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FROM MYA:
Paisley and I aren’t just songwriter pals-we’re chosen family. As trans people who came from backgrounds of trauma, seeing the work we’ve done translate into younger folks finding themselves and being supported because of our work is such a part of what makes our siblinghood special. When the anti-trans laws passed the Tennessee legislature, we’d had a songwriting day scheduled. Between our anger and our sadness of seeing this injustice, we asked ourself, “What would Waylon write?” And this is what came out. If our country is gonna makes us outlaws, then we’re gonna make outlaw country. No one deserves to be hurt this way by a government sworn to protect them — whether it’s trans rights, abortion rights, or gay marriage rights, it’s all the same — and all of us need to be turning over the tables. They’re on the wrong side of history, and my hope is this song can illustrate to folks who wanna understand why we’re angry what we’re angry about. Folks like Lee and DeSantis and Abbott are burning the pillars of our houses of democracy. And when you mess with the bill, you damn well get the horns.
FROM PAISLEY:
Mya and I are outlaws. Not by choice, but because this is what our country is making us. We wrote this song with a shared rage, but also with hope that we can change things for the better. When I'm feeling helpless about the state of the world I channel that fury into my music.
lyrics
It’s plain to see, Mr. Lee, you got a problem
You’re banning things you don’t know a thing about
While your two-bit government tries to rein us in
And control us from the inside out
Ain’t you ever heard of freedom of expression
Are you tryin to start a second civil war
You’re telling folks to think about the children
Now where I have I heard that line before?
I think it’s time you listened to the people
Cos we’re the ones who make this country proud
And if you keep on throwing matches on this gasoline
It’s gonna burn this statehouse down
If you call yourself a Christian act like Jesus
Cos Jesus loved the outlaws just like me
Your cruel words and your actions incite violence
Can’t trick good folks with your hypocrisy
And I think you know exactly what you’re doing
Your laws are putting bodies in the ground
But if you keep on throwing matches on this gasoline
It’s gonna burn this statehouse down
Do you think a drag queen can’t get into heaven?
You’re distracting folks with all these nonsense rules
Do you remember doin drag in 1977?
Yeah, you’ll ban trans kids but you won’t ban guns from school
So I’m asking: Whose lives are you protecting?
Do you think you’re gonna run us out of town?
Cos if you keep on throwing matches on this gasoline
Gonna burn this statehouse down
I’ll point the finger, Mr. Lee, just like you do it,
the way you twist the golden rule around
Cos if you keep on throwing matches on this gasoline
Gonna burn this statehouse down
Gonna burn this statehouse down
Gonna burn this statehouse down
credits
released March 21, 2023
“Burn This Statehouse Down”
Mya Byrne & Paisley Fields (feat. Kym Register, Swan Real, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Chris Kelly, Sandy Loam, & Scott Wolfson)
Written by Mya Byrne & Paisley Fields with Sandy Loam
Produced by multi-instrumentalist Chris Kelly, who plays drums, Hammond, trumpet, trombone, and electric guitar on the song.
Bass: Sandy Loam
Acoustic and electric guitar: Mya Byrne
Lead vocals: Paisley Fields & Mya Byrne feat. Swan Real & Kym Register
Lead guitar: Aaron Lee Tasjan
Backing vocals: Scott Wolfson, Sandy Loam, Chris Kelly
Recorded at Studio Del Diablo, Williamsburg, Brooklyn March 2023
Cover photo by Rochelle Shipman
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