DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:
Some people think music and politics should be like oil and water, not to mix. Well, not Margo Price.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “MAGGIE’S FARM”)
MARGO PRICE: (Singing) No, I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more.
ELLIOTT: The singer, songwriter and country star is a standout in outlaw country, the rebellious strain of Americana music known for its ability to deliver a message.
(SOUNDBITE OF MARGO PRICE SONG, “MAGGIE’S FARM”)
ELLIOTT: On the eve of the United States 250th day of independence, Price dropped a new mixtape called “Days Of Unrest.” It’s a short record of mostly covers – Price’s take on some of America’s most powerful protest anthems. Price says she wanted to make something to meet the moment.
PRICE: You know, I think our country is going through some really difficult times right now, and I’ve been singing these songs all over the United States, and people everywhere are singing along to songs like “Oval Room,” which is just wild.
ELLIOTT: So this collection is mostly covers. You mentioned Blaze Foley’s “Oval Room.” He wrote this song back in 1984 about then-President Ronald Reagan. But, you know, talking to my colleagues here after we listened to it, we were like, oh, this sounds like it could have been written this year, you know? Let’s listen a bit.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “OVAL ROOM”)
PRICE: (Singing) In his oval room, in his rocking chair, he’s the president, but I don’t care. He’s a business man. He got business ties. He got dollar signs in both his eyes. Got a big airplane…
ELLIOTT: I’m curious – why covers? What was it – made you feel like this song and some of the others, these great works of the past, are prime in this moment?
PRICE: I think a good protest song is incredibly challenging to write. And, you know, everything that’s happening right now, it’s like, I’m still processing what’s going on in real time. But looking to the past, looking to our history always helps us figure out what’s going on right now. And we’ve seen these patterns. We’ve seen this abuse of the common man and the division of wealth in this country just grow and grow. And so I’m looking into songs into my past to help me process what’s going on.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “OVAL ROOM”)
PRICE: (Singing) At the factory, never been so slow. Got a big fourth down, 99 to go.
You know, “Oval Room” was written back in 1984. It just felt cathartic to sing it. And it just felt like something that needed to be resurrected and keep these songs living and breathing so, you know, people can have an anthem at the moment when they need it.
ELLIOTT: There’s another track that really drew me in – your cover of Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee’s (ph) (Plane Wreck At Los Gatos).”
PRICE: Ah.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “DEPORTEE (PLANE WRECK AT LOS GATOS)”)
MARGO PRICE AND JOAN BAEZ: (Singing) Goodbye, my Juan. Farewell, Rosalita. Adios, mis amigos, Jesus y Maria. You won’t have a name when you ride the big airplane.
ELLIOTT: You know, we’re hearing Joan Baez there with you and you two performed this together just a few days ago. Tell me about your relationship with her and this song – this song, which is nearly 80 years old.
PRICE: I know. This song – I think it was the last lyrics that Woody Guthrie ever wrote. What’s happening right now with immigration and people just not getting due process is just so heartbreaking to watch.
And this song is one that’s been in my vernacular for a long time. I saw Joan perform it on the “Rolling Thunder Revue” with Bob Dylan on a – you know, a VHS tape, and this was, like, again, 20 years ago. And so Joan is just, like – she’s done so many things for the cause. She marched with Martin Luther King. She was there, you know, providing a soundtrack to “Hard Times.”
And so I learned so much from her about how to move gracefully and how to take something that’s going on and just shine a light on it and maybe sing about it in a way that might show people a different side, might give people compassion.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “DEPORTEE (PLANE WRECK AT LOS GATOS)”)
PRICE AND BAEZ: (Singing) All they will call you will be deportees.
PRICE: I feel like everybody is forgetting that we’re all humans. You know, nobody is illegal. Nobody is an alien. We’re all humans.
ELLIOTT: You know, how do you navigate being present in protest today, even though that can be very risky for a Nashville star, right?
PRICE: Yeah, I definitely am going against the grain when it comes to even just saying something on social media, saying, like, what’s going on is not right, whether it’s Black Lives Matter or, you know, what’s happening in Gaza and saying free Palestine. People are stuck in this fear. Though I understand when people are scared to use their voice, I mean, we just have to do something, though, before it’s too late.
ELLIOTT: “Days Of Unrest” isn’t just covers. There is some original music, as well – a three-part instrumental composition woven throughout the record, and also your song “Can’t Stand Still.”
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “CAN’T STAND STILL”)
PRICE: (Singing) But my papa says, I got to get married. Mama told me, settle down. But I got me a ticket on a big jet plane. I’m gonna fly straight out of town. And honey…
ELLIOTT: So this is a very defiant song, right?
PRICE: Somebody told me the other day it was an anti-trad wife anthem, and…
ELLIOTT: Oh (laughter).
PRICE: I thought that was a pretty good description.
ELLIOTT: (Laughter).
PRICE: I wrote this song about 20 years ago, as well, and it was when I was kind of wrestling with, you know, do I want to have kids? Or do I want to, you know – I don’t know. My mother raised me to be just a strong feminist and somebody who was going to follow my dreams and not, you know, just be in the kitchen and serve a man. And yeah, that song – it’s got a bit of a message.
ELLIOTT: But you are married, and you have kids now.
PRICE: I know, I know. I am. And I love being a mom, and, you know, my husband and I have been together for 23 years, so, you know, I know how much work it takes to do both. And I love, you know, leaning into both, but I feel like I’ve made the right decision and followed my path. Hopefully, I’m showing my daughter that she can follow her path.
(SOUNDBITE OF MARGO PRICE SONG, “CAN’T STAND STILL”)
PRICE: Yeah, a song like “Can’t Stand Still,” it just – it reaffirms that it’s OK to to follow any path you want as a woman.
ELLIOTT: You know, you’re often talked about as somehow carrying the torch, carrying on the legacy of outlaw country, you know, that renegade strain of country music that’s known for speaking truth to power. You’re very close with Willie Nelson, who is a father of that genre. How do you view yourself in that frame?
PRICE: I love the term outlaw.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “LONG HAIRED COUNTRY GIRL”)
PRICE: (Singing) People say I’m no good, that I’m crazy as a loon, ’cause I get stoned in the morning, get drunk in the afternoon.
Nothing scares people more than art, music and literature. That’s why they start banning books, you know, immediately because they know that songs can change people’s minds. They know that lyrics can really get into your heart. Literature, history, music, songs – those are the things that carry me through when I’m in pain and when I want to feel comforted. So yeah, hopefully I’m following in the footsteps of all the people that I admire. It’s no easy feat to keep up with folks like Willie and Joan Baez. And so I have a lot of work to do. I got a long way to go.
ELLIOTT: Margot Price’s new mixtape is “Days Of Unrest.” Thanks for the conversation.
PRICE: Thank you, Debbie.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “LONG HAIRED COUNTRY GIRL”)
PRICE: (Singing) Wants me to send a donation ’cause he’s worried about my soul. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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