By: Alyssa Trybus
“Not Ready to Make Nice” was released in 2006. The song directly relates the relationship between the personal experiences of Dixie Chicks lead singer, Natalie Maines, and the wider social context of the time period. The song is in direct response to the reaction that came from fans when Maines spoke negatively about the president at the time, George W. Bush. 2006 was a time of terrorism and war. The fear of September 11, 2001 still had it’s hold on our country, leaving a long-term impact. We declared war on Iraq in 2003, so violence was the reality of this period. President Bush was head of the governing body to make these serious decisions for our country, and was also an easy person to blame during a time of hardship and destruction.
Maines spoke her opinions regarding America’s state, like many others were doing at the time. Her comments were documented as she is a star under the spotlight, and fans placed a greater emphasis on her remarks than they would have if a non-celeb spoke them. Maines said, “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.” This was a strong statement that is a clear insult to the president, insinuating that she was opposed to the President and his decision to declare war on Iraq. This was not received well by Dixie Chicks fans, which prompted the song “Not Ready to Make Nice.”
The song explains that Maines is not sorry for what she said and that she meant it. The lyrics contain the line, “It’s too late to make it right, I probably wouldn’t if I could.” This verifies that Maines feels that her words were justified and she stands behind them. It also describes that it’s too late to clear up the controversy she started, controversy that was amplified by the conservative politics of her audience and sparked by the President of the time. She also sings, “They say time heals everything, But I’m still waiting”. This directly refers to the hateful reaction she received for speaking out politically. She is waiting for the conflict to blow over and to feel at peace again. I think that this parallels the events going on in society as well as relating specifically to Maines. Time will surely help in healing the damage caused by the recent trauma of 9/11 and the Iraq War that would continue for many years to come, but it will never completely wipe the slate clean of it. I think that this is what Maines is trying to communicate within the social context while clearly expressing it about her personal situation.
March 10, 2019 at 2:34 pm
Alyssa, when researching the song I was surprised to see that it won 3 Grammys, including Song of the Year and Best Country Song (by a group, I think). The latter, I think, is a direct rebuke of the way country fans reacted in the wake of Maines’ comments about Bush.
While the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are an important context, there are three other contexts I think you may want to look into, as well. The first you hint at in here, such as the state of the world under Bush. There was a level of paranoia and fear the likes the country hadn’t seen in decades—though not as horrible as we see right now. Plus, the government was attempting to implement extraordinary levels surveillance, which people were very upset about. Second and Third are related: the songs that were being released at the time. There were country songs released that were very pro-Bush and pro-war and the Dixie Chicks, being a country band, and women, were supposed to toe the line and either keep quiet or openly support Bush. So, having clips of some of those songs will be helpful in your podcast to help paint a picture of what country artists were singing at the time. Third was the emerging anti-Bush anti-war songs and albums that were being written, the most popular of which was Green Day’s American Idiot, which was released in 2004. There are dozens of others than you can look up, so you can see that Maines’ comments come within that context of artists speaking out. Plus, the Entertainment Weekly magazine cover and article. This all begs the question: What role should musicians play in social issues?
I think it also important to point out that the song can be read as not about the issue at all, as well. It is so well written that, other than the last line, it could be seen as a statement of women’s empowerment.
B