Popular Music (2010) Volume 29/3. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010, pp. 325–350
doi:10.1017/S0261143010000231
Resisting exile and asserting
musical voice: the Dixie Chicks
are ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’1
JADA WATSON and LORI BURNS
E-mail: jada.watson@gmail.com
Perez Hall, Room 315, University of Ottawa 50, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
E-mail: laburns@uottawa.ca
Abstract
In 2003, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks denounced President George W. Bush from a concert
stage in London, England leading to serious career consequences for the country music trio. In
response to three years of public criticism and radio boycotts, the Dixie Chicks released their single
‘Not Ready to Make Nice’, with an accompanying video critiquing the oppressive institutional power
that sought to silence them. Through an analysis of music, text and images in this song, this paper
explores how the Dixie Chicks responded to the backlash and regained their voice in the music industry. The paper offers a critical summary of the political incident, an interpretation of the images of
symbolic containment and resistance that are prevalent in the video, and an interpretation of the
musical elements in relation to the lyrics and images. Through the intersection of lyrics, music
and images the Dixie Chicks create a platform of resistance to the social and institutional oppression
they experienced.
[The ‘incident’] affected us profoundly. Instead of having to talk about it over and over, and
have your words . . . taken out of context, the great thing about a song is you can’t break it
up. You labor over every single word, and how you’re stringing it together, and how the
melody emits a certain emotion with those words. It was a really hard song to craft . . . and
we finally got it right to where all three of us said, this is how we feel. It has the right
emotion, the right vulnerability, the right anger portion – the right everything.
Martie Maguire on writing ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ (Kroft 2006)
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media
and regardless of frontiers.
Article 19, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations 1948)
On 23 May 2006 the Dixie Chicks released their much-anticipated fourth studio
album, Taking the Long Way.2 After three years of castigation for their denunciation
of George W. Bush on foreign soil, the Dixie Chicks responded to their critics with
an unapologetic and boldly defiant album. With the help of the renowned producer
Rick Rubin, the Dixie Chicks drew on multiple musical influences for a re-positioned
325
326
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
country-rock sound, and revealed to their audience that they were still ‘Not Ready to
Make Nice’. Under the direction of video producer Sophie Muller, who had directed
their ‘Top of the World’ video in 2003, they created a music video that advanced in
images the message of defiance that emerged in the lyrics and music of the song.
Taking the Long Way marked a new phase in the Dixie Chicks’ career. For the
first time, the members of the band co-wrote every song on the album. These
songs solidified the members’ bonds as women, mothers, sisters and friends, and
allowed them to explore not only the controversy that had surrounded them but
their life-roles, home, emotional crises, love and family. The album’s first single,
‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ confronts the career-defining incident and, by extension,
allows them to address issues of forgiveness, the inability to forget, the importance
of healing and, perhaps most importantly, the struggle for free speech in an age of
war and conflict.
This paper explores the contexts that led to the creation of ‘Not Ready to Make
Nice’, and offers an analytical interpretation of the song and video. The primary goal
of the analysis is to illustrate the narrative structure that the artists developed in
order to explore their personal and professional perspectives on a situation that transpired in the public sphere. The trio examine their own responsibilities and the consequences of their actions, as well as the responsibilities of a judgemental and
punitive public opinion. They do not present the musical voice that they had established before the incident, but rather carve out a new place for themselves in the
music industry, and effect a movement away from the traditional country music
genre.
Michel Foucault’s concepts of power and institution, and discipline and punishment in modern patriarchal power can aid us in our understanding of the Dixie
Chicks’ deliberate re-positioning within the music industry. As Sara Mills has
observed, Foucault’s conception of power ‘is less concerned with focusing on oppression, but rather with foregrounding resistance to power . . . [for] even at their most
constraining, oppressive measures are in fact productive, giving rise to new forms
of behavior’ (Mills 2003, p. 34). Thus, the Dixie Chicks as individuals were not
powerless against their censors; their continued resistance might be viewed through
a Foucauldian lens as an enactment of power, giving rise to a new direction in their
music. Their resistance to the backlash is established in ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’,
but while they refuse to back down, they nevertheless demonstrate their awareness
of the ways in which their work remains within the boundaries of country music
values. Foucault’s ideas will be invoked in the course of our discussion, but will
be most pertinent in our analysis of the video.
