'Wildflowers and Wild Horses' by Lainey Wilson - Lyrics & Meaning

If we've learned nothing else this year, it's that country music has crowned its newest queen in 2023 and her name is Lainey Wilson.

This year alone, the Louisiana tunesmith has been booked and busy on her own headlining tour, as well as serving as support for the likes of HARDY and Luke Combs.

Beyond that, she's also racked up numerous nominations and trophies across a slew of award shows and scored three No. 1s, including her duet with HARDY, 'wait in the truck,' and two of her own singles – 'Heart Like A Truck' in April and 'Watermelon Moonshine' in October, both of which come from her acclaimed 2022 record, Bell Bottom Country.

With several viable options still available from the recently crowned 2023 CMA Album of the Year, the choice for Wilson's next single couldn't have been an easy one.

However, after a spellbinding performance of 'Wildflowers and Wild Horses' at the 57th Annual CMA Awards on November 8, it was clear that the cinematic ballad would become Wilson's next entry at country radio.

A powerful anthem addressing independence, resilience and an outlaw spirit, 'Wildflowers and Wild Horses' delivers a strong message and some welcomed fiery spunk from country's newest leading lady. It hit No. 1 at Country Radio in early May 2024.

Placed at No. 7 on Holler's list of Lainey Wilson's Best Songs, we noted in May that the tune is "easily her most dramatic song to date" and "transports you (by train) to open fields under clear night skies", and we still stand by that.

If you've been a Lainey fan for a while, you know that a common theme throughout her discography thus far is the idea of not being tethered or tied down, whether that be romantically or aspirationally. This pillar shines through on 'Wildflowers and Wild Horses', which was penned by Wilson, alongside Paul Sikes and frequent collaborator Trannie Anderson, and helmed by Wilson's trusty producer Jay Joyce.

'Wildflowers and Wild Horses' opens with a mystical and sparse guitar and banjo picking in the background with plenty of reverb at play, effectively making everything feel rather expansive as if we've been transported to wide open fields somewhere far off the beaten path.

As the instrumentation starts to come together a bit, while still sounding fluid and distant, Wilson's reverbed vocals come through, chillingly singing the song's title, before everything snaps into the forefront in perfect focus around the 40 second mark.

The first two stanzas are masterfully empty as a piano carries the beat with a light drum kick keeping it in time, as well. Gliding into the chorus, the minimal instrumentation comes together, further enforcing and building on the drama and mystique.

Between the chorus and second verse, the banjo takes the spotlight as the drums work their way into sounding like a freight train, altogether speeding things up as we keep chugging along. Arriving at the second chorus, everything breaks out into a down home barn dance as Wilson and the band pick up steam, though her vocals remain steady and restrained despite the chaos starting to ensure around her.

By the three minute mark, it sounds like you're listening to an entirely different song, but in the reprisal, things fade out as her vocals come through to deliver the first few lines of the chorus once more. In the next breath, everything lets loose as we're sent into a full throttle sprint to the song's close, with each member of her band showing off and showing out for the last few stanzas.

At the last second, everything falls away and we end on a familiar sparse and expansive note, much in the same way that we started four minutes prior.

Though her label, BBR Music Group, recently released an edited version for radio that cuts out the cinematic intro found on the original album cut, 'Wildflowers and Wild Horses' is freedom in just over four minutes.

"In the middle of the night
I hear a cornfield coyote cry
Up at the moon no matter what
Sky I'm laying under

In the eye of a hurricane
When I got one foot in the grave
I'll dig my boots into the dirt
And face the rolling thunder"

The first few lines of 'Wildflowers and Wild Horses' evoke a strong sense of solitude from the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, seemingly finding her alone in an open field in the quiet hours of the night under a star-filled sky.

That imagery is perfectly echoed in the song's production, as we mentioned earlier, while also reinforcing Wilson's deep connection with nature as well as a strong sense of knowing exactly who she is, regardless of where she finds herself or who's around.

As we get into the second half of the first verse, Wilson explains that she's also not one to give up or back down from a challenge. Noting that even when she has "one foot in the grave", you'll find her digging in and facing whatever comes head on.

