Miranda Lambert’s “Roots & Wings” Blurs Lines Between Art and Ad
On Thursday (1-22) country music fans were treated to a surprise when Miranda Lambert unexpectedly released a new song totally divested from her recent album Platinum called “Roots and Wings.” The song starts off a little checklist-like, talking about red dirt stains and tall pine trees, but resolves in one deliciously juicy “I got roots, and I got wings” lyrical hook that illuminates how sometimes the same things that ground us and make us who we are, are the same attributes that can make us soar through life—a message that country music itself might find beneficial to heed.
Miranda wrote “Roots and Wings,” and the short 1:10 video that accompanies the release included pictures and locations from Miranda’s real life narrative. Miranda’s Platinum album was one of mainstream country’s critical favorites in 2014, and “Roots and Wings” according to early listener feedback and this critic’s assessment is already arguably just as good, if not better than anything else on that effort, even before we’re able to hear past the 1:10 mark.
Oh but there’s a hitch. You won’t find “Roots and Wings” on iTunes or your local country radio, at least not yet. Nope, the occasion of the song’s release is a Dodge Ram Trucks commercial. Cue Ralphie from The Christmas Story, again…
Miranda signed an endorsement deal with Ram in November of 2014, and “Roots and Wings” is the latest result of the auto maker’s continued Miranda Lambert-themed roll out. It’s also part of a larger trend by Ram to aggressively enter the country music space to appeal to the genre’s red-blooded, blue-collared, income-positive consumers who are known for working hard and spending their money.
Ram’s brand has been popping up all over the place in country lately. They’ve partnered with Yahoo Music to sponsor the Ram Country music outlet, which was one of the first places the new video and song appeared. Ram has become a big sponsor on country radio and a big advertiser for country music awards shows and tours. Believe it or not, Ram even reached out about a year ago to see if there was a sponsorship opportunity with Saving Country Music, and we conducted a conference call tossing around ideas. Of course I probably screwed that up when around the same time I decided to take the ACM Awards to task for nominating Justin Moore for New Artist of the Year when he was clearly ineligible, and made such a stink about it the ACM’s had to publicly respond. Why would Ram Trucks care? Because they were the primary named sponsor of the ACM’s fan-voted New Artist category in 2014, and a big sponsor of the ACM’s at large. Oh well, you can always find new ways to jazz up Ramen.
What Miranda Lambert is doing is in no way unprecedented, whether you want to consider Will Hoge’s placement of the song “Strong” with Chevy Trucks from a couple of years back, or even Hank Williams peddling Mother’s Best flour back in the 1950’s. Product endorsements and even song placements in advertising are nothing new in country whatsoever, but we’ve definitely seen an uptick lately in the amount of country songs, and good ones at that, being released as the soundtrack to commercials as their first and primary purpose, instead of being used in commercials after they’ve become recognizable by the public as hits. This seemingly new trend continues to blur the lines between commercial content and creative output that could pose some difficult dilemmas for music moving forward.
The country music demo is hot right now, and everyone wants a piece of it. Remember that Hillary Clinton country music campaign commercial from a while back? But what is a country consumer to do when listening to these songs and trying to judge them as advertising or as an artistic effort? Will it come to the point where country music is nothing more than one big commercial, and music unadulterated with advertisement either in content or history will be the “break” instead of the commercials themselves? It’s supposed to be the songs that sell the commercials, not vice versa. The move by auto makers to make these songs intertwined with the products they endorse before they’re released is an intelligent one. Even if the song goes on to bigger and better things beyond being heard in a 30-second snippet between football game snaps, it will forevermore be linked with their product. What do you think of when you hear Bob Seger’s “Like A Rock,” or “Our Country” from John Mellencamp?
Maybe these artists are happy for the opportunity to take one of their songs and make it a universally-recognizable part of the American advertisement carousel, because it will potentially give it more exposure than being a middling single on country radio, if it’s successful on radio at all in today’s environment. Even this truth may present a slippery slope though, where artists like Miranda Lambert deem the advertising venue to be a better vehicle to get their songs to the public than the music industry. Does it forever taint a song if it starts out selling products instead of an album single?
“Roots and Wings” is damn good song. At least what we’ve heard from it. So why not release it to the public, or to radio, or let it end up on a future album like Will Hoge did with “Strong.” Because country radio needs songs like this, especially from one of the few women that country radio will actually play. If Ram Trucks wants a piece of the action somehow, hey, more power to them. In an environment of dwindling revenue from downloads and physical sales, these endorsement deals may be the only thing keeping music afloat, which may constitute its own dire statement about the health of music in America. But ultimately keeping the lines between the creative and the commercial clearly drawn certainly seems like a prescient and wise priority for music, doesn’t it?
