Oh, What A World

Album: Golden Hour (2018)
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Songfacts®:

  • This trippy appreciation of nature and love finds Kacey Musgraves adding computer effects to her country sound, including a Daft Punk-style vocoder.

    Speaking backstage after Golden Hour won Album of the Year at the 2018 Country Music Association Awards, the singer told reporters that it was the writing of this song that was the starting point for the record's genre-bending soundscape.

    "I just started imagining this land, musically, where it was possible to keep these elements of country music that are really intrinsic to my music - pedal steel, banjo, the things that root me in country music - but I also wanted to explore this new frontier for myself with electronic elements. It's a big mixture of a bunch of different things," she said.
  • The song's music video is a psychedelic trip that portrays a world filled with fuchsia jellyfish, plenty of crystals, hearts, lily pads and butterflies plus Musgraves as a topless centaur.

    She said, "Though we're all just trying to figure out how best to navigate though this crazy and sometimes mean world - I'm truly stunned and in awe of the beauty of our precious Earth and all the creatures in it. Worked hard on this for a long time with the SUPER talented Jeremy McKeehen to make something special for your eyes."
  • Kacey Musgraves dropped a reimagined version of the song on April 22, 2020 to celebrate the 50th Earth Day. The singer added some '70s bongos and acoustic guitar as a nod to when Earth Day started in 1970.

    The release of "Oh, What a World 2.0" coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, so the singer dedicated the song to frontline workers dedicated to stopping the spread of coronavirus. "There's a lot to feel downhearted about this Earth Day," Musgraves reflected. "In the face of a pandemic that has brought cities to their knees, a song can feel small. A melody can seem insignificant. This is a global moment of acknowledgment and respect for the power of nature and for so many of us - extreme challenges and sadness."
  • Musgraves released an official video to accompany "Oh, What a World 2.0," which comprises animated wildlife imagery.

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