‘Trailblazer’ by Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert & Lainey Wilson - Lyrics & Meaning

In recent years, country music collaborations have become ubiquitous, with Avengers-style link-ups designed to boost record sales cheapening what was once a fine art. Now, headline-grabbing star-power is often prioritised over the message of the song.

‘Trailblazer’ is a refreshing reminder of what a true, considered collaboration looks like. It features three colossal country legends, Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson, yes, but each artist's positioning on the track accentuates the theme of the song. It's a track celebrating how leading female artists in country have welcomed the next generations, rather than gatekeeping and playing into the industry's frustrating attempts to continually pit women against one another.

Miranda Lambert cites Reba McEntire as paving the way for her, while Lainey Wilson credits Lambert with helping to lift her up when she moved to Nashville. The collaboration has sparked to comparisons to female country supergroup, The Highwomen.

First teased in May 2025, Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson debuted ‘Trailblazer’ through a striking performance at the 2025 ACM Awards. Wilson went on to take home the gongs for Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Whirlwind and the biggest accolade of the evening, Entertainer of the Year.

‘Trailblazer’ is permeated by a sense of warmth and camaraderie, with the undulating guitar riff combining with the ethereal cry of steel to create a Wild West-inspired ambience. Each of McEntire, Lambert and Wilson's distinctive vocals stand out, before coming together for a sumptuous harmony throughout the hook - in a way, symbolising what ‘Trailblazer’ is all about. The track carries a refreshingly traditional-leaning sound, giving ‘Trailblazer’ an aptly timeless, era-spanning feel.

“Everybody needs a hero
Somebody who can show 'em the ropes
You gave a match like me a little kerosene
With every song you wrote
I'm lucky to have someone to lean on
When the weeds get high
A little Louisiana twang and some Oklahoma rain
And a heart that just won't lie

Oh, I know a cowgirl when I see one
And I'm sure proud to be one”

‘Trailblazer’ is peppered with satisfying easter eggs referencing Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson. For instance, Wilson tips her hat to Lambert's iconic 2005 battle-cry, ‘Kerosene’, with the line, “You gave a match like me a little kerosene”.

Lambert returns the favour with an homage to Wilson's 2024 earworm, ‘Middle Of It’, which features the lyric, “Knee deep in the weeds you can only see just a little of it”. Here, Lambert sings, “I'm lucky to have someone to lean on / When the weeds get high”.

Miranda Lambert lays the foundation for Reba McEntire's imminent entrance by referencing Lainey Wilson's “Louisiana twang” before name-checking McEntire's home-state of Oklahoma. Then, Lambert pays tribute to McEntire's much-loved 1993 hit with Vince Gill, ‘The Heart Won't Lie’, crooning, “a heart that just won't lie”.

“Talk about a trailblazer
Cuttin' one path at a time
Runnin' like a dream chaser
Livin' on a prayer and a rhyme

You put a flag in the ground to a country sound
To the rhythm of your own highway
Talk about a trailblazеr
I'm rollin' down the road you paved”

Throughout the hook, McEntire, Lambert and Wilson express their gratitude to one another, and to all the female icons that paved the way for their success in country. The implication throughout is that each of the women they reference had the talent and strength to become a household name in country music by themselves, but due to the typically male-dominated nature of the genre, they highlight just how important this support has been as they've each passed on the torch.

“I saw 'em on thе Opry
I heard 'em on the radio
They taught be how to write, how to hold on tight
In this rhinestone rodeo
It was Dolly and Loretta
Patsy and Tammy, too
They gave me a seat at the table
So I'm savin' one for you”

Here, the trio recall listening to the forbearers that first instilled in them a love of country music. They cite greats such as Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette.

What makes ‘Trailblazer’ particularly moving is how, although they're thanking those that came before them, McEntire, Lambert and Wilson are also trailblazers themselves.

“God said, "Let there be country music"
He made good ol' country girls like us to do it”

They outline how the genre has a divine stamp of approval and an integral role in modern society, before emphasising that they felt a higher calling to become country artists.

“Oh, thank you, trailblazers
I'm rollin' down the road you paved”

Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson conclude with a final message of gratitude, stressing that they're now flourishing thanks to the work of the women that led the way in country. The fact Wilson enjoyed a hugely successful 2025 ACM Awards - during which the trio debuted ‘Trailblazer’ - accentuates this sense that the ‘Country's Cool Again’ hitmaker is the genre's new flag-bearer.