It’s not that “Roots and Wings” is in a commercial. It’s that it’s in a commercial first, and happens to be really really good.
January 23, 2015 @ 9:48 am
“Strong” is ten times better than this, but that’s because Hoge is ten times the songwriter and artist that Miranda is. Nevertheless, this is at least catchy and interesting. I don’t view it as good as you think it is, but it’s not bad, by any means.
January 23, 2015 @ 11:09 am
Finally a female artist got a sponsor on par w/ her male peers- let’s celebrate it. People are so fast to try and knock it. Yes Miranda is a great songwriter. Go look at her 5 solo albums and 2 Pistol Annie’s CDs for evidence of that. Once again Miranda is blazing a trail for female artists. Hopefully this goes well so other female artists get a chances working w/ Madison Ave. Miranda doesn’t need anyone’s permission to, 10 years in her career, to have a partnership w/ a company that helps out her philanthropy.
January 23, 2015 @ 11:31 am
The issue of corporate endorsements for artists in my opinion is another issue entirely. The concern I’m raising here is for the legacy of Miranda’s song, and the potential that releasing it as part of a commercial will clip its wings as a creative expression, so to speak, which might be a little ironic seeing the subject matter of the song also talking about being grounded to your roots. Yes, Miranda does a lot for charity and some of this Dodge money very well may trickle down to that, but Miranda signed this deal to help her bottom line as well. Hey, that’s her prerogative. I just want to see “Roots and Wings” to be judged as a song, not as a commercial.
January 23, 2015 @ 12:17 pm
AMEN
January 23, 2015 @ 1:10 pm
So now all of a sudden we’re supposed to judge the achievement of women in country by the size of their endorsement deals? I find that idea abhorrent and diminutive. Miranda Lambert has plenty of money, and flicking some alms to the needy, as every single artist in her position does, and parading this out through social network to gloss over the fact that she’s egregiously rich, is play #1 out of the corporate playbook.
If Miranda Lambert wants to sign a deal with Ram and get the big payday, then great. It’s not really my business what she does with her name. But let’s not act like barriers are being broken down here. In my opinion barriers to the integrity of music are being erected if commercial interests continue their encroachment on American music.
January 23, 2015 @ 11:32 am
1 like
January 23, 2015 @ 11:34 am
…for malinda’s comment.
January 23, 2015 @ 12:44 pm
I don’t begrudge anyone for making money or doing whatever the heck hey want with their time and talents. I also make a distinction between what I would consider an entertainer and an artist. Once you go down the road of corporate sponsorship, it’s hard to go back. I think this demonstrates a stark contrast between artists like Sturgill, Willie, Neil Young and many others who have put the music first, and others who have used their music as a means to an end (make a ton of cash). Again, I would never begrudge someone who wants to make money, and probably might even use it for great causes…but you can’t have it both ways. Makes you wonder what classic country songs might sound like if the artists had corporate sponsors.
“I’m so lonesome, I could…drink a Pepsi.”
“You look like a Chevy in the morning.”
January 23, 2015 @ 1:37 pm
The song is too country for radio, so I support any vehicle to get it out to the masses. However, 10 years ago I wouldn’t have felt that way; I was all over Wilco for whoring out ‘Sky Blue Sky’ to Volkswagen. But, these are different times. Yes, I still think of Chevy when I hear “Like a Rock,” but that may not be true for the generation before me and definitely not for the generation after me.
Lambert is the most peculiar choice as a spokesperson for Ram. First, she’s a woman. When I think of truck commercials, I think of Seeger, Kid Rock, and Toby Keith. I can’t ever remember a woman peddling trucks. Second, as documented in the comments section of any article Trig posts about Lambert on SCM, men have a negative reaction to her music. I’d like to see the results of the focus group that proved otherwise.
Overall, I really liked what I heard and it no longer affects me if music is tied to a product. The feeling and association will pass.
January 23, 2015 @ 3:04 pm
Good point. I think Miranda might suffer from gender disconnect more than most any artist I’ve ever covered, especially the Pistol Annies material. Not saying there’s not some males that appreciate it, but it is curious the gender split with her music, and I’ve mentioned that in multiple reviews.
January 23, 2015 @ 4:38 pm
Of course, maybe that’s why she finds greater mass-appeal and overall acceptance. She isn’t girly. She has more of a balls-to-the-wall attitude than most of the men in country music.
Sadly, she’s more Hank Jr than most of Country’s men.
January 23, 2015 @ 9:25 pm
“Sadly, she’s more Hank Jr that most of Country’s men.”
Agreed. At this point, I’m convinced that Carrie Underwood could beat up most of the men in country music.
January 24, 2015 @ 12:30 pm
Rosalie, I disagree about Carrie. I don’t think she is so tough personality wise. She seems very eager to please other people. She’s like the sorority girl who goes along to get along.
