Gunpowder & Lead
Encyclopedia
"Gunpowder & Lead" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert
on her 2007 album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
. The album's third single, it became Lambert's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs
in July 2008. With over 1,000,000 digital downloads, "Gunpowder & Lead" was certified Platinum by the RIAA on December 3, 2010.
The song was made available as downloadable content for the game Rock Band
on December 16, 2008.
backed by electric guitar
. Its lyrics focus on the narrator, who tells of her plans to shoot her abusive husband once he is let out of jail:
The radio edit omits sound effect
s which are heard on the album version: door slowly creaking open at the beginning, and the sound of a gunshot at the end with the sound of the door slowly creaking closed.
The song has been compared to "Goodbye Earl
" by the Dixie Chicks
and "Independence Day" by Martina McBride
, both of which feature abused wives killing their husbands as well. According to Lambert, the song's storyline was inspired by a point in her life when her parents would take abuse victims into their home, and she had to share her bedroom with a mother and daughter.
", he considered it "too well crafted to be considered purely derivative." Kevin J. Coyne of Country Universe was also positive, and gave the song an A+ rating. "The stroke of brilliance was focusing the song completely around the moment of tension: her waiting at home with a loaded shotgun, ready to defend herself after he makes bail and comes back home to finish the fight."
Hot Country Songs
chart for the chart week of January 19, 2008. The song became Lambert's first Top 10 hit; it peaked at number 7 on August 16, 2008.
Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert is an American country music artist who gained fame as a finalist on the 2003 season of Nashville Star, where she finished in third place and later signed to Epic Records. Lambert made her debut with the release of "Me and Charlie Talking", the first single from her 2005 debut...
on her 2007 album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Upon its release, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend received general acclaim from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 85, based on 15 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".Stephen Thomas...
. The album's third single, it became Lambert's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
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...
in July 2008. With over 1,000,000 digital downloads, "Gunpowder & Lead" was certified Platinum by the RIAA on December 3, 2010.
The song was made available as downloadable content for the game Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
on December 16, 2008.
Content
The song is a moderate up-tempo song in the key of G minorG minor
G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major....
backed by electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
. Its lyrics focus on the narrator, who tells of her plans to shoot her abusive husband once he is let out of jail:
The radio edit omits sound effect
Sound effect
For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
s which are heard on the album version: door slowly creaking open at the beginning, and the sound of a gunshot at the end with the sound of the door slowly creaking closed.
The song has been compared to "Goodbye Earl
Goodbye Earl
"Goodbye Earl", written by Dennis Linde, is a country music song. Initially recorded by the band Sons of the Desert for an unreleased album in the late 1990s, the song gained fame when it was recorded by the Dixie Chicks on their second studio album featuring Natalie Maines as lead vocalist on...
" by 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...
and "Independence Day" by Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
, both of which feature abused wives killing their husbands as well. According to Lambert, the song's storyline was inspired by a point in her life when her parents would take abuse victims into their home, and she had to share her bedroom with a mother and daughter.
Reception
The song received a "thumbs up" from The 9513 reviewer Matt C. He compared the song 's theme of female liberation to "Goodbye Earl" and "Independence Day", and although he said that it was also thematically similar to Lambert's previous single "KeroseneKerosene (song)
"Kerosene" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in September 2005 as the third single and title-track to her debut album Kerosene. It reached number 15 on the Hot Country Songs charts, becoming Lambert's first Top 20 country hit....
", he considered it "too well crafted to be considered purely derivative." Kevin J. Coyne of Country Universe was also positive, and gave the song an A+ rating. "The stroke of brilliance was focusing the song completely around the moment of tension: her waiting at home with a loaded shotgun, ready to defend herself after he makes bail and comes back home to finish the fight."
Music video
The music video used for "Gunpowder & Lead" is a live performance from the CMA Music Festival, in Nashville, TN.Chart performance
"Gunpowder & Lead" debuted at number 51 on the U.S. BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
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...
chart for the chart week of January 19, 2008. The song became Lambert's first Top 10 hit; it peaked at number 7 on August 16, 2008.
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|