During an chat with Billboard ahead of the song's release, Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson explained how the enchanting collaboration came about.

Penned by Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson alongside prolific songsmith, Brandy Clark, Lambert touched on how the idea for ‘Trailblazer’ arose, “We were like, ‘OK, we’re going to do a song with Reba - what kind of song do we write?’ We were calling her on the set [of McEntire's NBC sitcom, Happy’s Place] and trying to figure out, ‘What’s the right message for this trio? What do we really want to say in three minutes?’ We wanted to lean in pretty hard to paying tribute to each person. We had to do it strategically though, because we didn’t want it to be so blatant - but more like a secret thing that you would have to listen to it twice. It’s not about us. It’s about what the song means to little girls out there watching, or anyone out there watching that really has a dream or needs to be surrounded by people they love, and needs a little nudge to know they’re not alone”.

Wilson echoed Lambert's sentiments, “We were just having a conversation about how both [Lambert and McEntire] have influenced me and [about] passing the torch and blazing trails for each other. I remember thinking that this could be a song that a grandmother and a daughter and a grandchild could listen to. And not just about the history of country music… If we’re not thinking about the people that we’re singing to then they’re not going to be able to relate. When you’re writing a song and you get that like feeling, it’s like the Holy Spirit feeling. And you just feel it all over your body. Definitely had that. One of the very first people to give me a seat at the table was [Miranda Lambert]. She made me feel like I was welcome, and like she was my cheerleader. I think a lot of times people like to pit women against each other, and I think we’re just proving otherwise”.

McEntire reflected on the first time she heard ‘Trailblazer’, “I remember listening to it in the dressing room. I couldn’t find a flaw in it, not a word. It was that great. I was very emotional when I heard it. There’s something different totally in these generations than the earlier generations, mainly because of the social aspect. We’ve got texting, we’ve got emails, communication at our fingertips, and we didn’t have that starting out. And I like it that things are more approachable”.

The ‘I'm a Survivor’ chart-topper fondly expanded, “When I was getting started, I wouldn’t have even thought about talking to Dolly when she walked by me in 1977. I was brand new. She was a huge, mega, beautiful star. And I don’t know if it’s confidence that’s totally different, but I had [my musical heroes] all up on this pedestal where you can’t touch, you can’t talk. Now, we’re more friends and it’s a family. It’s totally different, and I like it this way. love singing with these gals. They’re a lot of fun. They’re great singers. Our harmonies blend so well”.

“Everybody needs a hero
Somebody who can show 'em the ropes
You gave a match like me a little kerosene
With every song you wrote
I'm lucky to have someone to lean on
When the weeds get high
A little Louisiana twang and some Oklahoma rain
And a heart that just won't lie

-

Oh, I know a cowgirl when I see one
And I'm sure proud to be one

-

Talk about a trailblazer
Cuttin' one path at a time
Runnin' like a dream chaser
Livin' on a prayer and a rhyme

-

You put a flag in the ground to a country sound
To the rhythm of your own highway
Talk about a trailblazеr
I'm rollin' down the road you paved

-

I saw 'em on thе Opry
I heard 'em on the radio
They taught be how to write, how to hold on tight
In this rhinestone rodeo
It was Dolly and Loretta
Patsy and Tammy, too
They gave me a seat at the table
So I'm savin' one for you

-

Talk about a trailblazer
Cuttin' one path at a time
Runnin' like a dream chaser
Livin' on a prayer and a rhyme

-

You put a flag in the ground to a country sound
To the rhythm of your own highway
Talk about a trailblazer
I'm rollin' down the road you paved

-

God said, "Let there be country music"
He made good ol' country girls like us to do it

-

Talk about a trailblazer
Cuttin' one path at a time
Runnin' like a dream chaser
Livin' on a prayer and a rhyme

-

You put a flag in the ground to a country sound
To the rhythm of your own highway
Talk about a trailblazer
I'm rollin' down the road you paved

-

Oh, thank you, trailblazers
I'm rollin' down the road you paved”

For more on Reba McEntire, see below: