Torres is the stage name of Mackenzie Scott (born January 23, 1991), an ind… Read Full Bio ↴Torres is the stage name of Mackenzie Scott (born January 23, 1991), an independent American singer, songwriter, musician and artist.

The Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter waits until anything—an idea, an emotion, a memory—gnaws at her, tearing at her fingers and throat until she releases it in song. Scott escaped the confines of her churning mind in order to find herself by recording Sprinter in the market town of Bridport in Dorset, England; and then at the Bristol studio of Portishead's Adrian Utley. With his guitar riffs and synthesizers lingering in the background like a lowland mist and PJ Harvey's Robert Ellis and Ian Olliver on rhythm—the two fortuitously reuniting 23 years after the release of Dry, and in Scott's 23rd year of living—she crafted a "space cowboy" record. "That's as simply as I can say it," says Scott, who cites inspirations as diverse as Funkadelic and Nirvana, Ray Bradbury and Joan Didion.

"I wanted something that very clearly stemmed from my Southern conservative roots but that sounded futuristic and space-y at the same time." It seems like an odd thing to look for in the picturesque seaside green, rolling hills in the south of England, but Scott had never been there before, and as a stranger in a strange land she found what she was looking for: a lost childhood. Sprinter was recorded in a room that had formerly been used as a children's nursery, which combined with the alien landscape fuels the self-searching that roils TORRES' music.

Following her self-titled debut in 2013, TORRES pushes herself to even noisier extremes on Sprinter, a punishing self-examination of epic spiritual and musical proportions.

Cowboy Guilt
Torres Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We spend our only season
On a mattress sleeping
With our best friend
We donned our winter livers
With weary resignation
Three southern spines to the wind

Wrapped in my Sunday best with

The king of Fort Worth, Texas
Wrapped in my Sunday best with
The king of Fort Worth, Texas

You had us in stitches
With your George W impressions
You sang of reparations
With the Native Americans
You donned your cowboy guilt
You donned your cowboy guilt
We drowned our winter livers
With bleary expectation
Three southern spines to the end

I was queen and protected
Wrapped in my Sunday best with
The king of Fort Worth, Texas

I was queen and protected

Wrapped in my Sunday best with
The king of Fort Worth, Texas

Overall Meaning

In "Cowboy Guilt," Torres takes on the role of a narrator who is recounting a time spent with friends in Fort Worth, Texas, during the winter season. They spend their days sleeping on a mattress and engaging in conversation, with one friend in particular – the "king of Fort Worth, Texas" – who stands out for his humorous impressions of former President George W. Bush and his songs about reparations for Native Americans. The singer reflects on her feeling of protection and regality, being wrapped in her Sunday best with the "king."

Throughout the song, there is a recurring theme of resignation and guilt, which is often associated with the cowboy mythology in American culture. The characters in the song are seemingly weighed down by their past choices and the expectations placed on them as southerners. They drown their "winter livers" with alcohol, indicating a sense of numbing or self-destructive behavior. The repeated line "you donned your cowboy guilt" reinforces the theme of the burden that comes with being a cowboy figure, a symbol of rugged individualism and masculinity that often comes at great personal cost.

Overall, "Cowboy Guilt" offers a reflection on southern identity and the complexities of self-perception. The singer and her friends are searching for a sense of belonging in their cowboy mythology, but ultimately find themselves grappling with feelings of guilt and resignation.

Line by Line Meaning

We spend our only season on a mattress sleeping
We waste our precious time in life lounging in bed

With our best friend
In the company of a close companion

We donned our winter livers with weary resignation
We accepted our fate of drinking excessively during cold months

Three southern spines to the wind
We were carefree and let the wind guide our actions

Wrapped in my Sunday best with the king of Fort Worth, Texas
Dressed in our best attire, we were with a person of power and influence

You had us in stitches with your George W impressions
You made us laugh uncontrollably with your impressions of George W. Bush

You sang of reparations with the Native Americans
You expressed the need for making amends with Native Americans by singing about it

You donned your cowboy guilt
You felt guilty about the negative aspects of cowboy culture

We drowned our winter livers with bleary expectation
We drank heavily with low expectations for the future

Three southern spines to the end
We continued to live recklessly without a care for the future

I was queen and protected
I felt like royalty and safe from harm