Shawna Hansen Ortega (Songfacts): You say that everything you write is very honest and you want to be the confidante and the confidential sort of girls' friend. On that note, let's talk about "Maybe Tonight."

Margaret Durante: I wrote the song with Rachel Proctor and Blair Daly, I think it was about a year ago. I was sort of in the beginning of a new relationship where you don't know what's going to happen. Everything's exciting. And I like to write a lot from my own experiences, and Blair and Rachel had both been where I was at the time. And we just tapped into that feeling you get when you're learning about that other person. It was a one-song afternoon, it took us one time getting together and it came about so naturally. We wanted to just entertain people and make them feel good, just like they feel when they're in that point in a relationship.

And one thing that Rachel and I wanted to incorporate was the fact that the girl was the one doing the pursuing, because it just made it a little bit more gutsy in a way, combined with the sweetness of the song, which I thought gave it a cool edge.

Songfacts: How's the relationship going? (laughing)

Margaret: We've moved on from that one (laughs). It was in the beginning. We didn't know what was going to happen. I was a very hopeful person. I was at that hopeful point in that could be/would be relationship. And we shot a video for the song and I think we captured that essence of what I hope the song does for people, which is to make them feel good, make them forget where they are for 3 minutes.

It's very much a fantasy video. I mean, no one could really sustain a living by driving a school bus around selling cupcakes, and then engaging a guy on the streets to come dance with her. And Oh! they all seem to know these dance moves, exactly what I'm doing! (laughing)

I thought of 500 Days of Summer. One of my favorite movies. Someone actually told me recently that that was the director's first movie, and before that he'd done all music videos. My favorite part of the movie is the main character is so happy, he's finally gotten with the girl and he's on his way to work, and he's just bopping along and breaks out into dance. And everyone around him on his way to work sees how happy he is and they join in this choreographed sequence with him. And I was talking to the director and I was like, "I've just got to put that in there, because it's so ridiculous."

But that's how this song made me feel when I wrote it. It's catchy and we wanted it to be that kind of song that makes you bop your head and sing along and want to hear it again. I thought, especially at this time of the year, it's getting nicer outside, and it's a song about anticipation and excitement. Like maybe tonight...

Songfacts: Let's segue into "Paper Chains" on your EP. That's a much heavier subject.

Margaret: Yeah, let's go to the other end of the spectrum. Talk about the sad, depressing "Paper Chains." Actually, I wrote that shortly after a failed relationship where I was with someone who just couldn't tell the truth. They were not who they said they were in every way, in every sense of what that phrase means. And I wrote it with my friend, Connie Harrington. It was a couple of days after the whole thing just fell apart, and I was telling her the story. And it's very factual in a way, but it was hard to collect my thoughts and write a song about it. So it took us a couple of times to get this song fine-tuned to the point where we were happy with it.

And at one point in my story, I was like, "God, he acts like such a child." And that triggered our idea for, "You should think about what children do." And we thought about arts and crafts, and the paper chains that kids make all the time - I know I made them in kindergarten - where you link paper links together. And we ran with that metaphor just comparing, because we thought it was so funny; you don't make a chain out of something that's not sustainable. Paper breaks and you expect it to break. But it has the illusion of being a chain when you link it together and you're a child.

So we just wrote a song about the fact that he linked one lie to another to another and the foundation of everything that we thought was strong was actually built on something that was absolutely breakable.

Songfacts: How long did this go on before you learned that this guy was what he was?

Margaret: A few months. I mean, I was really busy with my first single, "Use Somebody," and I was 20 years old - and I'm only 22 now, so it's not like I look back on the day when I was 20 years old. But I was distracted. I didn't know it at the time, but I didn't have my eyes open. I learned a lot. I approach relationships in a much more intentional way now; they're more meaningful to me. I'm glad that this song came out of it, but between you and me, it's more of a lesson learned than a heartbreak. He wasn't ever the person that I cared about.

But when you're a songwriter, you can take these terrible situations and get a song out of it. Yay! I used to make a joke, but I'm not making it anymore. Because it sounded insensitive, like, "I'm only 22, so I'll keep dating jerks until I've got enough material for all the songs I want to write."

Songfacts: Just don't go out and look for them on purpose just to get material. (laughs)

Margaret: Exactly. "Hey you, come here, you look like a jerk."

Songfacts: I'm glad that you mentioned "Use Somebody," because I'm curious. Although you stayed fairly true to it, you kind of countrified it a bit, and I found it very interesting. What compelled you to do a remake of that?

Margaret: I think at that point it was my first single, and Kings of Leon were gaining more and more popularity. And I thought, this is a great song, but when you strip it down of everything - like the arrangement, everything around it - and you just look at the lyrics, it's really a very sensitive song. And it's one about pursuing the life of a performer, living the life of a performer and not doing all the conventional things that a young adult would do.

And I was 20 years old and thought that I would be able to highlight the vulnerability of the lyrics by singing it from a female perspective. I'd just moved away from home and I was in a strange city, but motivated by my love for music and my desire to do what I wanted to do. So I thought the song was very fitting. And it was kind of a challenge and it was very daunting to take on a song that was still popular in another genre. Because some people won't like it just because they're loyal to the original version. But I had liked this song, and it was my way of paying them a compliment.

Songfacts: Tell me about "Mississippi's Crying." You have said that the song spoke to you right away. What does the song mean to you and why did you relate to it immediately?

Margaret: I think the song alone so vividly tells a story of someone who's been left and there's nothing they can do to change the situation that they're in. It's like taking that moment in reality when it's over. Not only is there that emotional distance between the two people, but he's now putting physical distance in between them. And I just thought the way it's written, it's such a beautiful story of heartbreak. But it makes you feel sympathy for the person singing immediately.

