'Armadillo' by Miranda Lambert – Lyrics & Meaning

Since her blockbuster major label debut, 2005's Kerosene, Miranda Lambert has been a force to be reckoned with in the country music arena.

With a glowing catalogue of Platinum-selling hits, beloved fan-favorites, "he ain't shit" rockers, vulnerable ballads and everything in between, one of the modern queens of country has ushered in a new era with her tenth studio record, Postcards from Texas.

Featuring a string of effective lead singles, like 'Wranglers,' 'Dammit Randy,' 'Alimony' and 'No Man's Land,' the stage has been set for her highly-anticipated 2024 project, which sees the Texas entertainer going back to her roots and donning her signature sass.

Kicking off the record is a plucky ditty called 'Armadillo.' Packing in as many words as she can in its short 2-minute runtime, it's a light-hearted opening that paves the way for the rest of the 13 songs that follow.

Taking on a classic chicken pickin' sound, 'Armadillo' is awash in acoustic instrumentation and a steady drum beat that almost feels like you're on the back porch during a family get together when someone breaks out the instruments.

Produced by Lambert alongside her trusty collaborator and fellow Texan, Jon Randall, it's an entertaining kickoff to the album that finds Lambert repeating the entirety of the lyrics twice, though with an effective tempo change at the start of the second run through.

It's a cheeky little tongue twister that was penned by Aaron Raitiere, Jon Decious & Parker Twomey and offers a unique texture to the record as a whole.

"Well I met an armadillo
Out in Amarillo
And he asked me for a light

I said a where ya goin’
He said I don’t really know
And I said brother I’ve been there twice"

The story opens with Lambert recounting how she met an armadillo down in Amarillo, Texas. Now, before we go any farther, it's important to note that we have no clue if she's talking about an actual armadillo or a person... that's for you to decide.

Asking her for a light, the pair bond over their shared rambling nature, never really knowing exactly where they're headed in life.

"Then he hopped up in the shotgun
Then he started rollin’ one
I said we gonna get along fine

The armadillo with a doobie
And a coldie in a koozie
Had me drivin’ to the county line"

Taking it upon himself to climb on in with Lambert, the armadillo pulls out a joint and that's enough proof that he's a good guy for the country darling who starts driving off with her new shotgun rider.

While we don't condone driving under the influence, Lambert explains that she may have taken a hit or two, and may or may not have had a cold one within arms reach that had her driving a bit recklessly.

"And I know it sounds crazy
But please believe me baby
I swear that’s where I was last night"

Pulling out from the story, we can tell that she's clearly reiterating the tale to someone else (perhaps a police officer, if we're honest), and being met with utter disbelief.

However, she swears up and down that it all happened so we have to take her at her word.

"Well I woulda pulled over
Kicked him to the shoulder
But I seen he had a pistol on his hip

He said no turnin’ back
We got coppers on our ass
And I’m gonna get away with this shit"

She goes on to note that she would've kicked him out of the car had it not been for the pistol the armadillo had holstered on his person.

Almost threatening her, the armadillo says that they can't slow down because the police are on their trail (so perhaps our theory was right). It's impossible to say what this duo got into on their journey, but it doesn't seem to be anything good.

"Well I didn’t even think to ask the armadillo
Just what it was that he’d done
All I could do was drive
And pray that I survive
Cause arma-damma-dillo had a gun

Don’t try and call my bluff
Honey you can’t make this shit up"

It turns out that the armadillo is actually a felon on the run and now Lambert is his getaway driver. Yet, there was no turning back for Lambert who was not an accomplice and could be turned into a hostage at any moment.

Before she goes into the tale once more, she pleads with the listener that this is a true story. In fact, it's so ludicrous that there's no way she could make it up... right?

While Lambert hasn't explicitly shared anything about 'Armadillo' in particular, she has plained that Postcards from Texas as a whole serves as a love letter of sorts from her to the listeners.

From commenting on toxic relationships and the need to be free, to more profound sentiments on life and love, the 14-song album is full of lessons learned and words of wisdom.

“There’s a lot of bad decisions on this record, but that’s part of growing up. It’s part of the experience, that human experience is figuring it out. You don’t learn from things going great," she shared in a statement. "Throughout this record, there’s a lot of tenderness and living in the moment of the pain. It’s not glorifying it, but explaining."

Well I met an armadillo
Out in Amarillo
And he asked me for a light

I said a where ya goin’
He said I don’t really know
And I said brother I’ve been there twice

Then he hopped up in the shotgun
Then he started rollin’ one
I said we gonna get along fine

The armadillo with a doobie
And a coldie in a koozie
Had me drivin’ to the county line

And I know it sounds crazy
But please believe me baby
I swear that’s where I was last night

Well I woulda pulled over
Kicked him to the shoulder
But I seen he had a pistol on his hip

He said no turnin’ back
We got coppers on our ass
And I’m gonna get away with this shit

Well I didn’t even think to ask the armadillo
Just what it was that he’d done
All I could do was drive
And pray that I survive
Cause arma-damma-dillo had a gun

Don’t try and call my bluff
Honey you can’t make this shit up

Met an armadillo
Out in Amarillo
And he asked me for a light

I said hey where ya goin’
He said I don’t really know
And I said brother I’ve been there twice

And then he hopped up in the shotgun
And then he started rollin’ one
I said we gonna get along fine

The armadillo with a doobie
And a coldie in a koozie
Had me drivin’ to the county line

And I know it sounds crazy
But please believe me baby
I swear that’s where I was last night

An armadillo with a doobie
And a coldie in a koozie
Had me drivin’ to the county line

And I know it sounds crazy
But please believe me baby
I swear that’s where I was last night

Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo

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