Through an analysis of lyrics, music and video images, this paper establishes
how the Dixie Chicks regain their voice in and through the hit single ‘Not Ready
to Make Nice’. We will proceed with the following critical and analytical steps: (1)
a summary of the political incident and the contexts surrounding the backlash; (2)
a review of the musical response to the backlash, as realised in the creation of the
new album Taking the Long Way (2006c); (3) an analysis of the lyrics and images, in
which the concepts of time, space and place can be productively invoked; (4) a breakdown of the narrative layers in the video, in consideration of the means by which
they are established (staging, costuming, characterisation); (5) an exploration of montage editing techniques as an important vehicle in the development and juxtaposition
of these narrative layers; (6) an interpretation of the images of symbolic containment
and resistance that are prevalent in the video, through Foucault’s concepts of
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
327
discipline and punishment in modern patriarchal power; and (7) an interpretation of
the musical elements and gestures (including vocal and instrumental effects, harmonic structure and patterns, and the dynamic narrative of the song) in relation to the
lyrics and images of the song and video. These analytical steps combine to afford an
interpretation that offers a deeper understanding of the song’s images as well as the
pervading use of the first-person narrative and subjective agency. The objective of the
music, text and image analysis is to reveal the artists’ response to public criticism,
their attempt to move forward, and the new position they established for themselves
in the music industry.
1. The ‘incident’: backlash to the Dixie Chicks
At the beginning of 2003, the Dixie Chicks were generally considered to be the
all-American girls, the most popular female group in country music, and the only
group (country or other) that had a hit song addressing the topic of war that
appealed to both Democrats and Republicans. ‘Travelin’ Soldier’ had plenty of
folks – both pro-war and otherwise – a little misty eyed’ over its story of a young
woman’s secret relationship with a man fighting in the Vietnam War (Blecha 2004,
p. 180). The song, written by Bruce Robison, outlines their meeting, their correspondence and the young woman’s heartache over hearing her soldier’s name on the list
of local war dead during half-time at a football game.
The Dixie Chicks’ position as the top selling country female group changed dramatically after their 10 March concert at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London,
England, when news of lead singer Natalie Maines’ anti-Bush statement was
reported by the Associated Press news agency. The country music world was
shocked as ‘the unlikely voice from what looked like the conservative heart of
America’ displayed such disrespect toward the commander and chief (Dixie
Chicks 2006a). Not only did the Dixie Chicks reveal their political views, but they
also did so on foreign soil at a time when war was about to break out. Many viewed
their actions as anti-patriotic and un-American.
From the London stage on 10 March 2003, Natalie Maines denounced American
President George W. Bush and his imminent invasion of Iraq. At this time, London’s
streets were filled with anti-war protesters. After performing ‘Travelin’ Soldier’,
Maines informed her audience that she and her fellow artists shared their sentiments,
as they too opposed the impending war, but then attempted to lighten the mood by
stating, ‘we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas’ (Clark
2003). Reporter Betty Clark’s review of the trio’s concert appeared in The Guardian on
12 March, abbreviating Maines’ comment and quoting only the denunciation of
President Bush. The denunciation of President Bush had a major impact on both
the careers and the private lives of the three women in the band. Many in the country
music community (fans, industry and media representatives) expressed their disappointment and feelings of betrayal. The Dixie Chicks issued a response to the uproar,
with the following statement on their website on the evening of Clark’s review:
We’ve been overseas for several weeks and have been reading and following the news
accounts of our government’s position. The anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here
is astounding. While we support our troops, there is nothing more frightening than the
notion of going to war with Iraq and the prospect of all the innocent lives that will be lost.
