Merry Go 'Round

Texan-born Kacey Musgraves began singing publicly at eight years old and wrote her first song a year later. Musgraves first came to the public attention when she placed seventh on the fifth season of the singing competition Nashville Star. The following few years found her achieving some success as a songwriter with cuts recorded by such artists as Miranda Lambert ("Mama's Broken Heart"). Musgraves signed with Mercury Records in 2012 and released this as her debut single.

Musgraves co-wrote this anthem about getting ground down by life's expectations with Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally. She told the story of the song to American Songwriter magazine: "We all grow up with expectations of breaking the cycle of life as we know it, trying to appear as if all is perfect under the surface," she said. "Coming from a small, conservative Texas town I've grown up with this. We're all guilty of having something that keeps us distracted - no matter the vice. Our comfort zones make us settle and I think there's hope in knowing that everyone has felt this way." "This was one of the fastest songs I've ever written," she added. "Once we wrapped our brains around the idea, the song kind of seemed to write itself."

Much of the song was inspired by the surroundings that Musgraves grew up with. "Just from being from a tiny little Bible-belt town, conservative," she explained. "I'm just observing. I don't want anyone to think with this song that I'm pointing a finger or being cynical."