A resonating track about belonging and identity from Toria Rainey, “Cowboy Song” resonates in its folk-pop appeal and metaphorical prowess — employing “cowboyhood” as a depiction of “feeling like an outsider, a myth we project strength onto, and a mirror for parts of myself I’m still discovering,” per Rainey.
“I wrote Cowboy Song because I was sick of being asked to prove my queerness,” Rainey continues. “It’s for people who feel like not enough, or want to feel the strange grief of being invisible, even in your own community.”
A stirring lyrical opening compels in its depictions of a society with a tendency for exclusion. “Allegedly you can be anything you wanna be, unless of course it already exists and you’re not born a part of it,” Rainey sings. A melodic vocal presence — admitting “I’m not sure if I’m part of it” and “I’m a cowboy, why doesn’t anyone believe me?” — pairs with understated guitar work, expanding into gorgeous string-laden ruminations in the second half, as the “so tired of proving” ruminations appear. “Cowboy Song” is a stirring, from-the-heart success from Toria Rainey.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
