Weed Instead of Roses

Monroe penned this raucous cut when she was a teenager. It tells the tale of a woman who is fed up with romance and longs to spice things up with her significant other. Monroe recalled to The Boot: "When I wrote that song, I was 19! We were laughing that whole co-write, with [writers] Sally Barris and John McElroy. I was saying, 'Let's just go there.'"
She added: "People are either going to love me or hate me for it. But I'm going to sing about what I'm going to sing about. If people can't laugh at it or take a joke, they can listen to something else."

Monroe's experiences as a member of The Pistol Annie helped give her the confidence to record such a bold song. "The Pistol Annies showed me that I'm not the only one who has these thoughts," she said. "I just have country in my soul. I can't apologize for that anymore. The Pistol Annies has given me a boost of confidence, or reaffirmation, that it's OK to be original and to be you, because people will accept it."

Producer Vince Gill began work on Like a Rose by listening to Monroe's catalogue, which the singer had been compiling since she was 14 years old. Gill exerted a little bit of pressure for her to record this unconventional love song. "I said, 'We do this song or I'm walking!'" he remembered, with a smile. "I would hate to see them miss the boat because it's talking about pot or whatever. The humor in it is outstanding, and that's more in line with the rowdy side of The Pistol Annies."