"I'm five generations of blazing a trail
Through barbed wire valleys and overgrown dells
I'm barefoot and bareback and born tough as nails
Whoa, whoa, whoa
I'm four-fifths of reckless and one-fifth of jack
I push like a daisy through old sidewalk cracks
Yeah, my kinda crazy's still running its courses with
Wildflowers and wild horses"

The song's chorus is especially interesting because it lets us behind the curtain a bit on Wilson's personal life and upbringing.

Noting that she comes from five generations of Louisiana farmers, who she sees as trailblazers in their own right, the lyrics take on a deeper meaning as she has also become a notable trailblazer as a female in country music in recent years.

'Wildflowers and Wild Horses' is truly an anthem that celebrates resilience and determination, which is expressed here as she sings that she's a cocktail of blind boldness and recklessness that refuses to be tamed, much like a wild horse.

Going a step further, similar to how wildflowers grow in the least likely places and against all odds, Wilson sings that she will continue to grow and evolve no matter what pushback she may receive or obstacles she may face, and regardless of how many no's she might hear along the way.

"It's in the water in my veins
That bread of heaven falls like rain
So I'm taken care of either way
Make something out of how I'm made
Until I hitch a ride on glory's train"

Explaining that this sense of freedom and fierceness runs in her veins, passed down from the generations that came before her and instilled into her from a young age, Wilson goes into the second verse saying that no matter what happens, she's taken care of because she knows that everlasting life is waiting for her on the other side of this life.

However, until the time comes where she gets to meet her maker and "hitch a ride on glory's train", her eyes and heart are fixed on making something out of her life and time on earth.

Pulling on the influences and inspiration of the long line of hard-working people in her family who have come before her and done the same, the lyrics and remainder of the song imply that no amount of hardship or any combination of life's obstacles will deter her from this mission.

I'm five generations of blazing a trail
Through barbed wire valleys and overgrown dells
I'm barefoot and bareback and born tough as nails
Whoa, whoa, whoa
I'm four-fifths of reckless and one-fifth of jack
I push like a daisy through old sidewalk cracks
Yeah, my kinda crazy's still running its courses with
Wildflowers and wild horses

During her recent No. 1 party, celebrating her chart-topper 'Heart Like A Truck', Wilson spoke about the cinematic tune, telling media outlets: “This one definitely shows that western side, it takes me back to my childhood. It takes me back to my roots."

Wilson continued: “I come from a long line of hardheaded, tough people and people who have blazed their own trails. I’m from five generations of farmers in northeast Louisiana, and I always compare farming to the music business."

Drawing those comparisons, she noted, "I mean, you get up every day and do the same thing. You have good years and you have bad years, but you just keep on blazing that trail.

"I think ['Wildflowers and Wild Horses]' just digs a little deeper into my story,” Wilson summed.

Wildflowers and wild horses

In the middle of the night
I hear a cornfield coyote cry
Up at the moon no matter what
Sky I'm laying under

In the eye of a hurricane
When I got one foot in the grave
I'll dig my boots into the dirt
And face the rolling thunder

I'm five generations of blazing a trail
Through barbed wire valleys and overgrown dells
I'm barefoot and bareback and born tough as nails
Whoa, whoa, whoa

I'm four-fifths of reckless and one-fifth of jack
I push like a daisy through old sidewalk cracks
Yeah, my kinda crazy's still running its courses with
Wildflowers and wild horses

It's in the water in my veins
That bread of heaven falls like rain
So I'm taken care of either way
Make something out of how I'm made
Until I hitch a ride on glory's train

I'm five generations of blazing a trail
Through barbed wire valleys and overgrown dells
I'm barefoot and bareback and born tough as nails
Whoa, whoa, whoa

I'm four-fifths of reckless and one-fifth of jack
I push like a daisy through old sidewalk cracks
Yeah, my kinda crazy's still running its courses with
Wildflowers and wild horses

I'm five generations of blazing a trail
Through barbed wire valleys and overgrown dells
I'm barefoot and bareback and born tough as nails
Whoa, whoa, whoa

I'm four-fifths of reckless and one-fifth of jack
I push like a daisy through old sidewalk cracks
Yeah, my kinda crazy's still running its courses with
Wildflowers and wild horses

Yeah, my kinda crazy's still running its courses with
Wildflowers and wild horses
Wildflowers and wild horses

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