Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, You Sing I Write is highlighting female country artists and songwriters throughout March.
Miranda Lambert is nominated for three Grammy Awards tomorrow evening for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for “Bluebird” and Best Country Album for Wildcard. She’ll also be performing during the broadcast, which airs at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
I interviewed Lambert in 2019 ahead of the release of “It All Comes Out In the Wash,” the first single off her Grammy-nominated album Wildcard. Lambert wrote “It All Comes Out in the Wash” with Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose, a songwriter collective known as the Love Junkies who have penned hits like Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” and Carrie Underwood’s “Cry Pretty,” among others. Below is an excerpt from our chat.
“It All Comes Out in the Wash” is your first new single in 15 months. What was it about the song that lent itself to be the lead track of your next album?
I think it was just kind of classic me. I think that it’s got some sarcasm to it, but it’s very honest. I haven’t had a single out in a long time, and I’m just ready to have new music. I’m in a new phase of my life and ready to have new music out there that represents that. This one just felt perfect as far as the vibe of it. It’s fun and lighthearted and I’m really excited about it.
How did the song come to be? Was there a certain lyric you had that kicked off the track?
I actually had the title for a while, and I took it to the Love Junkies. They’re some of my favorite people to write with and one day I walked in and I was like, “You know what? Everything’s fine. No matter what happens, it all comes out in the wash,” which is something my mom and grandma always would say — and it’s true. Everything finds a resolve, and at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. My last record went through a lot of the trials to tribulations I had been going through personally, and I feel like I’m kind of over the hump and this song represents that in a really great way.
Is there one line you’re especially proud of?
I kind of love “The Tide stick will get it.” [Laughs] That’s one of my favorites. I remember we were writing the song and just having fun writing it. Really, we were just talking about scenarios that had either happened to us as a group or someone we know, and the Tide stick came up and we all cracked up. The funny part is, I remember being at Target the next week and finding a whole bin of Tide sticks. I was like, “Yup, gonna have to need one of those.”
Is there a specific lyric that comes from your own personal experience?
Not really. I think every girl has been through moments [in the song]. Staining something important or calling someone you shouldn’t, all of it. There’s little things in life that you do that you go, “Ah, I probably shouldn’t have done that,” and it’s fine. Everybody gets past it.
What was it like writing with the Love Junkies?
It’s fun. We always have fun. It’s a bunch of girls that are willing to get in a room and be honest and it just feels like that. It feels very exciting and fun. Everybody lets their guard down, and I think that’s important: When you’re going to a songwriting session to come in and be open-minded and open-hearted and be ready to lay your shit out.
For more of my interview with Miranda Lambert, visit Billboard.