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The Castellows - ‘Miss America’
Label: Henry-Dixon Line under exclusive license to Warner Music Nashville / Warner Records
Release Date: June 28th, 2024
Songwriters: The Castellows, Nicolle Galyon & Will Bundy
The Background:
The Castellows continue their march towards country stardom with each release, with the hotly tipped sister trio keeping the momentum high following their lauded 2024 record, A Little Goes A Long Way, by dropping a new single, ‘Miss America’, in June.
It arrives as the first taste of new music since that project, with The Castellows showcasing their sumptuous harmonies and the intricacy with which they can deliver an evocative story.
Penned by The Castellows alongside two of country music's primary songwriters, Nicolle Galyon and Will Bundy, ‘Miss America’ is a reflective, stripped-back ode to the USA of old, told through the clever personification of a figure named ‘Miss America’. The track is expected to be the lead single from The Castellows’ next record.
The Sound:
‘Miss America’ opens with the light plucking of a banjo accompanied by the gentle, pensive hum of a harmonica, with The Castellows upping the ante as they launch into the chorus.
A soothing, comforting acoustic guitar combines with the Georgia trio's sleek, faultless harmonies throughout the hook, with Ellie, Lily and Powell’s captivating, sinuous vocals adding a sense of warmth to the beautifully nostalgic, wistful offering.
They deliver the final iteration of the chorus with extra verve, accentuating the progression of ‘Miss America’ from a delicate musing on US identity to a rousing battle-cry advocating for a return to a simpler, slower and proudly American way of life.
The Meaning:
“She was some kind of renegade
Born on a summer day
Fireworks in her eyes”
Throughout ’Miss America’, The Castellows personify the country as a free-spirited, Southern woman who has gradually lost sight of who she is and what she stands for.
In the opening verses, the trio celebrate her wild side, describing her as a ‘renegade’ with ‘fireworks in her eyes’ - a reference to one of the most American days on the calendar, July 4th. The Castellows released the track a week before the holiday.
“She was wild child seventeen
Growing up evergreen
Headed west for the big sky”
The three sisters paint the original ‘Miss America’ as an unruly, untamed teenager, pursuing her own path and striving unwaveringly towards her dreams.
They describe her as travelling West in order to reach ‘the big sky’, mirroring the early settlers’ journeys across the Mississippi towards the likes of Oregon and Montana, the latter of which is known as ‘Big Sky Country’ due to the sprawling landscapes.
“Little brown eyed blue jean baby
In a pink house pretty as a daisy
She got Rocky Mountain high
And left a few roots behind”
The Castellows conjure up an idyllic portrait of America here, depicting her as a blue jean-wearing woman in a pink house, the latter of which could be a nod to John Mellencamp's iconic track, ‘Pink Houses’. That song is seen as the ultimate patriotic anthem by many, but contains numerous critiques of the USA - similar to ‘Miss America’. The Castellows croon about how high Miss America soared, but they imply the USA “left a few roots behind” in order to become a leading nation in the world. There's a lovely piece of juxtaposition here between the physical ‘high’ America surges to and the ‘low’ roots in the ground that have been forgotten.
“But I miss America
On the front porch
Before she ever had to lock her doors
When she was still outspoken
Back before her heart got broken”
The Castellows outline how they wish they could return to the rose-tinted period when time moved a little slower, and people in rural towns didn't have to lock their doors. This serves as both the sisters looking back wistfully at their own youth, as well as carrying the implication that they wish America as a whole would hold on a little tighter to those bygone Southern values. They explain that they miss when the USA was more ‘outspoken’, perhaps suggesting they feel the nation has lost its confidence on the world stage in recent decades.
“I miss America
Bare feet in the dirt
John 3:16 wasn’t scared to work
Yeah they all dream of her
She’s mine and I still love her”
They make another reference here to Miss America abandoning her roots by singing longingly about her no longer having her “bare feet in the dirt”, as well as suggesting Americans’ work ethic has changed, intertwining this lyric with probably the most famous Biblical verse, John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”). In doing so, they accuse the USA of losing sight of its religious identity, too. Even though they're being relatively critical, The Castellows end the chorus on a more positive note, affirming that they “still love” Miss America
“I can see her with her hair down
Rollin through my hometown
After a football game”
The Castellows add more colour to their nostalgic portrayal of ‘Miss America’ as a carefree wild child, letting the wind flow through her hair, with the trio remarking how she was particularly visible following a football game in their hometown. This is a fond nod to how distinctly American these celebratory moments feel.
“I can hear her in a hayfield
Singing with the whip-poor-wills
And I kind of hate the way
She ran away and got a little bit older
Got a big city chip on her shoulder
That ain’t the way that she was raised
What can I say”
A deep reverence for the natural beauty of the USA runs through the track, with The Castellows viewing ‘Miss America’ as frolicking through hayfields and singing along with the whip-poor-wills - a type of bird with a distinctive call native to North America.
Here, The Castellows again weave together themes of losing their childlike sense of wonder as they grow up with the broader idea of the USA as a whole becoming more cynical as it develops. They use the stereotypical contrast between the friendliness of rural USA and the comparative coldness of ‘the big city’ to suggest ‘Miss America’ has forgotten her upbringing, and now has a chip on her shoulder.
Throughout the entirety of ’Miss America’, though, there is an underlying sense of patriotic warmth and love for the USA, with any critiques coming across more as wistful yearnings for another era rather than any kind of political or social mission statement.
What have The Castellows said about ‘Miss America’?
In tandem with dropping the long-teased ‘Miss America’ in June, The Castellows took to their socials to shed some light on why the track struck a chord with them, “Us girls grew up on a farm in a very small town in South Georgia. One of the things we are extremely thankful for is the way we were raised and the environment we grew up in. Rural America holds a very special place in our hearts, and seems these days that rural America keeps getting smaller and smaller”.
The trio concluded, “This song is a love letter to that part of the country and also a reflection on a time in our lives that we won’t be able to relive again. You only get to grow up once”.
For the full lyrics to The Castellow’s ‘Miss America’, see below:
“She was some kind of renegade
Born on a summer day
Fireworks in her eyes
-
She was wild child seventeen
Growing up evergreen
Headed west for the big sky
-
Little brown eyed blue jean baby
In a pink house pretty as a daisy
She got Rocky Mountain high
And left a few roots behind
-
But I miss America
On the front porch
Before she ever had to lock her doors
When she was still outspoken
Back before her heart got broken
-
I miss America
Bare feet in the dirt
John 3:16 wasn’t scared to work
Yeah they all dream of her
She’s mine and I still love her
-
But I miss America
-
I can see her with her hair down
Rollin through my hometown
After a football game
-
I can hear her in a hayfield
Singing with the whip-poor-wills
And I kind of hate the way
She ran away and got a little bit older
Got a big city chip on her shoulder
That ain’t the way that she was raised
What can I say
-
But I miss America
On the front porch
Before she ever had to lock her doors
When she was still outspoken
Back before her heart got broken
-
I miss America
Bare feet in the dirt
John 3:16 wasn’t scared to work
Yeah they all dream of her
She’s mine and I still love her
-
But I miss America
-
She was some kind of renegade
Born on a summer day
-
But I miss America
On the front porch
Before she ever had to lock her doors
When she was still outspoken
Back before her heart got broken
-
I miss America
Bare feet in the dirt
John 3:16 wasn’t scared to work
Yeah they all dream of her
She’s mine and I still love her
-
But I miss America
But I miss America
But I miss America”
For more on The Castellows, see below:
