Maddie Marlow and Taylor Dye never intended to hit a nerve when they sat down on St. Patricks Day and wrote “Girl In A Country Song.” Merely expressing their own reaction to the reductive tilt of today’s BroCountry, the pair and co-writer Aaron Schwerz shamelessly skewered its Xeroxed stereotypes; “Girl” was as much a lark as it was ever “meaningful social commentary.”
Yet the response was so instant and intense, there was no denying it. NPR’s “All Things Considered” cited Maddie & Tae for “turning heads in different ways with their very first single,” Rolling Stone cited them as one of “10 New Artists You Need to Know” and David Letterman couldn’t get the plucky duo to New York fast enough. Even elevated cultural think-tank The Atlantic marveled, “Cheekily appropriating much of the sound of modern country, the two young women directly quote well-known bro-country lyrics and titles…”
No one was more surprised than the natives of Sugar Land, Texas and Ada, Oklahoma. Still in the studio tracking overdubs for “Girl,” they signed their record deal before Dan Huff had even finished four sides on the sunshine’n’moxie pair.
“We wanted to go at it from a girl’s perspective, and we wanted to put ourselves in the shoes of this girl,” says Dye. “You know, how does she feel wearing those cut-off shorts, sitting on the tailgate?”
“Boys, we love you, we want to look good, but it’s not all we’re good for,” Marlow cautions with a laugh. “We are girls with something to say. We were brought up to know how we should be treated.”
Simple as that. But there’s so much more to Maddie & Tae than the song that is either a feminist declaration, an echo of Janet Jackson’s rebuke “I’ve got a name, and it ain’t ‘Baby’,” or this year’s feel-good finger-wag to dumb boys. NPR’s lead pop critic Ann Powers agrees, “Maddie and Tae are more. They’re songwriters, powerful harmonizers, and in the video for ‘Girl In A Country Song,’ natural comediennes.”
One listen to their self-titled EP shows that. The reeling mean-girl send-up “Sierra,” with its bending steel and trotting acoustic guitar, boasts harmonies that turn in on each other and the kind of truth that’s hilarious and straight-up.
“There was this beauty-queen bully from high school who sent my friends and I home in tears plenty of times,” Marlow explains. “In order to get over it, I had to write a song. So I brought the idea of ‘Sierra,’ and started singing, ‘I wish I had something nice to say…’
“Tae and our co-writer Aaron Scherz lit up and ran with it.”
Any one who’s suffered through and survived high school can relate. But the ability to rhyme “Sierra, Sierra, life ain’t all tiaras…” and taking the rejoinder “you’re gonna find out karma’s a…” to the brink is what sets these two late teenagers apart.
Effervescent and savoring every moment, Maddie & Tae laugh when they lean into the cautionary “That high horse you’re riding… can buck you off clean,” then let their harmonies swoop free and high on the outro.
Like a lot of young women, Maddie & Tae grew up on the Dixie Chicks’ full-tilt acoustica. Both dreamers who knew what they wanted early, the pair met at 15 through their vocal coach and came to Nashville for “a summer camp publishing deal.” They met Big Machine’s SVP of A&R Allison Jones – and fate stepped in.
As Tae recalls, “She said, ‘If you really want to pursue this, you will need to move to Nashville.’ I knew that was what I wanted, but moving to Nashville also meant I had to figure out how to graduate from high school early, and Maddie had to turn down college.”
In 2013, it was decided. The pair relocated – and never looked back. Publishing deal in hand, they were immersed in creativity, seeking a voice that was both authentic and truly their own. Like Taylor Swift, the duo knew by speaking their truth, their uniqueness would set them apart.
As Marlow told Rolling Stone Country, “Our whole project revolves around keeping it real and being honest. We didn’t filter anything, because we felt like when it comes from an honest place, the truth will resonate so much better. The thing about Taylor, everything is real and relevant to what she’s going through, and that’s why people connect with her.”
Listening to the double harmonies over an acoustic guitar hope-strung-over-doubt mid-tempo “Fly,” Maddie & Tae’s conviction is evident. Will what’s been built be betrayed? How do you keep the faith when you’re so unsure? Where is the courage to maintain your place when you’re afraid of the outcome?
Not since “Wide Open Spaces” has an act embraced the will to grow so unabashedly. In perfect synchronization, Maddie & Tae sing, “Keep on climbing, though the ground might shake, keep on reaching through the limb might break/ we’ve come this far, don’t be scared now ‘Cause you can learn to fly on the way down…”
It’s the sort of song that empowers people wherever they are in life, whatever challenge they may be encountering. Yes, it is about coming of age, but it’s also facing the things that scare you – and having the faith to transcend.
“’Fly’ hits home every time we listen to it,” Dye offers. “We really wanted to write a song that was, ‘You may not have anything figured out, but it doesn’t matter.’”
Indeed. Townes Van Zant wrote, “To live is to fly…” For Maddie & Tae, their wings are in the music. What they feel, how they live, what they dream – this is where they rise. One need only listen to the tumbledown hoedown “Your Side of Town,” that’s all high jinx and higher spirits as the pair warn off a no-good man for the last time, to understand.
