Follow Your Arrow

"Follow Your Arrow" is a song recorded by American country music singer and songwriter Kacey Musgraves. The song is featured on her major label debut album, Same Trailer Different Park. It was released on October 21, 2013, as the album's third single.[2] It was written by Musgraves, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. It was named Song Of The Year at the 2014 CMA Awards. Rolling Stone ranked 'Follow Your Arrow' number 39 on its list of '100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time'.[3]

"Follow Your Arrow"
UK physical single cover [1]
Single by Kacey Musgraves
from the album Same Trailer Different Park
ReleasedOctober 21, 2013 (2013-10-21)
GenreCountry
Length3:21
LabelMercury Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Kacey Musgraves singles chronology
"Blowin' Smoke"
(2013)		 "Follow Your Arrow"
(2013)		 "Keep It to Yourself"
(2014)

Content

Suggesting that any given choice will elicit criticism from others, the narrator states that one's best course is to remain true to oneself ("follow your arrow"). One line of the song includes a support of the gay community.[4]

The song is in the key of F major with a main chord pattern of F – Dm – B♭– Gm – C and a vocal range between F3 and C5. It is in a 4/4 time signature with a moderate tempo.[5]

Music video

The music video was directed by Honey and Kacey Musgraves and premiered in December 2013.[6]

Live performances

Musgraves performed the song on November 6 at the 2013 Country Music Association Awards. On January 26, Musgraves performed the song at the 56th annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.[7]

Critical reception

"Follow Your Arrow" has been widely acclaimed by most critics and fans since its release, despite receiving initial criticism from some conservative groups.

Billboard listed "Follow Your Arrow" at number 2 on their list of 20 Best Songs of 2013, saying that "you didn't have to be a hardcore country fan to boogie along to Kacey Musgraves' exuberant call to make lots of noise and kiss lots of boys — or lots of girls, if that's something you're into."[8] Rolling Stone Magazine ranked the song number 8 in their list of 100 Best Songs of Decade 2010s on December 4, 2019.[9] At the 2013 Country Music Awards, they censored the famous line "Roll up a joint" because they deemed it too controversial for primetime television.[10] "Follow Your Arrow" received mixed reviews from conservatives due to some of the song's lyrics, as they claimed the country tune was "an attack on Christians", while others called it a "sign of [a] shift in country music" due to the song's positive reference to homosexuality.[11]

Chart performance

"Follow Your Arrow" debuted at number 56 on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart for the week of November 2, 2013.[12] It also debuted at number 28 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of November 23, 2013, and at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of February 15, 2014. In the week of February 15, 2014, the song also jumped from number 26 to number 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, giving Musgraves her first top ten single as a recording artist on that chart. As of June 2014, the song has sold 471,000 digital copies in the US.[13]

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[20] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Kacey Musgraves – Follow Your Arrow (CDr, Single, Promo)". Discogs. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  2. "Single Releases : MusicRow – Nashville's Music Industry Publication – News, Songs from Music City". Archived from the original on 2014-02-12. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
  3. "100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 1, 2014.
  4. "Country hitmaker Shane McAnally on coming out: 'I was so afraid of what it would mean to my career'". Yahoo! Entertainment. June 9, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  5. "'Follow Your Arrow' sheet music". MusicNotes.com. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  6. "CMT : Videos : Kacey Musgraves : Follow Your Arrow". Country Music Television. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  7. "Kacey Musgraves Charms Grammys With "Follow Your Arrow" and Two Wins: She Takes Home Country Album of the Year and Best Country Song Honors". CMT. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  8. "20 Best Songs of 2013: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 18, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  9. "The 100 Best Songs of the 2010s". Rolling Stone. December 4, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  10. "Censors Mute Kacey Musgraves During 2013 CMAs Performance of 'Follow Your Arrow': Critics' Picks". December 18, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
  11. "Kacey Musgraves' Follow Your Arrow latest sign of shifts in country music: Critics' Picks". Fox News. December 18, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  12. "Chart Highlights: Avril Lavigne Tells Husband Chad Kroeger, 'Let Me Go'; Kacey Musgraves' 'Arrow' Lands On Country Airplay". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  13. Bjorke, Matt (June 19, 2014). "Country Chart News: The Top 30 Digital Singles For June 19, 2014". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
  14. "Kacey Musgraves Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  15. "Kacey Musgraves Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
  16. "Kacey Musgraves Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  17. "Kacey Musgraves Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard.
  18. "Kacey Musgraves Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  19. "Best of 2014: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  20. "American single certifications – Kacey Musgrave – Follow Your Arrow". Recording Industry Association of America.
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