Always something to brighten any day is a new single from Macartney Reinhardt - by our reckoning her 12th cracking single in a row, each one taking her on an upwards trajectory. This latest one "Cowboy With A Conscience" is going to be a test for her linguistic dexterity when she plays it live as she rattles off the lines at a prolific rate.
There's a sense of urgency from the very start, the guitars and percussion establish a western style backing that snaps to a halt after just 5 seconds laying the groundwork for Macartney to begin.
"There's something blowing in the wind
You're showing up at 2AM
Guess you can't even play pretend
In her perfume"
The opening verse finds us lyrically immediately dropped into the action. There's something wonderfully knowing and disdainful about the way the last line is delivered as Macartney knows she totally has the upper hand.
The second verse paints an equally poor portrait and closes with an equally withering put down!
"Crying like someone stole your truck
Or beat you to that 10 point buck
Slurring "Sorry's" through the drunk - Oh poor you!
"And you're looking at me
To congratulate you
On coming clean
Like I'm supposed to"
There's an old country music adage that you should "Stand By Your Man" - It's a peculiar way of thinking that deserves no place in the modern world and it is safe to say the Macartney holds no truck with it as her sassy put down chorus clearly displays
"Hit the rodeo Romeo
Let them whisky laced Luchesses walk you home
I won't take you back with all your neon nonsense
Just cos you're a cowboy with a
Cowboy with a conscience"
There is all sorts of things going on in the chorus from the alliteration of the "Laced Luchesses" and "Neon nonsense" , the repeated "Cowboy with a"s through to the superbly stretched final word.
"How did you think that this would go?
You fake a tear and mime a smoke
Wake up tomorrow good as gold - nothing happened
You're only lying to yourself - You must think I'm somebody else
Jumping off a carousel - Utter madness"
There is one final knockout punch, that pretty much puts the final nail in the coffin of this relationship.
"Yes you know wrong from right -
For the first and the last damn time"
The final chorus at first sees most of the instrumentation fade away, to let Macartney shine in the mix, before it comes storming back. There are some nice additional vocals in the background and Macartney closes things by dropping in a marvelously ever rising extended finale.
PRE SAVE LINKS https://onerpm.link/936002493213
Cowboy With A Conscience is avaiable 7th March