“Cowboy Take Me Away”
The Chicks
Written by Marcus Hummon and Martie Maguire
Radio & Records
#1 (3 weeks)
January 28 – February 11, 2000
Billboard
#1 (3 weeks)
February 5 – February 19, 2000
What could capture the promise of the new decade better than the Chicks at the top of the country chart with such a traditional and progressive single?
Martie Maguire was inspired by the old Calgon commercials of the eighties, where a weary housewife would sink into the bubble bath after a hard day and cry, “Calgon! Take me away!”
That pop culture moment influenced one of the Chicks’ most enduring hits, capturing how a country girl still longs for the simple life, even as she’s making good on her dreams in the big city. Maines’ growing confidence as a vocalist is matched by the increasingly bold musicianship of Maguire and sister Emily Strayer.
On one hand, it’s hard to fully articulate just how fresh this track from Fly sounded at the turn of the century. Indeed, many of the songs from that album haven’t aged as well in terms of production, but you could drop this on to radio now and it would be an even more of a balm than it was back in the day.
We’ll see the Chicks a few more times before the decade is out, and they’ll be showing up with a classic every damn time.
“Cowboy Take Me Away” gets an A.
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It sure does sound great! Sentimental but my wife choose this song as her walkdown a our wedding so it hold a special spot but even if you took that away it’s a beautiful song and I love the mandolin sprinkled and of course the harmonies. Great way to start the decade.
Favorites from “Fly”
“Sin Wagon”
“Cowboy Take Me Away”
“If I Fall You’re Going Down with Me”
“Let Him Fly”
“Goodbye Earl”
2000 is off to a better start than 1970, that’s for sure! I don’t know if there’s a bad song on Fly (and of course, Home); that this is one of my least favorite songs from that album is not a knock on Cowboy Take Me Away but rather a testament to The Chicks’ artistry. This song makes me want to be taken away by a cowboy too, haha. Its dreamy and soars like the fantasy the protagonist desires.
Of course, The Chicks music is a bright spot of the 2000s. But I’m interested to see how I feel about this decade through the lens of this feature, because I remember a listening to a countdown in probably 2005 and realizing that I didn’t like any song in the top 40 that week. So, I turned off the show. Up until then, I had religiously listened to a country countdown show each week.
2005 is about the time I quit listening to Country Radio on any sort of regular basis
I wasn’t as big of a fan of this group as most but this was definitely my favorite song by them.
Great song, great vocal and harmonies. Definitely deserves an A.
I’m a sucker for a prominently featured fiddle (see also: Pam Tillis’ Deep Down), so this already gets bonus points from me. That, coupled with one of Natalie Maines’ most affecting, nuanced vocals, lifts a track from my favorite Chicks’ album from very good to great.
This song is so beautiful, the harmonies are on point, and something about it just feels dreamy and has a great atmosphere to it. Also Natalie Maines voice when she sings “Closer to You” sounds so amazing, and like she is genuinely want an escape.
Very good song – this was the last of seven consecutive top ten singles. After this the quality of their singles began to slip, beginning with the ridiculous “Goodbye Earl”. Natalie Maines probably could have had a good solo career – the rest of the Chicks (including former members Laura Lynch and Robin Lynn Macy) really were not good solo singers, at least not within the group context of the Chicks although Macy was an effective bluegrass vocalist.