By 2005, Miranda Lambert was just getting fired up as a hit-making songwriter with her breakout debut Kerosene. Though her lead single “Me and Charlie Talking” only peaked at No. 27, the album debuted at No. 1.
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Among her many accolades and awards, Lambert has won 29 ACM Awards, 14 CMA awards, eight CMT awards, three Grammys Awards, and more throughout her career.
While her work with Pistol Annies and the collaborative project with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, The Marfa Tapes—inspired by her annual writing trips to Marfa, Texas with the two— Lambert has penned nine of her own albums over the past 15 years, including her 2022 release Palomino.
[RELATED: Miranda Lambert Shines in Performance of “Carousel” At ACM Awards]
She has also added to her collection of No. 1 hits with “White Liar,” “The House That Built Me,” “Over You,” “Mama’s Broken Heart,” “Heart Like Mine,” and “Bluebird,” along with songs she wrote for other artists that topped charts.
Here’s a look at seven songs Lambert wrote outside of her own catalog for other artists over the past 15 years.
Read our cover story interview with Miranda Lambert, featured in the May/June issue of American Songwriter, HERE.
1. “Bare Skin Rug,” Blake Shelton (2008)
Written by Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton
“Bare Skin Rug” closes Blake Shelton‘s third album, Startin’ Fires, which features a duet with Lambert, who also co-wrote the track with him.
Elaborating on the album title, Shelton said, “It just seemed like the right statement for what we’re trying to do with my career right now. And I never felt confident enough to make a statement like that on an album title—not until now. I feel like I’m coming with the most momentum that I’ve ever had on a record.” He added, “I think, for the first time, everybody’s paying attention closely to what I’m doing, and I’m trying to make the most of it.”
Well the moon just came over the tree tops
And the whipper wheel started to sing
So I slipped down the hill
Got into the still
And drank til my ears started to ring
I followed a trail to through the hollow
To a shack back in the woods
Its my eighteenth birthday
Honey come out and play
It’s time we got to no good
2. “I’m Good at Leavin’,” Ashley Monroe (2015)
Written by Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, Jessi Leigh Alexander
Off Ashley Monroe‘s third album, The Blade, which was co-produced by Vince Gill, Lambert co-penned the slow crooned closing track “I’m Good at Leavin’.” Lambert also sings backing vocals on the title track of the album.
“The idea of leaving is so interesting because when you’re coming off the road, you get tired and want to come home,” said Monroe of the song. “Then you sit at home a little bit and get used to leaving. I don’t even unpack my bag a lot. I don’t know how to hang my clothes. I only know how to roll them. So I am good at leaving. It’s the truth.”
I’m good at leaving
It’s all I do
I’ll hang around a day or two
And like the wild wind, I’ll be gone
I’ve always been a rolling stone
I’m good at walkin’ out the door
And I don’t love you anymore
You’re a fool for not believing
I’m good at leaving
3. “Don’t Blame It On Whiskey,” Jon Pardi, featuring Lauren Alaina (2019)
Written by Miranda Lambert, Luke Laird, Eric Church, Michael P. Heeney
“Don’t Blame It On Whiskey” was initially written by Lambert, Eric Church, Luke Laird, and Michael Heeney for Church’s 2011 album, Chief, but it never made the cut. Shelved for several years, it resurfaced for Jon Pardi‘s third album, Heartache Medication, when an A & R rep dug up the original demo.
The song follows a couple who are near breaking up and are forced to be honest about their relationship, and not blame it on whiskey.
But don’t blame it on whiskey
No, this ain’t about a drink
Don’t let alcohol take the fall
For all these thoughts I think
Let’s get down to the bottom
And not just the bottom of the glass
This heartbreak train’s pickin’ up steam
And we’re standin’ on the track
Yeah, I can blame it on you
Or you can blame it on me
But don’t blame it on whiskey
4. “My Only Child,” Recorded by The Highwomen (2019)
Written by Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby, Amanda Shires
The Highwomen‘s 2019 self-titled debut went to No. 1 on the country chart and made it to the top 10 of the Billboard 200. For the album, Lambert co-wrote one track, the nostalgic, “My Only Child,” along with Highwomen Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires.
The song is told from the perspective of a parent with one daughter and was inspired by Hemby’s own real-life story of her own child asking for a baby brother or sister. “It’s kind of funny, and it’s kind of not, but I started this song because my kid kept asking me for a sister and a brother,” shared Hemby. “I didn’t want to explain to her about cobwebs and ovaries and things like that, so I was just like, “Well, you know…I don’t know that that’s really a possibility.”
She continued, “Then I took the song idea to Miranda Lambert, who now has a stepchild but did not at the time, and I said, “Will you help me write this?” She wrote so many amazing lines, and I just sat there sobbing, like, “What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t even have kids.”