Even in the hardcore throw-down, all bucking backbeat and bee-sting guitar, there is a romp and a plucky audacity that shows these young ladies have no interest in letting anything break their spirits. Just as importantly, they fear no fiddles, no banjos, no steel guitars, even as they have bulked up drums that crash and guitars that slash and sting like the big boys.
While Rolling Stone observed, “Cheekily appropriating much of the sound of modern country,” there is so much more to Maddie & Tae than that. Independent thinkers, strong livers, hardcore dreamers, the pair are reaching for the sky – and winking at us all while they do it.
Sometimes, it’s the freshest faces and brightest sounds that pull us in. For Maddie & Tae, who embrace real country, it’s that merge of what’s right now and what they love that sets them apart/captures our imaginations in the best possible way.
Your Side Of Town
Maddie & Tae Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Because I'm done, done with all this breaking down
One last time you're gonna hear me out
You better stay, stay on your side of town
Don't want your headlights on my road
Door to my heart is closed
If you can hear that train running down the tracks
You're way too close
There's an a no-trespass sign on the country line and it reads your name
You better just pretend there's a barbwire fence and a barricade
Stay on your side of town, stay on your side of town
Stay off my stomping grounds, stay on your side of town
Ain't got no time for your apologies
I tore your page out of my biography
You'll never do again what you did to me
Ain't got no time, time for your apologies
This place ain't big enough, baby, for the both of us
You had your chance to have my love
And screwed it up
There's an a no-trespass sign on the country line and it reads your name
You better just pretend there's a barbwire fence and a barricade
Stay on your side of town, stay on your side of town
Stay off my stomping grounds, stay on your side of town
Don't want your headlights on my road
Door to my heart is closed
If you can hear that train running down the tracks
You're way too close
There's an a no-trespass sign on the country line and it reads your name
You better just pretend there's a barbwire fence and a barricade
Stay on your side of town, stay on your side of town
Stay off my stomping grounds, stay on your side of town
"Maddie & Tae" is a country music duo whose song "Your Side Of Town" describes the aftermath of a painful breakup or relationship. The lyrics address the betrayal that has happened and the need for space and distance from the person who has caused that pain. The singer expresses that they have had enough of the "breaking down" and apologizes of the other half of the relationship are now fruitless. They are asking the other person to respect their space and stay away because they have moved on. The singer feels better towards the end of the song because she has taken charge of the situation, put a no-trespass sign on the country line that reads the name of the person she doesn't want to see anymore. It serves as a metaphorical barbed wire fence and barricade, and the singer urges him to stay on his side of the town.
The lyrics suggest a sense of empowerment, with the singer proud of herself for taking charge of the situation and refusing to let her ex have any more control over her emotions. The singer wants to cut all ties with her ex and keep him out of her life. The song is emotional, raw, sometimes intense, and highlights the theme of control.
Line by Line Meaning
You better stay, stay on your side of town
I don't want to see you again, so don't come around here anymore
Because I'm done, done with all this breaking down
I'm tired of the emotional turmoil you brought into my life
One last time you're gonna hear me out
I need to express myself once more before we part ways for good
Don't want your headlights on my road
I don't want any reminders of you in my life
Door to my heart is closed
I won't let you hurt me again
If you can hear that train running down the tracks
You're way too close
You need to stay far away from me and let me move on
Ain't got no time for your apologies
I don't want to hear you say sorry anymore
I tore your page out of my biography
I'm done with you and all the memories associated with you
You'll never do again what you did to me
I won't let you hurt me again
This place ain't big enough, baby, for the both of us
We can't coexist in the same space anymore
You had your chance to have my love
And screwed it up
You had an opportunity to have a relationship with me, but you blew it
Stay off my stomping grounds, stay on your side of town
Don't come into my territory and stay where you belong
There's an a no-trespass sign on the country line and it reads your name
You better just pretend there's a barbwire fence and a barricade
I want you to stay away so much that I've put up a symbolic barrier to keep you out
Stay on your side of town, stay on your side of town
I'm serious about wanting you to stay away
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Heather Lynn Morgan, Blair Daly, Maddie Marlow, Taylor Dye
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@victoriawibbens5123
i love this song because it shows you don't need my a guy
@caitlincook157
Amazing song. I love these girls. Now one of my favorite country artists.
@meghanweaver9088
I want to hear "Shut up and fish" ASAP! You girls are amazing and so inspirational!! I saw the video of y'all at the jax fairgrounds and I fell in love with "shut up and fish" and absolutely can't wait to own the album!
@staicyakinyi5337
They are perfect.I don't think any other can beat this.Awesome,excellent,superb.Bravo.Keep up
@jonadams14
Maddie tae your side of town song .
@amsaric
I love how they are perfectly filling the hole of Taylor Swift's earliest country days, except they're bringing something totally new and fresh to the table. I hope they continue to work hard with their new label and just blossom blossom blossom into something amazing.
@delaneyrobinson1584
Ikr!!!
@amsaric
+Brittany Andrews you need help man. Starting with spellcheck
@amsaric
+Brittany Andrews You're right. Nobody gives a shit about your comment. You still need a little help though.
@fatimacortes7611
I agree