The Story Behind Beyoncé’s First Foray Into Country Pre-‘Cowboy Carter’ With ‘Lemonade’ Single “Daddy Lessons”

Nearly a decade before Beyoncé released her first country album Cowboy Carter in 2024, she had already dabbled in country music while recording Lemonade. The 2016 album went to No. 1 worldwide, including on the Billboard 200 chart, and was accompanied by a musical film.

Halfway through the album, Beyoncé took a turn toward country on the mid-tempo acoustic “Daddy Lessons,” the story of a father teaching a young girl to stand up for herself.

“It Sounded Tough”

Written by Beyoncé, Kevin Cossum, Wynter Gordon, and Alex Delicata, “Daddy Lessons” went back to Bey’s Texas upbringing, her father, Matthew Knowles, and how he taught her to be strong, like a soldier.

Came into this world
Daddy’s little girl
And daddy made a soldier out of me (ooh-ooh)
Daddy made me dance
And daddy held my hand (ooh-ooh)
And daddy liked his whiskey with his tea

And we rode motorcycles
Blackjack, classic vinyl
Tough girl is what I had to be
He said, “Take care of your mother
Watch out for your sister”
And oh, that’s when he gave to me

With his gun, with his head held high
He told me not to cry
Oh, my daddy said shoot
Oh, my daddy said shoot
With his right hand on his rifle
He swore it on the bible
My daddy said shoot
Oh, my daddy said shoot

[RELATED: Beyoncé Returns to Texas Roots with Country Album, New Singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages”]

“A girl that grew up tough,” said Cossom of the storyline that unfolded around the song while initially writing “Daddy Lessons” with Gordon and Delicata in 2014. “Her father was hard on her, didn’t want nobody to take advantage of her. Definitely one of those situations. It painted a country picture in our minds. It sounded tough—’So my daddy said shoot.’”

Cossum added, “You see the whiskey on the table. You see the rifle. It just had that feel to it. It didn’t take the hip-hop element to make it tough, which I think is very cool, especially for Beyoncé. And it goes with her being from Texas. Her vibe to it just makes sense for how it all came together.

‘Take care of your mother’

Towards the end of “Daddy Lessons,” Beyoncé sings of her father dying. Though Matthew Knowles is still alive, the lyrics presumably touch more on her estrangement from her father after his infidelities during his marriage to her mother Tina Knowles, and her parents’ divorce in 2011.

Daddy made me fight
It wasn’t always right
But he said. “Girl, it’s your Second Amendment” (ooh-ooh)
He always played it cool
But daddy was no fool
And right before he died he said remember

He said, “Take care of your mother
Watch out for your sister”
That’s when daddy looked at me

“Good Job Bey!”

At the end of “Daddy Lessons” Beyoncé’ and Jay-Z‘s daughter Blue Ivy makes a cameo saying “Good job, Bey!” to her mother during the final five seconds of the song. Blue Ivy previously appeared on her father’s 2012 single “Glory.” Her coos and cries from when she was less than two days old can be heard on the track.

Beyoncé Takes “Daddy Lessons” to the CMA Awards

During the 50th annual CMA Awards on November 2, 2016, Beyoncé performed “Daddy Lessons” with The Chicks, backed by horns and harmonica, before the foursome moved into the Chicks’ 2002 single “Long Time Gone.” A recorded version of their collaboration on “Daddy Lessons” was later released.

Photo: Beyoncé Knowles performs onstage during 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival Weekend 1 at the Empire Polo Field on April 14, 2018, in Indio, California. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Coachella)