{"id":21627,"date":"2020-02-28T09:50:43","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T16:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1818543"},"modified":"2020-02-28T09:50:43","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T16:50:43","slug":"shane-mcanally-on-accidental-gay-anthems-and-his-pronoun-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/music-news\/shane-mcanally-on-accidental-gay-anthems-and-his-pronoun-fears\/","title":{"rendered":"Shane McAnally on Accidental Gay Anthems and His Pronoun Fears"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"byline\"> by <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/author\/bonaguroa\/\" title=\"Posts by Alison Bonaguro\" rel=\"author\">Alison Bonaguro<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"date\"><br \/>\n3m ago<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span> <\/p>\n<p>Shane McAnally didn\u2019t write gay anthems with the intent of writing gay anthems. They just kind of happened. <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what the prolific country songwriter told Anthony Ramos from GLAAD \u2014 formerly known as the Gay &amp; Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation \u2014 about his involvement in Kacey Musgraves\u2019 2013 \u201cFollow Your Arrow\u201d and her 2019 \u201cRainbow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But first, McAnally started at the beginning of what he thought was going to be a career as a country singer. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI moved to Nashville originally in 1994. And at the end of the nineties, there was an artist who was in the closet \u2014 Ty Herndon \u2014 and he had some big hits,\u201d McAnally said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-QqdHi-dSMo?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-QqdHi-dSMo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cAnd what happened was when he was outed, his career really hit a wall. So for someone like me watching that, that was scary thinking, \u2019Well, maybe I <em>shouldn\u2019t<\/em> come out.\u2019 And I wanted this dream so badly. All I ever wanted was to be in country music. And all of a sudden it looked like those two couldn\u2019t go together. So that kept me in the closet longer. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut ultimately because of Ty and some other artists like that who did step out first \u2014 even if they were pulled out of the closet \u2014 it at least shined a light on the fact that there are gay people making country music.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uTrV8JisvLM?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uTrV8JisvLM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>All of those worries initially made it difficult for McAnally in songwriting sessions, he said, because he was hyper aware of the he\/she pronouns in songs. \u201cIf I talked about a relationship, I\u2019d get so caught up in, \u2019What story did I tell? Who did I say I was dating?\u2019 And that completely cast a shadow over my ability to tell the story in a truthful way,\u201d he explained. \u201cOnce I came out, and realized that everybody knew and didn\u2019t care, it didn\u2019t matter what pronoun I used. I was no longer worried if \u2019he\u2019 or \u2019she\u2019 came out of my mouth. I was able to write the line properly. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn doing that, my songs became much more universal to straight people too, because the heart is a heart and we all hurt and love the same.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the conversation turned to talk of the two Musgraves songs that encourage that sentiment \u2014 love who you love \u2014 McAnally said the ideas started in a songwriting session back in 2012. \u201cI didn\u2019t go into any songwriting session with an agenda to write a song that was an anthem for the gay community. And I was a little bit scared that it might hurt my reputation or that it would brand me. But Kacey doesn\u2019t have those same limitations or fears. She says exactly what\u2019s on her mind,\u201d he said of how Musgraves became a gay ally. \u201cShe was ready to wave her hand and say, \u2019You know what? It doesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019s like, follow your arrow, and do whatever you want.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"1a7c7b37\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/GettyImages-516663018-1582841666.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/GettyImages-516663018-1582841666.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/GettyImages-516663018-1582841666.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/GettyImages-516663018-1582841666.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/GettyImages-516663018-1582841666.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/GettyImages-516663018-1582841666.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/GettyImages-516663018-1582841666.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/GettyImages-516663018-1582841666.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"SXSW Music 2016 - Day 5\" class=\" js-srcset-img shortcode-image \" alt><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photocredit\"> Lorne Thomson <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>When McAnally was able to tell the truth about his relationships without worrying about the pronouns, he said, the songs made more sense and were also more unique. And after that happened, he became a songwriter that people went to for certain kinds of songs of unrequited love. <\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s not just the gay community McAnally is writing for. It\u2019s everyone, man or woman, straight or gay. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first time I was ever invited on the road, after I had just had a couple of hits with Kenny Chesney and Jake Owen, Luke Bryan invited me on the road. And he is someone that I would consider \u2014 if there is a level of straight or gay, I consider him to be on the extreme straight side \u2014 so the first question I asked was, \u2019Does he know I\u2019m gay?\u2019 Because I was so afraid that I would go back into that world of pronoun fear,\u201d McAnally said. It turned out, Bryan did know and didn\u2019t care. They wrote \u201cKiss Tomorrow Goodbye\u201d on that trip, and it went on to be a No. 1 song in 2012. <\/p>\n<p>McAnally\u2019s life now \u2014 with his husband Michael and their son and daughter \u2014 is one he never thought would be possible. \u201cI was afraid to dream that big, because we\u2019re told that that might not happen for us. And especially in the generation that I came up in, it wasn\u2019t a time where people were able to say they were gay at such a young age. And I just always thought that whoever I was with would be a secret.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The way he explains that sentiment, to people like his mom who didn\u2019t understand his life at first, was like this: <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was at airports before, when you could just walk to the gate with someone. And I said, \u2019You know how when you go with your partner to the gate at the airport and you kiss goodbye and watch him get on the airplane? I don\u2019t think I\u2019m ever going to get to do that.\u2019 And that used to really break my heart. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd now, I do get to do that. I get to do that with my husband and my kids and all my friends and family. Nobody ever thinks anything different. I\u2019m really really blessed,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>The Grammy, CMA and ACM award-winning songwriter and part of the songwriting competition series <em>Songland<\/em>, added, \u201cI\u2019m very lucky that I do live in a privileged world in that way. And so I hope that people can see this and and go, \u2019This is very possible because it starts with just being able to imagine it.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n<div class=\"description\"> Alison makes her living loving country music. She&#8217;s based in Chicago, but she&#8217;s always leaving her heart in Nashville. <\/div>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/alisonbonaguro\" target=\"_BLANK\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@alisonbonaguro<\/a> <\/div>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/1818543\/shane-mcanally-on-accidental-gay-anthems-and-his-pronoun-fears\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: CMT News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Alison Bonaguro 3m ago Shane McAnally didn\u2019t write gay anthems with the intent of writing gay anthems. They just kind of happened. That\u2019s what the prolific country songwriter told Anthony Ramos from GLAAD \u2014 formerly known as the Gay &amp; Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation \u2014 about his involvement in Kacey Musgraves\u2019 2013 \u201cFollow Your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21627","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-16 01:58:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}