Cowboy Take Me Away
Encyclopedia
"Cowboy Take Me Away" is the title of a song recorded by American country
group the Dixie Chicks
. It was released in November 1999 as a single from their album, Fly. The song's title is derived from a famous slogan used in commercials for Calgon
bath and beauty products. It reached Number One on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in February 2000.
, Emily Robison's banjo
, and Natalie Maines
' evocative vocals, "Cowboy Take Me Away" quickly became one of the trio's signature song
s. The lyric deals with a mixture of yearning for greater tranquility:
with plaintive desire for emotional, romantic connection, and simple joyous acceptance against a minor chord turning into major:
Starting with a quiet opening, the record ramps up to a mid-tempo country-pop groove and features violin breaks from Seidel as well as an exuberant outro. Maines was praised for a "sincere" vocal that escaped the clichés of "Nashville music-factory tearjerkers". "Cowboy Take Me Away" has become a staple of the Chicks' concert set list
s, appearing from the Fly Tour
onwards.
for "Cowboy Take Me Away" shows a car stopping on a busy street, with Robison's high hot pink cowboy boot splashing through a puddle, and Maines waiting in a crowded elevator until reaching the top floor of an empty industrial-looking loft, joining the other two Chicks. The three begin singing the song and playing their instruments up there at the building-top in the center of a large city, resembling New York City
. Gradually, the scene around them begins to slowly melt (via various CGI
backdrops) of forest floors and snow-covered mountains and the like appear, while the trio dance and sing. The city does not ever disappear entirely, but the point is made.
The filming captured them at the height of their early days, when all three women had hair either naturally or dyed blonde. Maines' hair was cropped so short she looked like the country Cyndi Lauper
and Martie Seidel with cross-colored braids and locks. Looking back, Robison commented, "You have three girls, so automatically you get the roll-the-eyes, you know; it's the band that's been put together," Robison says. "And at the time we were all blonde. And, you know, it was just so - it was so packageable. You know, it was just so easy for people to say, 'Oh, this is something manufactured.'"
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
group the Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
. It was released in November 1999 as a single from their album, Fly. The song's title is derived from a famous slogan used in commercials for Calgon
Calgon
Calgon is a brand registered trademark of different corporations. The original product consisted of powdered sodium hexametaphosphate , which in water would complex with ambient calcium ion and certain other cations, preventing formation of unwanted salts and interference by those cations with the...
bath and beauty products. It reached Number One on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in February 2000.
Content
Driven by co-writer Martie Seidel's violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, Emily Robison's banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, and Natalie Maines
Natalie Maines
Natalie Louise Maines Pasdar is an American singer-songwriter who achieved success as the lead vocalist for the female alternative country band, the Dixie Chicks...
' evocative vocals, "Cowboy Take Me Away" quickly became one of the trio's signature song
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
s. The lyric deals with a mixture of yearning for greater tranquility:
- I wanna walk and not run, I wanna skip and not fall
- I wanna look at the horizon, and not see a building standing tall
with plaintive desire for emotional, romantic connection, and simple joyous acceptance against a minor chord turning into major:
- Oh it sounds good to me, yeah it sounds so good to me
- Cowboy, take me away ...
Starting with a quiet opening, the record ramps up to a mid-tempo country-pop groove and features violin breaks from Seidel as well as an exuberant outro. Maines was praised for a "sincere" vocal that escaped the clichés of "Nashville music-factory tearjerkers". "Cowboy Take Me Away" has become a staple of the Chicks' concert set list
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
s, appearing from the Fly Tour
Fly Tour
The Fly Tour was the Dixie Chicks' 2000 concert tour in over 80 cities in North America in support of their album Fly.-History:Announced in mid-April 2000, this was the Dixie Chicks' first headlining tour. Moreover, the group was jumping directly to playing mostly in arenas...
onwards.
Music video
The first scene of the music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Cowboy Take Me Away" shows a car stopping on a busy street, with Robison's high hot pink cowboy boot splashing through a puddle, and Maines waiting in a crowded elevator until reaching the top floor of an empty industrial-looking loft, joining the other two Chicks. The three begin singing the song and playing their instruments up there at the building-top in the center of a large city, resembling New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Gradually, the scene around them begins to slowly melt (via various CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
backdrops) of forest floors and snow-covered mountains and the like appear, while the trio dance and sing. The city does not ever disappear entirely, but the point is made.
The filming captured them at the height of their early days, when all three women had hair either naturally or dyed blonde. Maines' hair was cropped so short she looked like the country Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
and Martie Seidel with cross-colored braids and locks. Looking back, Robison commented, "You have three girls, so automatically you get the roll-the-eyes, you know; it's the band that's been put together," Robison says. "And at the time we were all blonde. And, you know, it was just so - it was so packageable. You know, it was just so easy for people to say, 'Oh, this is something manufactured.'"
Peak positions
| Chart (1999–2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 27 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (2000) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 95 |