Kacey Musgraves‘ New Album ‘Star-Crossed’ Will Have You Mourning a Relationship You May Have Not Known Existed

By Meghan Connors

Kacey Musgraves' second album, "star-crossed," comes in the wake of her 2018 divorce to Rustin Kelly. Her first album, "Golden Hour," was an extensive exploration into love and earned her a Grammy for album of the year. This time though, she has stepped away from love, diving deep into heartache, loneliness, and her reasons for leaving a marriage that in hindsight couldn't have been "so bad." 

Musgraves begins her album setting the scene (literally) for the failed marriage that has come to be her inspiration with the song "star-crossed." Referencing waking from a "perfect dream" only to have this regretful new reality of life-alone thrust upon them. She makes impactful statements about blaming no one and ultimately determines that they simply were not meant to be. 

The second song off the album, "good wife," lends itself to Musgraves' habit of speaking so seriously about specific topics, they start to seem outrageous and almost satirical. She creates this unattainable Norman Rockwell-inspired version of what she felt she needed to be as a wife. With this song, she quickly establishes the level of perfectionism she once so heavily prioritized and how ultimately unattainable it was. She is true to her style, though, when referencing "packing a bowl" for him when he's stressed. Musgraves will often reference these less "proper" moments in her music to humanize herself within the societal constructs she depicts. 

She spends “cherry blossom” reminiscing on old memories with her former flame and recognizing who she has become to him due to their time together. "When we're on fire, it's something to see" this line will come into play later when she references "burning too bright." The moment of reminiscence propels her into her next song, "simple times," about missing the simplicity of childhood. She maintains this dream-like trance with, "if this was a movie…" considering how her marriage would have survived if it instead lived on a screen. 

Things begin to pick up again with "justified." "Healin’ doesn't happen in a straight line" Musgraves ups the temp considering the see-saw of emotions she regularly experiences on the matter. This song was made to be a hit and understandably found itself to become a single off the album. It is also the first time we hear her speak on the experiences that made her realize this marriage wasn't right for her. "More time to deal with the fact that you should've treated me right." until this point, the split has been mentioned as nothing more than a "we just weren't right for each other." However, things intensify in the next verse when Musgraves flips the line, singing, "More time to deal with the fact that I should've treated you right," acknowledging that he is not alone in the blame and once again maintaining this equally guilty mentality. 

"Angel" mimics "good wife" in its painted image of her acknowledging a need to save and take care of her husband. Kacey gets a bit pettier and slightly more specific in "breadwinner." "He wants your dinner until ain't hungry anymore," she sings, presumably speaking of his response to her incredible success after the release of her first album shortly after their marriage. Understandably her newfound success changed the way he saw her and, therefore, how they saw each other. "I wish somebody would've told me the truth. Say, he's never gonna know what to do with a woman like you" The song maintains her relaxed, pop demeanor while simultaneously serving as a dagger to the reputation of the man she once called her partner. Musgraves sings, "The fault isn't mine," explaining that she has no regret over his inability to handle her accomplishments. 

This "modern relationship" comes into play once again with "Camera Roll." The album's 9th song hits home with anyone who has ever been forced to step away from something for their own good, though they aren't yet ready to fully part with it. "I should know, it's a place not to go when I'm alone, I'll just feel bad later" Musgraves is truthful and raw in her recollection of the happiest memories that once were but can now only exist in the photos on her phone. "I don't wanna see em, but I can't delete em." This song is a perfect take on a modern breakup. 

"Easier said" is possibly a metaphor for the successful career she has built for herself and her undeniable eagerness to fight her dreams against the absolute failure that is her love life. She questions how she could build a rocket ship and fly to space (most likely a reference to her song "Space Cowboy,” the astronomical nature of her first album, and the fact that she refers to herself as “Spacey Kacey”), and yet she couldn't make herself love her husband anymore. 

"Hookup scene" may be the saddest song on "Star-Crossed." Musgraves offers her opinions on hookup culture and acknowledges how much better it is to have someone who will hold you than someone who will leave after they've satisfied themselves. She offers advice from a place of loneliness that is utterly heartbreaking. There is a sense of regret in this song like if I stayed, I might not have been perfectly happy, but at least I wouldn't be alone, "cause you might not even know that you don't have it so bad." Here we are seeing more of Musgrave's regret seeping through into her lyrics. 

She spends "keep lookin' up," recalling advice her dad once gave her about looking towards better things. "Won't let the world bring me down," she sings. Reading the title of "what doesn't kill me" initially warranted a groan. Is Kacey Musgraves about to add an outdated cliche to her breakup album? But suspicions and fears were quelled when in clear Kacey fashion, she sang the line, "what doesn't kill me, better run." Her aversion to the obvious should have been more expected after a song on her first album held the lyrics, "you can have your space, cowboy." Kacey is many things, but unintentionally "pun-y" is not one of them. 

"There is a light" continues this theme of female empowerment and home even further. Musgraves declares that she is destined to keep going, guided by the "light inside" of her. She sings, "Tried not to show it / to make you feel good / pretended I couldn't / when you knew that I could." She declares that her light will never be dimmed, alluding that it will come out once again. 

Another unexpected move from Musgraves, she ends her album with a song sung entirely in Spanish. "Gracias a la vida" begins with the original version, sung by the song's original writer, then goes another to a second version, and finally is finished by Musgraves herself. In a note about her decision to include the song, Musgraves writes,

"It was written by Violeta Parra, and I just think it's kind of astounding that she wrote that song. It was on her last release, and then she committed suicide.

And this was basically, in a sense, her suicide note to the world, saying, 'Thank you, life.You have given me so much. You've given me the beautiful and the terrible, and that has made up my song.' 

Then you have Mercedes Sosa, who rerecords the song. Rereleases it. It finds new life. And then here I am. I'm this random Texan girl. I'm in Nashville. I'm out in outer space. I'm on a mushroom trip. And this song finds me in that state and inspires me to record it.

It keeps reaching through time and living on, and I wanted to apply that sonically to the song, too." 

- Kacey Musgraves

Throughout the album, Kacey's sound is consistent. She is giving her fans the music they know and love, only now including a deeply personal look into the not-so-perfect life, she's been living. There is something very interesting that Kacey Musgraves does which would be an utter shame not to note. She does not belt, she does not scream, she does not cry. Instead, Kacey Musgraves tells you her story in the simplest way she can; all the while using her broken. heart to break yours in the process. Whether applied to a failed marriage, a failed breakup, or simply a failed love life, Musgraves' words will cut through to unveil the deepest of wounds, only to then shine some light and heal them once again.