“Ain’t Enough Cowboy Songs” is still making waves among Ashley McBryde fans.
To close out 2024, Ashley McBryde released “Ain’t Enough Cowboy Songs,” a heartfelt nod to a certain kind of “cowboy ethos” to guide your way in life. The single is an anthem about the importance of hard work, having your peoples’ back, and integrity, while also lamenting that those values seem to slowly be going out of style.
While the track uses cowboy imagery to paint the picture, the double meaning is also about how the music industry has changed drastically since McBryde landed in Nashville in 2005.
During Ashley McBryde’s sit-down on Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen, McBryde compares the lyrics about putting horses out to pasture to her music career and how she got her start in music was being put out to pasture, too.
“The horse I rode in on was, go play bars everywhere you can. Get to town play every bar you can while still playing the other bars you were playing. Build an audience, build an audience, build an audience, give yourself some value. Because this was all pre-social media, really, it’s how we exist, but it’s not how we function…
You get to town, you go to every writer’s night you can, you network, and you start make yourself known by word of mouth. You make your fans and followers by a handshake or sitting down and having a beer…That’s the horse I rode in on, and she’s got put to pasture. That way of life, I’m so thankful for it.”
McBryde was beyond well-spoken during this interview, wrapping up her thoughts that while there is positivity in the way things have changed since she got her start in country music, there is also the concern that we are moving too far away from the genre’s foundation points.
“If we lose the touchstone, the songs that made you want to write songs. We are in trouble…”
The words of McBryde’s interview with Bannen and the song’s meaningful lyrics have struck a chord with fans since the release, leading many of her fans to believe that McBryde is in her “cowboy era.” But when McBryde got wind of her fans saying this, she let them know this has always been the way of life she’s lived by, to a degree.
During a recent interview with CMT, McBryde cleared the air that she’s always lived the cowboy way of life when it comes to hard work, trust, integrity, and adhering to a personal code.
“Someone asked me recently, ‘Are you entering your cowboy era?’ And I was like, ‘No, I have always been that way.’ Self-integrity is something I hold really, really precious. And it’s why you can trust me.”
Cody Alan, the host of CMT’s Hot 20, chimes in, noting that making your own personal constitution to live by makes life a whole lot easier because you have this set moral code.
“Absolutely. And it makes choices a little bit more simple. And I’m not saying I make all of the best choices all the time, but it does give you a guideline that is yours. There’s no other lighthouse you’re looking to there.”
This is why everyone loves Ashley McBryde. She’s so genuine and authentic and has always stuck to her guns. She’s one of those artists that you know is telling nothing but the truth in her interviews, knowing that she had fans who see things the same way as her, and for those who don’t, she is so well spoken you can see why she lives her life a certain way.
Make sure you get out to see Ashley this year. She’s got dates announced through August and (hopefully) plenty more to come, so head over to Vivid Seats and grab your tickets. It’s the only platform that gives you free tickets just for supporting great artists like Ashley McBryde.
Ashley McBryde might be in her cowboy era to some, but to her, she’s just living by the rules she’s always followed.
@cmt @Ashley McBryde has always lived by #cowboy values 🤠 Catch an all-new #cmtHot20 Sat & Sun at 9a/8c on CMT! #countrymusic ♬ original sound – CMT
While you’re here, fire up “Ain’t Enough Cowboy Songs.”
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