desk.”
She pointed out that she doesn’t need this life bad enough to sacrifice her own desires and morals to get it or keep it, saying that she always thought she would just marry a football played and be housewife, and in many ways, that still appeals to her. So if the music stops being fun, she’s out, and I think that’s absolutely the correct attitude to have with this type of career, though it’s certainly rare:
“You know, I actually have been crazy from the start when it comes to being in this industry. I’ve told people that if you make me do something I don’t want to do, I will have my vocal cords removed and I will place them on your desk.
Because I always thought I would just grow up and marry a football plater or something, and I’m like, ‘I can still do that. So don’t try me.’ But I just know that it happens. It hasn’t personally happened with me, because I’ve always been like, ‘Don’t. Don’t.’
And it’s just like, I do music because I love doing music, and I want it to stay that way. It’s fun for me, and the second that the fun goes away, I don’t know if I could subject myself to what I subject myself to as far as just how hard it it so always be away from home, just the bad sides. I don’t want to focus on those, because there’s not that many, but I do it because I love it and it’s fun.”
Her backup plan is to go live by a pool or beach with a husband and a dog, and honestly, it sounds like she’s got it all figured out…
“And the second that it’s not fun, and I don’t love it, I don’t know… I’ll just go marry someone and live by the pool with a little dog. I’ll go fishing, I’ll have a beach house, I’ll be a housewife.”
And let’s not pretend she couldn’t pull that off in half a second…
In a quote from a press release before the album came out, Megan said of “Liars & Tigers & Bears” that she’s clearly had a “wonderful” experience in the industry with her career, but she knows she needs to keep her guard up because there are certainly snakes in the grass, so to speak:
“For the most part the music industry’s been wonderful to me, but I’ve also learned that sometimes I need to keep my guard up. It’s funny because I played this song for my best friend who’s a teacher and she told me how much she related to it — which was great to hear, but also sad that so many people have to deal with all these unfair expectations.”
Like she points out, the heart of this song is about unfair standards and expectations almost anyone faces no matter what career you’re in or what your daily life is like, and that the relatability and lyrical complexity are what make this one an easy standout.
Check it out if you haven’t yet, because it really does spotlight the best of who Megan is as an artist:
“Liars & Tigers & Bears”
Cloud 9 Tour Dates:
29 | Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
30 | Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
2 | Chicago, IL – United Center
5 | Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
6 | Greensboro, NC – First Horizon Coliseum
8 | Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
12 | Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
13 | St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
16 | Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
18 | Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
19 | Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
20 | Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
7 | Boston, MA – TD Garden
9 | Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
10 | Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
11 | Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
14 | Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
16 | Orlando, FL – Kia Center
17 | Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena
18 | Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena
24 | Monticello, IA – Great Jones County Fair
25 | Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
26 | Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
28 | Denver, CO – Ball Arena
1 | Portland, OR – Moda Center
2 | Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
5 | Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
7 | Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
11 | Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
14 | Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
15 | Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
16 | Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
18 | Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
21 | Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
13 | Oslo, NO – Sentrum Scene
15 | Stockholm, SE – Annexet
18 | Cologne, DE – Carlswerk Victoria
19 | Tilburg, NL – 013 Poppodium
21 | Paris, FR – Le Trianon
23 | London, UK – Eventim Apollo
26 | Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo
27 | Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
1 | Belfast, UK – SSE Arena
