The Highwomen’s ‘Redesigning Women’ Is a Fierce, Funny Female Anthem [Listen]
The Highwomen have released their long-anticipated debut single. "Redesigning Women" brings together some of the top talent in country music for a fierce, but fun anthem celebrating the many facets of modern women.
Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, singer-songwriter Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires joined together to form the female supergroup, whose name was inspired partially by the Highwaymen collective that launched in the 1980s. They released "Redesigning Women" early Friday morning (July 19), and it's a bluesy slice of earthy country and soul that allows each of them to shine, while bringing their voices together in spots for some truly stellar harmonies.
The singers all trade off singing lead in the verses, which consist of an interesting mix of a serious empowerment message and laughing at themselves for their foibles. That all builds up to a chorus that shows off their gorgeous harmony blend as they offer an assessment of the role women play in the world: "Redesigning women / Runnin' the world while we're cleanin' up the kitchen / Makin' bank, shakin' hands, drivin' 80 / Tryin' to get home just to feed the babies / Skippin' the bread for the butter / Changin' our minds like we change our hair color / Yeah, ever since the beginning, we've been redesigning women."
Hemby co-wrote the song with Rodney Clawson, and Shires' husband, Jason Isbell, contributes electric guitar to the track. Carlile's longtime bandmates, Phil and Tim Hanseroth, play bass and acoustic guitar on "Redesigning Women," which Dave Cobb produced. The song is the first single from an upcoming full-length album that is set for release on Sept. 6.
The Highwomen are slated to make their official live debut at the 2019 Newport Folk Festival, which runs from July 26-28 in Newport, R.I.
Did You Know? Margo Price was originally slated to be involved in the Highwomen, but the lineup evolved over time.
The Highwomen, "Redesigning Women" Lyrics:
Full-time living on a half-time schedule / Always trying to make everybody feel special / Learning when to break and when to hit the pedal / Working hard to look good 'til we die / A critical reason there's a population / Raising eyebrows and a new generation / Rosie the Riveter with renovations / And always gets better with wine
Chorus:
Redesigning women / Runnin' the world while we're cleanin' up the kitchen / Makin' bank, shakin' hands, drivin' 80 / Tryin' to get home just to feed the babies / Skippin' the bread for the butter / Changin' our minds like we change our hair color / Yeah, ever since the beginning, we've been redesigning women.
Pulling up the floors and changing out the curtains / Some of us are saints and some of us are surgeons / Made in God's image, just a better version / And breaking every Jello mold / And when we love someone we take 'em to heaven / And if the shoe fits we're gonna buy eleven / How we get it done, we like to keep 'em guessing / But secretly, we all know
Repeat Chorus
How do we do it? / How do we do it? / Make it up as we go along / How do we do it? / How do we do it? / Halfway right and halfway wrong
Repeat Chorus
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