Ashley Monroe (born Ashley Lauren Monroe on September 10, 1986, in Knoxvill… Read Full Bio ↴Ashley Monroe (born Ashley Lauren Monroe on September 10, 1986, in Knoxville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer-songwriter.

Growing up, her parents played songs by the Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd, so her country rock roots started early, and she was already taking piano lesson before she turned seven. At age 11, she won a talent contest in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (home of Dolly Parton's resort "Dollywood"), singing "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart." She subsequently found steady work performing in a theater in Pigeon Forge. A couple year later, her father gave Monroe her first guitar, and she began writing her own songs. But tragedy struck when her father died from cancer in 2000. While still grieving over their loss, Monroe and her mother continued on with their lives and moved to Nashville so she could pursue her career in music.

After a year in Nashville, she gained a publishing deal as a songwriter, which led to a record contract with Columbia Records' Nashville division. Working with producer Mark Wright, she recorded her debut album, Satisfied. In 2006, the title track to the album was released as the first single to country radio, but failed to crack the top 40 on the Hot Country Songs chart. A second single, "I Don't Want To" featuring Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn, followed shortly after. Initially it did well on the charts, charting to #37, but following the merger of Columbia and Sony, the label decided not to release the album until Monroe charted a top 20 single. No follow-up singles were ever released. iTunes briefly made the album available for download in July 2006 but it was removed from the online store by mid-August.

In late 2007, Monroe and Columbia Records parted ways, and Satisfied was shelved (it was eventually released digitally in May of 2009). In addition to her own material, she co-wrote Katrina Elam's 2007 single "Flat on the Floor" (which was also recorded by Carrie Underwood on her 2007 album Carnival Ride), as well as Jason Aldean's 2009 single, "The Truth", and Miranda Lambert's 2011 single, "Heart Like Mine."

Monroe continued collaborating with Lambert, forming Pistol Annies with Lambert and Angaleena Presley in 2011. They released the single "Hell on Heels" in May of that year, following up with an album of the same name in August. Hell on Heels debuted at number 1 on Billboard's Country Album Chart and reached number 5 on the Billboard 200 Chart.

Monroe next teamed up with producer Vince Gill, and on March 5, 2013, Warner Nashville released Monroe's second studio album, Like A Rose.

Pony
Ashley Monroe Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When I grow up I wanna pony
I'm gonna ride her from dusk 'til dawn
I'm gonna brush her mane
And feed her sugar cane
And keep her in safe from the storm

If I had a pony
I wonder

Could I be your girl

When I grow up I wanna baby
I'm gonna name it after Ralph Stanley
And I sure I won't mind
When it cries all night
Just as long as it looks like me

If I had a baby
I wonder
Could I be your girl

(Chorus)
Yodelay he yodeloh oh
You rock my world
Yodelay he yodeloh oh
When I grow up
I wanna be your girl

When I grow up I wanna a cowboy
With dust all over his jeans
With a horse named Jack
And a ten gallon hat
He is nice but he looks so mean

If you were a cowboy
I wonder
Could I be your girl

(Repeat Chorus)

When I grow up I'll be a lady
All my rings will be made of gold
I'll put flowers in my room
I'll wear perfume
I won't listen to rock and roll

If I was a lady
I wonder
Could I be your girl
Oh yeah

(Repeat Chorus)

When I grow up I wanna be
When I grow up I wanna be
When I grow up I wanna be your girl

When I grow up I wanna pony
When I grow up I wanna baby

When I grow up I wanna cowboy
When I grow up I'll be a lady

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Ashley Monroe's song Pony are a whimsical and nostalgic reflection on childhood dreams and aspirations, particularly as they relate to love and relationships. The song is structured around the repeated refrain of "When I grow up I wanna be your girl," which serves as a through-line connecting each of the song's four verses. Each verse introduces a different character, object, or desire that the singer longs for, all of which are imbued with romantic and/or sentimental significance.

The first verse begins with the singer's desire for a pony, which she imagines riding from "dusk 'til dawn." She describes brushing the pony's mane and feeding it sugar cane, and she vows to keep it safe during storms. The singer wonders if having a pony would make her the object of someone's affections, asking, "If I had a pony / I wonder / Could I be your girl?"

In the second verse, the singer articulates her longing for a baby whom she plans to name after the bluegrass musician Ralph Stanley. She admits that the baby might cry all night, but insists that she wouldn't mind as long as it looks like her. Once again, she wonders if having a baby would make her more desirable to someone else, asking, "If I had a baby / I wonder / Could I be your girl?"

The third verse introduces the singer's desire for a cowboy, complete with dusty jeans, a ten-gallon hat, and a horse named Jack. Despite acknowledging that he "looks so mean," she wonders if she could be his girl. Finally, in the fourth verse, the singer imagines growing up to be a lady with golden rings and a flower-filled room, who eschews rock and roll in favor of perfume. She wonders if being a lady would make her more attractive to someone, asking once again, "If I was a lady / I wonder / Could I be your girl?"

Throughout Pony, the singer's desires and aspirations are framed by the question of whether they would make her desirable to someone else. The song is ultimately a reflection on the ways in which we construct our identities and desires around the expectations of others, particularly in the realm of romantic relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

When I grow up I wanna pony
Ashley Monroe dreams of owning a pony when she grows up

I'm gonna ride her from dusk 'til dawn
She plans to ride the pony all day and night

I'm gonna brush her mane
Ashley will take care of the pony's hair

And feed her sugar cane
She plans to feed the pony sugar cane

And keep her in safe from the storm
Ashley will protect the pony from the storm

If I had a pony
The song transitions to a hypothetical situation where Ashley has a pony

I wonder
She wonders what it would be like

Could I be your girl
Ashley wonders if she could be the partner of the person being addressed in the song

When I grow up I wanna baby
Ashley shouts out another desire of hers to have a baby when she grows up, named after Ralph Stanely

I'm gonna name it after Ralph Stanley
She plans to name the baby Ralph Stanley

And I sure I won't mind
Ashley expresses that she won't be bothered even if the baby cried all night

When it cries all night
The baby might cry all night

Just as long as it looks like me
She'd be happy as long as the baby had her features

Yodelay he yodeloh oh
The chorus starts with a unique yodeling sound

You rock my world
Ashley confesses that the person being addressed in the song has a big impact on her life

When I grow up
The repetition of this phrase marks the significant shifts from one dream to another

I wanna be your girl
Ashley wants to be with the person singing throughout the song

When I grow up I wanna a cowboy
The next dream on her list is to have a cowboy with a horse named Jack

With dust all over his jeans
She likes the look of a cowboy with dust on his jeans

He is nice but he looks so mean
Despite being nice, the man she envisions looks tough

If you were a cowboy
Ashley questions the listener if they were a cowboy as per her wish

When I grow up I'll be a lady
Ashley imagines herself grown up as a lady with gold rings and flowers in her room surrounded by the beautiful fragrance of perfume

All my rings will be made of gold
Ashley sees herself wearing gold rings

I won't listen to rock and roll
As a lady, she imagines herself not listening to Rock and roll music

Oh yeah
The song ends with these two affirming words

Contributed by Joseph J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS