Country music is such a broad genre. There is always a new artist emerging as the “next big thing.” Having platforms like TikTok at the artists’ disposal allows them to go viral and gain popularity. An artist that I have seen do this flawlessly is Megan Moroney. While Megan Moroney had an EP by the time she went viral, her song "Tennesee Orange" really skyrocketed her to become someone to look out for on the country music scene. About a year ago, she released a second single from her debut album. The single, titled "Lucky," set the stage for her album, also titled Lucky, which was released two months later in May 2023. The thematic elements of the album are green and gold. While the contents of the entire album do not revolve around this lucky theme, it is important to note the initial release of the single "Lucky," along with the album announcement, does. With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, now is the perfect time to do a track-by-track breakdown of one of my favorite albums of the past year.
The initial release of her album included thirteen songs, four of which were singles. Four months later, she released a deluxe version of this album, which included three additional songs. Since the release of this album, Moroney has also released two standalone singles and continues to tease new music on her social media accounts. Her next single, "28th of June," is set to release on March 22, 2024. She is able to gain a new audience because her music is so relatable, garnering anticipation for her to release new music regularly.
The opening track to the album is a light-hearted song about what happens when your ex gets a new girl. I know so many people who have had the experience of talking to a guy, and they end up finding his ex’s Instagram and scrolling through it. This is a common experience among many, and the worst-case scenario is accidentally liking an old photo. Moroney references a real-life experience of her’s with the lyrics, “Did you mean to double tap that spring break throwback from 2016 in PCB.” To then promote the song and its relatability, she shared the exact photo to her TikTok account, giving fans a deep-dive into what inspired this track in the first place.
Megan Moroney on TikTok
The title track of the album is more of a honky-tonk style song, differing from the tone of the rest of the album. If you know me, you know that this was my favorite song for a very long time, and I listened to it on repeat a million times before the release of the full album. It is the perfect pregame song, the opening lyrics being “Weatherman says there's a one-hundred percent chance I’m going out.” That said, the main theme is about going home with someone from your past that you maybe wouldn’t have, had you not been drinking. The lyrics “But come over and don't overthink it, tonight you're lucky I'm drinking,” attest to that.
"Tennesse Orange" is one of the only love songs on the album. It is about a girl who grew up in Georgia (Megan Moroney) but finds herself with a Tennesse fan. College football is very prevalent in the South. The Georgia Bulldogs and Tennesee Volunteers have a longstanding rivalry, so it’s like changing who you always knew yourself to be because you love this person so much. This song is the one that skyrocketed Moroney into popularity after going viral on TikTok. She has performed it countless times live, and to this day, it remains one of her most popular songs.
"Tennessee Orange" live in Philadelphia, PA
This song is about falling out of love with someone. Rather than “We’re not in love anymore,” the lyrics are, “We ain’t in Kansas anymore.” Moroney said that she got inspiration from The Wizard of Oz to use the Kansas analogy. Throughout the song, she describes being in love with someone and the process of falling out of it. Trying to work things out and inevitably breaking up because nothing is working to get them back to what they once were. This slow song is one of the more underrated on the album, but she ties in analogies to drive home the love story she is telling.
Another single from Lucky is this exposingly vulnerable ballad. It’s about when the girl is so in love with someone that she’s lost her self-value. Because of the relationship that she’s in, she becomes insecure and puts the love of someone else above herself. This song also trended on TikTok, though the meaning got lost in translation. People were clipping the song to the part, “She loves the boy more than she loves the girl in the mirror,” and adding photos of them where they are happy and in love. While songs are up to interpretation, Moroney says this is one of her most honest and vulnerable songs.
This mid-album track emphasizes the idea that plenty of fish are in the sea. She created a character, Miss Daisy, who is giving advice in a bar to a heartbroken girl. Because the track is so upbeat and has a rock feel, you may not conclude that the girl is heartbroken. To emphasize the main theme, Moroney sings through the chorus, “'Men, they're like trains. If you miss one, there's another on the way.”
This song has elements of Taylor Swift's inspiration, mainly from the song "You Belong With Me." Rather than a song blaming a man as many of Moroney’s do, this song is about a girlfriend who is sneaking behind her boyfriend’s back and that the main character, the singer, should be with him instead. Not only does this song take inspiration from other popular artists, but it has a fun play on words and is memorable; when you hear the title, you may think of the grocery store Trader Joe’s. The bridge is in my top three favorites of the entire album, making it one of my favorite songs.
Moroney says that this song is actually a letter to June Carter Cash. The love story between June and Johnny Cash is iconic, and many know it as the epitome of what love should be like between two people. But, listening to the lyrics, you hear Moroney questioning how June knew that he was the one when he was creating so much chaos within their relationship. The entire chorus mentions all the warning signs that he was toxic, yet June stays with him, further emphasizing that this is a message to June rather than a song about the love story between June and Johnny Cash. This song may be my favorite ballad on the album.
"Why Johnny" live in Philadelphia, PA
In my opinion, "God Plays a Gibson" is the epitome of a country song. I say this because all of the stereotypical country themes are present in this song, from fishing and a Silverado to college football. Religion is a big theme within country music, with artists such as Morgan Wallen exemplifying this. "God Plays a Gibson" has a similar vibe to "In the Bible" by Morgan Wallen featuring Hardy, both relying on stereotypical country music themes and religion as the main components of each song.
Megan Moroney being from Georgia is a theme in many of her songs, and this one is no different. Again, this song discusses relationships, more specifically, her being disrespected by a man over and over again. She uses other states to identify other girls who may have been in the man’s life and who have allowed his past behaviors. She sings, “Louisiana let you lie, and 'Bama took you back. You were two-timin' Tennessee, she forgave you like that.” Not only is this song about relationships, carrying the theme of most of her discography, but it’s also about having self-confidence not to allow someone to treat you negatively in a relationship, differing from her song "Girl in the Mirror."
This song is the most upbeat and lighthearted track on the record. When listening to it, this song is pretty straightforward in the message. The phrase “opposites attract” is one of the most popular dating phrases, and this song encapsulates that. It’s a fun song that is so unserious that it’s good. “I sleep on my side, and you sleep with everyone,” along with many other comparisons made throughout the song, drive home the main theme of opposites not attracting.
"Sleep on My Side" live in Philadelphia, PA
"Mustang or Me" is another ballad on the Lucky album. It is the only song with a piano backtrack, which gives it a melancholy feeling. She sings about breaking up with someone and going home. Moroney once again pulls from real-life experiences as she herself drove a Mustang. She references how the car is a metaphor for her broken heart as she sings, “A broken taillight, a broken heart, how'd we even get this far? I'm fighting back the tears runnin' on E. Who's gonna break down first, this Mustang or me?”
You may not be able to tell from the title, but this is actually a love song. It is one of the only love songs on the album, along with "Tennessee Orange." Megan Moroney has branded herself the “Emo Cowgirl,” making mostly sad-girl country songs. She even references in the song that she doesn’t usually make love songs, singing, “I write sad songs for sad people, but I wrote this love song for you.” It is a good juxtaposition to the rest of the album and does a good job of tying it together, exemplifying Moroney’s ability to create multiple types of songs within one genre.
Find Moroney's Track-by-Track Interview here: https://countrynow.com/megan-moroney-shares-a-track-by-track-guide-to-her-debut-album-lucky/
Download Lucky on Spotify or Apple Music!
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