I think Miranda is as tough as most of the guys. And I think Taylor Swift, beneath the fairy princess veneer, is tough as nails.
January 24, 2015 @ 1:08 pm
Eh, I was half-joking half-serious. Obviously Carrie wouldn’t beat any of them up, heh. But if it came down to it, I bet Carrie would win (Carrie vs Hunter Hayes, obviously Carrie). All the males of country music seem to only be interested in “shaking their boom-booms” (to quote the songs they sing) at this point *cough* Luke Bryan *cough*. Though it really does seems like Miranda (and other females, but Miranda mostly) has more balls than most of Country’s men, or at the very least Luke Bryan (as evidenced by his jeans)
January 24, 2015 @ 1:09 pm
On a different note, Carrie’s “Something In The Water” has been #1 on the hot country songs chart for 7 weeks, and #1 on the hot christian songs chart for an astonishing 16 weeks. So she is beating the guys on the charts. It’s been years since I recall a female artist having a mega hit like this on the country charts.
January 24, 2015 @ 2:51 pm
Unfortunately, country radio doesn’t seem to be supporting females at all. Yes, Carrie is number one in sales, but the chart that really matters is th airplay (radio). There hasn’t been a number one hit by a solo female since 2012’s Blown Away. Hopefully, Something In the Water will hit number one (not just because it’s a female who sings it, but because it is actually a good song, a rarity these days), and country radio’s female drought will end (yes, I know, “Girl in a Country Sing was number one, but they are technically a duo. Still, only 1 female number one in 2 years). If not Carrie, maybe Miranda has a chance to hit number 1 with “Little Red Wagon” (though I’m not particularly a fan of that song).
January 24, 2015 @ 12:22 pm
I don’t think the “gender disconnect” is specific to Miranda. Just about every female mainstream Nashville artist since the turn of the century has appealed mainly to female audiences, with a very small number of exceptions (Sara Evans perhaps? and Alison Krauss, who was not really that close to the mainstream).
Ballsy acts like Miranda Lambert have a mostly female audience. Ultra girly acts like Taylor Swift version 1.0 also had an overwhelmingly female audience. I’d guess that the audiences of Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, and Martina McBride also skew female. I think even sexy as hell Shania Twain had a fan base that was majority female. Nashville’s marketing plan for female singers is to have them record songs for women and girls.
January 24, 2015 @ 12:39 pm
I don’t think we’re talking about Miranda Lambert circa 2007 anymore though. She’s pretty dramatically moved away from her “ballsy” past. And specific to the Pistol Annies material, it might be “ballsy,” but it’s about being hot and screwing guys out of their money and stuff, and so it generally doesn’t appeal to men no matter who is singing it.
January 24, 2015 @ 1:25 pm
Miranda is the fake and pretentious “look how ballsy I am” kind of ballsy though. Ashley Monroe or Brandy Clark could sound more ballsy singing about cupcakes, tea and doilies than Miranda sounds singing about gunpowder & lead. And I bet they have way bigger male audiences for it. If I ever need someone to pose for a Vogue photo shoot though…
January 23, 2015 @ 5:32 pm
I’ll say this much: I used to think of the The Black Keys simply as a cool garage-rock/ blues band. Now after years of hearing “Gold on the Ceiling” and other songs crammed into multiple movie trailers, sports events, sports event trailers, and other commercial opportunities, I think of them first and foremost as a commercial “jock jam” band. No disrespect, it’s just that the experience of hearing their music in the teaser trailer for “Paul Blart, Mall Cop 2: Electric Boogaloo” is the primary association I have with them at this point, especially since I don’t follow them directly.
As the article states, this commercial tie-in is even more integrated into the identity of the music because this song is associated with a corporate sponsor literally from the beginning. The likely consequence of this is that yes, a lot of people will always associate this song with a commercial, but if this is a large, long-running campaign, a lot of folks, particularly non-country fans, may come to know Miranda Lambert herself as a commercial pitch woman more than anything else.
January 23, 2015 @ 8:18 pm
In the very near future, “musician” will just be a stepping stone you stomp on to get somewhere else.
January 23, 2015 @ 8:25 pm
I’ve always found it strange that RAM, despite all of it’s marketing efforts with country music in the past 5+ years, is never mentioned in country lyrics. Chevy gets hands down the most name drops with Ford finishing second by a good margin. RAM is easier to rhyme than Chevy or Ford so I just don’t get it.
I wonder if RAM would pay an artist to add their name into a song. Like a deal with Luke Bryan to say RAM in a single from his next album. Corporate sponsorship in music can be scary.
January 23, 2015 @ 8:33 pm
I think that has to do with “Silverado” and “F150” being much more distinguishable among other words. “Ram” would be interesting to enunciate in a singing voice and could easily be mistaken for something else.
