The 47-year-old Washington-born Brandy Clark is likely your favorite country songwriter’s favorite country songwriter. A well-known performer in her own right, Clark might be best known in the industry for her piercing lyrics and memorable storytelling.
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Her songs have been cut by high-profile artists like Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Darius Rucker, Sheryl Crow, and Miranda Lambert—as you will see below. Clark, who is a seven-time Grammy nominee, is also known for her writing collabs with songwriter/producer Shane McAnally.
These are five songs you likely didn’t know Brandy Clark wrote for other artists.
1. “Mama’s Broken Heart,” Miranda Lambert
Written by Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally, Brandy Clark
Released on Miranda Lambert’s 2011 LP, Four the Record, “Mama’s Broken Heart” was written by a trio of standout writers, from Brandy Clark to frequent collaborators Shane McAnally and Kacey Musgraves. The song, which is about spiraling after a broken heart and ignoring mom’s wisdom, is an emotive track.
Word got around to the barflies and the Baptists
My mama’s phone started ringin’ off the hook
I can hear her now sayin’ she ain’t gonna have it
Don’t matter how you feel, it only matters how you look
Go and fix your makeup girl, it’s just a breakup
Run and hide your crazy and start actin’ like a lady
‘Cause I raised you better, gotta keep it together
Even when you fall apart
But this ain’t my mama’s broken heart
2. “The Day She Got Divorced,” Reba McEntire
Written by Shane McAnally, Mark Sanders, Brandy Clark
The eighth song on country icon Reba McEntire’s twenty-eighth studio album, All the Women I Am, which was released in 2010, “The Day She Got Divorced” was written by a triumvirate of scribes— Brandy Clark, Mark Sanders, and Shane McAnally. This country song tells the story of what the title clearly suggests: the day a woman got divorced.
‘Cause it was just like every other day before
The day she got divorced
Didn’t feel any different than it ever had
She wasn’t that sorry, wasn’t that sad
Couldn’t love him any less or hate him anymore
The day she got divorced
Kids are yakking with their hungry mouths
Dog scratching laying on the couch
Think she really outta clean this house, but what the hell
‘Cause it’s just as dirty as the day before
Yeah, she’s divorced
3. “Homecoming Queen,” Sheryl Crow
Written by Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, Brandy Clark
Off Sheryl Crow’s ninth studio LP, Feels like Home, “Homecoming Queen” and the album it’s on marked Crow’s venture into country music in earnest. She recorded the LP in Nashville and dove into the genre fully—with the help of others, like Brandy Clark. It’s a somber, even melancholy song about aging.
28, shouldn’t look this old
But the last ten years sure took their toll
On the girl in the picture with the plastic crown
That sea queen dress wouldn’t fit her now
Like it did
Before the kids
Yeah she loves her husband ’cause she said she would
Oh it ain’t so bad but it ain’t so good
She swore she wouldn’t get stuck in this town
Now she’s cutting coupons two doors down
From a mall
And it goes on
4. “Biscuits,” Kacey Musgraves
Written by Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally, Brandy Clark
The lead single from Musgraves’ second major label LP, Pageant Material, “Biscuits” hit the airwaves in 2015. Written by Musgraves and Shane McAnally, Clark added the finishing touches and polish to the storytelling and lyrics. The song is about finding your own way through life, your own road, and your own identity.
Just hoe your own row and raise your own babies
Smoke your own smoke and grow your own daisies
Mend your own fences and own your own crazy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy
Nobody’s perfect, we’ve all lost and we’ve all lied
Most of us have cheated the rest of us have tried
The holiest of the holy even slip from time to time
We’ve all got dirty laundry hanging on the line
5. “Crazy Women,” LeAnn Rimes
Written by Shane McAnally, Brandy Clark, Jessie Jo Dillon
Released on country star LeAnn Rimes’ 2010 album, Lady & Gentlemen, “Crazy Women” is about women going mad at the hands of their male counterparts. Men cheat, lie, booze, and gamble—or, so says the song—and thus their gals are driven nuts. So much so that they might even light your car on fire…
Who’d-a guessed that Aquanette
Could start a fire with a single cigarette
She wasn’t drunk, she wasn’t stoned
Just sick and tired of wonderin’ when he was coming home
So she drove around
She found his car
They heard a boom from in the bar
He called the cops
She called his bluff
They hauled her off in high heels and handcuffs
Crazy women, ex-wives, and old girlfriends
Keep their crazy hidden till they’re pushed off the deep end
Oh yeah, God forgive them, they weren’t born like this
Oh no, crazy women are made by crazy men
Photo by Gus Stewart/Redferns