I know you wish
You had a brother who had blue eyes just like you
I know you wish
You had a sister you could tell your secrets to
Maybe we’ll miss
Having four sets of china on the table
But I guarantee you this
You mean more to me than branches to a maple
5. “Falling Apart,” Parker McCollum (2021)
Written by Miranda Lambert, Parker McCollum, Jon Randall, Randy Rogers
Produced by Jon Randall, Parker McCollum‘s 2021 debut, Gold Chain Cowboy, produced two No. 1 hits, “To Be Loved by You” and “Pretty Heart,” along with other musical gems, including the more ’80s-driven mid-tempo “Falling Apart.” The song is one McCollum admitted is inspired by a fight he had with his then-fiancé now wife, Hallie Ray, during the pandemic.
“I was sitting up late one night and wrote the line, ‘What if I just want someone else?’” said McCollum. “I thought it was really cool, and I took it into the write with Miranda the next day and she immediately said that it was really good but it was too mean. She suggested we change it to ‘Maybe you are better with someone else?’ and all of a sudden we had the song.”
Sonically, the song was inspired by the band .38 Special song riff Randall was playing. “I wasn’t sure how or where it would fit on the record, and it just so happened that Jon was jamming some .38 Special on his guitar and I said, ‘Dude, why does nobody ever cut songs like this anymore?’ [and] Jon replied, ‘I don’t know, but let’s fuckin’ do it.’ We literally went into the studio and cut a .38 Special rip-off track with ‘Falling Apart.'”
Maybe you are better with someone else
Maybe I just saved you from myself
When I left you in the dark
Girl, I knew you’d never call my bluff
The writing on the wall just wasn’t enough
You were falling in love and I was falling apart
6. “Outrunnin’ Your Memory,” Luke Combs (2022)
Written by Miranda Lambert, Luke Combs, Dan Isbell
Luke Combs‘ third album, Growin’ Up, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and picked up a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album and featured hit singles “The Kind of Love We Make,” “Doin’ This,” and “Going, Going, Gone.” On the album, Combs also co-wrote the track “Outrunnin’ Your Memory” with Lambert and Dan Isbell, about a breakup that’s still raw after only two weeks—You’d love this bar I stumbled on / They play George Strait and they pour their doubles strong / I’ve been gone for two weeks now / There’s some missing you in every little town / Ain’t sure what I thought I’d find riding these yellow lines.
Initially, when Lambert and Combs began writing the song, it wasn’t intended as a duet, but both decided that her vocals would help complete the song.
“When I went to record it, I was just like, ‘Hey, I think it would be awesome if you would sing on this thing if that’s something that you’re interested in,'” said Combs about his duet with Lambert. “So, she came and gave it a run, and it sounded great. I was really thankful that happened because I think it turned out awesome.”
Outrunnin’ your memory is like outrunnin’ the wind
I can’t get where I’m going if I can’t leave where you’ve been
I see you in every sunset, every star in the sky
I hear you callin’ my name in the middle of the night
The longer gone I get on down the road
Reminds me, baby, that there just ain’t no
Outrunnin’ your memory
7. “Thought You Should Know,” Morgan Wallen (2023)
Written by Miranda Lambert, Morgan Wallen, Nicolle Galyon
Co-written with Miranda Lambert and Nicolle Galyon, “Thought You Should Know” is one of the 36 tracks off Morgan Wallen’s third album, One Thing at a Time. The song was Wallen’s first collaboration with Lambert—and hopefully not his last.
“I was already a huge fan of Miranda before I even came to town,” said Wallen. “It’s cool to have moments like that, but it’s also cool to experience not only success but something that I’m super proud of with her. She’s awesome, She’s a great musician, great songwriter and I look forward to doing some more with her.”
Like many of the tracks on the album, “Thought You Should Know” crosses into a familial territory and is a letter, in song, Wallen wrote to his mother Lesli.
“It was one of those magic moments where everything just worked,” Lambert recently told American Songwriter of Wallen’s No. 1 hit. “[He said,] ‘I want to write a song for my mom.’ I’m like, ‘I’m all about that and you picked the two right girls.’ It just fell out.”
What’s goin’ on, mama?
Something just dawned on me
I ain’t been home in some months
Been chasin’ songs and women
Makin’ some bad decisions
God knows I’m drinkin’ too much
Yeah, I know you’ve been worrying ’bout me
You’ve been losin’ sleep since ’93
Read more behind the story of Morgan Wallen’s “Thought You Should Know” HERE.
Photo: Robert Ascroft for foureleven agency/Courtesy of Essential Broadcast Media