January 23, 2015 @ 8:51 pm
The people who write that crap are being paid by the syllable now.
January 24, 2015 @ 3:15 pm
I’m gonna drive like hell through your neighborhood, and park my Dodge Ram out on your front lawn.
January 24, 2015 @ 3:49 am
…”where artists like Miranda Lambert deem the advertising venue to be a better vehicle to get their songs to the public than the music industry”
I remember a few years back that John Melloncamp had a new song used in s car ad for this very reason. He said the car company was doing better promotion for him and his album than the record label who was basically ignoring him and treating him like a has been.
I can definitely see this a viable option for many artists in fact in the past few years several songs from commercials have become hits I think. Can’t recall any specifics but I know I read an article about this being the new strategy for unkown or unsigned artists wanting publicity.
January 24, 2015 @ 12:54 pm
The advertising strategy is not surprising at all. The truck companies use television ads to sell an image. Popular music artists also use songs to sell an image.
The songs of certain pop country artists (Luke Bryan and Shania Twain come to mind) are really more like ads to sell their sex appeal, than anything else.
January 24, 2015 @ 8:52 pm
All I can do is be THANKFUL that Dodge Rams aren’t name-dropped in crappy excuses for songs, considering I drive one.
I like the “farmer” commercial better, as far as the selling goes. Pardon the song, but this commercial seems tacky to me.
January 25, 2015 @ 7:59 pm
The comment I’m about to make is not specifically about “Roots and Wings”, which sounds like a pretty good country song.
Over the past couple of years Miranda has started to wear out her welcome with me. Years ago some of her songs were a breath of fresh air. But it has become tiring that she gets the CMA female vocalist award year after year, probably because she’s married to a hunk and because Nashville the old dog has difficulty learning new tricks. Miranda and Blake are like the new Faith and Tim. They have become the establishment.
February 11, 2015 @ 7:34 pm
I really enjoy this song. I hope Miranda and RAM release this on Itunes.
This is the Miranda I know and love. This song could easily fit on her Revolution record. Miranda is at her best when she is a solo writer with her guitar just writing about life. She is very relatable. I think this song will be a hit on its own, I think the RAM partnership will be forgotten eventually.
February 11, 2015 @ 7:38 pm
This is a country song.
Why won’t Miranda release material like this on her albums is beyond me. She is very gifted songwriter and talented singer. I feel for her some days, especially when people say she is overexposed. Its not he fault ACMs and CMA give her those awards and her label release the hard tough girl songs. Miranda is the type of act you need to listen to the songs that aren’t released. Virginia Bluebell comes to mind when I hear this song.
March 23, 2015 @ 4:35 pm
I LOVE that Miranda is working with Dodge. It’s about damn time you have a woman and trucks. Quite a few of my female friends, myself included drive trucks. And we use them the way a truck is intended to be used. And I love the song!
April 7, 2015 @ 11:08 pm
I love this song! Hopefully it will be released for download. Much better than her new single , Little Red Wagon. Big thumbs down.
April 25, 2015 @ 6:26 am
Doesn’t get much better than this. Beauty & Voice of an Angel & a RAM to boot. Love it!
May 6, 2015 @ 9:34 pm
In the words of a truly great songwriter “this note’s for you.” And enough said. Thank goodness for the inexorable rise in the americana, alternative and post-country creative energies.
May 8, 2015 @ 4:47 pm
So when will the song “Roots And Wings” be released? From what I have heard so far (1′ 10″) is not enough for me. I want to hear more. I’m willing to pay for the song even if Dodge doesn’t want me to. Love your songs Miranda!!!!
May 26, 2015 @ 7:10 am
It’s out!
May 16, 2015 @ 9:30 am
George Jones said it best..”whose gonna fill them shoes”…Miranda is my choice.
May 22, 2015 @ 1:34 pm
I was sitting at the computer … this “crummy” commercial came on in another room, and I RAN to the TV as fast as an old man recovering from back surgery could go. I am not a Miranda fan. But this brief little song and TV spot does what a song should do … especially a country music song … it attracted me to it, then moved me emotionally. And as a guitarist, former song producer/engineer and songwriter of 54 years … from the heart and the head, I can truthfully say … this is really good stuff. Simple. Simple. Simple. Not overproduced, great lyrics, great melodies, great voice, great instrumentation. Son, this is what country music is supposed to be. Might have to rethink that Miranda fan stuff. Thanks.
May 22, 2015 @ 4:33 pm
… And that face is about as cute as they come, and so are those dresses. A+, Honey.
May 22, 2015 @ 10:13 pm
Sounds like an improvised cover of “Walkin’ Down This Country Road” to me.
May 26, 2015 @ 7:08 am
The full song is now out on Spotify! Woo hoo! Best thing Miranda has had out in a few years.