Maren Morris Reveals How She Follows in the Footsteps of Her Country Music Heroes Johnny Cash and Kris Kritofferson

Maren Morris has been politically outspoken since rising to stardom in the country music world. For a time, she claimed to want to exit the genre and start a pop career because the overall political leanings of Nashville and the country scene didn’t align with her ideals. Morris eventually walked back that claim, though, and continued with her country career. Recently, she explained how some of the genre’s most iconic artists inspired her to do so.

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Morris appeared on the most recent episode of the Zach Sang Show podcast to talk about her most recent album and more. During the conversation, she discussed her political leanings and how the likes of Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson inspired her to be outspoken about her beliefs.

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Maren Morris Is Following the Lead of Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson

Zach Sang mentioned the right-leaning “beliefs and standards” of the country music community and how Maren Morris went against the grain. She disagreed, saying that she is looking to the genre’s past for inspiration.

“I think I went back to where country music was. When you see interviews with Johnny Cash or the Highwaymen with Willie and Kristofferson, it was like Kristofferson was a war veteran. So, he’s talking about veterans’ rights, veteran care. They’re talking about public education. They’re talking about homelessness,” Morris said. “Those are the outlaws these people at their festivals have on a screen tee. It’s like, were you listening to them talk? We you just listening to ’ A Boy Named Sue?’” she added.

“I don’t think I was diverting from country music. I think I was touting what made me fall in love with it, which was reality and human stories through really clever storytelling and lyrical structure,” Morris explained. “There’s so much warmth in country music that I fell in love with,” she added. Then, she circled back to Cash, Nelson, and Kristofferson. “They were all pushing the boundaries. And, they were advocating for minorities and marginalized communities. That was my country music. I don’t know where it changed.”

Morris went on to say that she was never “anti-anything” in country music. “I was anti homophobia and bigotry. I felt like I was always marching to the drum of my country music heroes. They were incredibly courageous.”

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