About the song
“Gunpowder & Lead” is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in January 2008 as the third single from her 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 written by Lambert and Heather Little.
The song was made available as downloadable content for the game Rock Band on December 16, 2008.
Content
The song is a moderate up-tempo song in the key of G backed by resonator 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 effects 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.
Critical reception
The song received a “thumbs up” from Engine 145 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 “Kerosene”, 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.
“Gunpowder & Lead” was named the 90th best song of 2007 by Pitchfork. The song was deemed the 9th best single of 2008 by Rough Trade. Billboard and Paste ranked the song number three and number four, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Miranda Lambert songs.