But another thing that surrounds that song for me, there's a lot of sentimental value to that song, because I heard it so shortly after moving to Nashville and definitely was experiencing some doubt. I'm still in the process of making the transition and feeling really scared and nervous about this big move I'd made. And when I heard that song, the way that it made me feel after one listen - Shelly Fairchild was singing it at this place called 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville. She wrote it with Stephony Smith, and she's a great performer, so I'm sure that helped with the selling of the song.

But I was like, that's why I'm here, because music like this exists on Wednesday nights from an amazing performer who's just giving everything that they've got to convince this audience. It's just so compelling. And I became friends with her after the show. The first song we ever wrote together is one of my favorite songs that's going to be on the full album, called "If Love Will Let Me." And it was a very powerful moment of reassurance for me. I keep that very close to my heart. It makes the story that much more powerful, as well.

It was the first song that I ever wrote after moving to Nashville that I stepped away from once we were done and I really loved. I mean, I had written a bunch of songs at that point, and I loved writing, but this is the first time that I was like, "This song is good. I can't wait to play this for someone." And it's a pretty awesome feeling. But it also was an intimidating experience, walking into the room with Stephony Smith, who has written (for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill) "It's Your Love" by herself, she said she wrote it in literally one night. And that's very daunting. Shelly Fairchild has released this wonderful country album that I've heard and I admire both of these people, but their humility was so welcoming. They've helped me evolve as a writer since I've been here. And we spent the whole day getting to know one another, talking about our way around the song.

And "If Love Will Let Me" is about a moment when you're ready to love again, but you can't force that moment to come quicker, and we can't delay it in coming if something crosses our paths. So that's what we wrote the song about. And I definitely caught the bug at that point. I just wanted to write all the time good songs like that every time I wrote. But it's not the case.

Songfacts: What was it like co-writing with people for the first time?

Margaret: It was a concept that fascinated me, really. It was sort of intimidating. The first person I ever wrote with was Greg Barnhill, who is incredible. I don't know why that was the first co-write that I went into. But someone made an introduction and I was like, "I'd better take it." Go big or go home now. Like I had to write with him. He wrote "Walk Away Joe" (Trisha Yearwood) and I feel like I'm not giving him the credit he deserves. But he tried to work with me and we knew nothing about each other. And we've written so many times since, I love writing with him. But I was so scared.

And the concept of meeting someone for the first time knowing nothing about them except the music they have on their Myspace page and maybe where they came from was hard for me to adjust, I guess. Because we're supposed to spill our deepest darkest secrets for them and write a song to move or entertain people out there. And after thinking about it, I was like, This is kind of awesome. Because if we relate, find a common ground after spending a few hours together, then it's sort of reassuring that someone who's listening to the song for the first time who I know nothing about might also find what we're singing about to be relatable.

So that's what I've felt, co-writing was really cool, like people could just get together and remove that filter and let it all out and shape it into a song.

Songfacts: And suddenly you guys know each other a lot better than you did 10 minutes ago.

Margaret: Exactly. And they're really exceptional people in this town. That's why they're such good writers, I think, because their openness and ability to be vulnerable and say something that might not be the most refined line, but it'll spark an idea in someone else that you're writing with.

And that's one thing that I've had to grow to do as a writer. Like, "No, that's not right," and I'm thinking about it and I'm trying to make it sound better than it needs to sound at that moment. If it's real and genuine and it makes them think of something that might be closer to what I'm trying to get at, they would have never gotten it had I not said my stupid idea that wasn't stupid in the first place.

Songfacts: You say, with such a straight face, that "Whiskey and a Gun" is a true story. Talk to me.
Margaret: Oh, yeah. I like saying that to people just to get a reaction out of them. Because I'm doing this radio tour, that's the first song I usually start with. I play four songs. And it's hilarious, the facial expressions throughout the entire song are just ones of shock.

But I chose to cut that song and put it on the EP because I thought it's such a wonderfully told, wonderfully written story. It was the most vivid narrative put into a song that I've ever heard. And Lisa Carver, she wrote the song by herself a few years ago, I think about 10 years ago. And no one's really wanted to touch it because there's some things in it that might ruffle a few feathers. But I thought what a great opportunity to be somewhere else, take on a role. It's like an actor being given a really fun role, and I get to play a crazy person in this role.

And there's dark humor in there, and to me that's what country music is, it's telling stories. But I don't want to take myself so seriously, and I write a lot of my own music. And when I get an opportunity to sing a song that I wouldn't write for myself and it's written as well as "Whiskey and a Gun" is and has sodium thiopental in the lyrics, that says good opportunity to me.

Songfacts: Yeah, you're not going to find that in too many songs.

Margaret: Yeah, I was like, Are you kidding me? Yeah, let's do this.

Lisa is one of my favorite co-writers and she's just totally eccentric. And again, if I had one word to describe her songs, it would just be "honest." Not that "Whiskey and a Gun" is honest in the sense that it's a true story, but instead of making a line where she could say something a little more gentle, she's like, "Nope, I'm going there." It's okay to not be boring sometimes. People want to be rattled. And I was entertained when I heard it and I want to entertain other people.

Songfacts: And that's the type of song, I believe, that is going to separate you from the rest.

Margaret: Right. I think that there's a certain level of confidence that one has to have in order to sing that song and not worry that people are going to look at me and think that I could be a murderer myself.

Songfacts: That'll be interesting if they release that one as a single.

Margaret: It'll be interesting and fun.

Our conversation with Margaret happened on April 20, 2011.
Discover her at margaretdurante.com.

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