(Willman 2005, p. 25)
328
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
Their message did not assuage the anger, however; disgruntled fans turned to radio
and online blogs to express their lack of support. As Willman has reported in his
monograph Rednecks & Bluenecks, by 14 March radio teams and listeners began considering whether or not the trio’s music should be dropped from playlists.
WTDR-FM in Talladega, Alabama was the first station to institute a boycott, and
after they informed the media of their decision to pull the Dixie Chicks, other stations
followed suit (Willman 2005, p 26).
The same day that the station in Alabama removed the Dixie Chicks’ music
from rotation, Maines issued a second statement. In a carefully written message
she apologised to President Bush for her disrespectful remarks, stating that she
‘feels whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect’. She continued, explaining the situation in which she made her statement:
We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the
perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see
every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers’ lives are lost. I
love my country. I am a proud American. (Willman 2005, p. 28)
Despite Maines’ attempt to apologise for her actions, their number one single at
the time, which appeared to show that they supported the military, fell off the
charts.3 The group’s fan support dwindled over the following months, their CDs
were destroyed at protests (‘Chick Tosses’), and they received hate mail and death
threats. Metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs were brought to some of their
American concert venues.4 Two radio DJs were fired for playing the Dixie Chicks’
music.5 Strong supporters of the Bush presidency branded the Dixie Chicks ‘traitors’,
‘un-American’, ‘Saddam’s Angels’ and the ‘Dixie Sluts’. The latter brand appeared on
posters and t-shirts of protestors outside of Dixie Chicks concerts, as revealed in the
film documentary Shut Up & Sing (Dixie Chicks 2006a).
In response to the professional and personal attacks, the Dixie Chicks
posed nude on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, wearing nothing but these slurs.6
They also became advocates for free speech and voter rights. In October 2004 they
joined the ‘Vote for Change’ tour alongside acts such as James Taylor, Bruce
Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Bonnie Raitt. The tour was organised by the liberal
political-action committee MoveOn.org, a group that formed in 1998 in response to
the impeachment of Bill Clinton. ‘Vote for Change’ visited swing states to encourage
people to register and vote, with a majority of the artists revealing support for
Democratic candidate John Kerry (Tyrangiel 2004). No longer welcome on country
music radio, the band wrote a new CD entitled Taking the Long Way (2006d),
which facilitated their crossover to adult contemporary and, as a result, to a new
and wider audience.
After the incident, the Dixie Chicks found themselves on the periphery of a
musical community they had once called home. Country music radio refused to
play their music, fellow country music artists alienated them, and a large portion
of country music audiences rejected the Dixie Chicks’ apology; the trio continued
to be branded as traitors and as unpatriotic. Maguire expressed her feelings of
being out of place in an interview with the German weekly magazine, Der Spiegel,
stating, ‘we don’t feel part of the country music scene any longer, it can’t be our
home anymore . . . we now consider ourselves part of the big rock ’n’ roll family’
(Schallenberg 2003).7 With no need to pander to any specific radio play-list, the
Dixie Chicks set to work on their most personal album to date.
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
329
2. Musical response: Taking the Long Way
Taking the Long Way marks an important shift in the Dixie Chicks’ musical output.
Many pivotal changes occurred in the recording process. First of all, the Dixie
Chicks left the two prominent centers of country music and worked with artists outside of the country mainstream to record their fourth studio album. They had
recorded their first and second albums at Westwood Sound Studio in Nashville,
Tennessee with producers Paul Worley and Blake Chancey and their third album
at Cedar Creek Studio in Austin, Texas with Lloyd Maines. For their fourth album,
the trio moved to Hollywood, California where they recorded at Sunset Sound
Studios and worked with the producer Rick Rubin, known for his work with hard
punk, rock and metal groups like the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Metallica and System of a Down as well as his award-winning American Recordings
records for Johnny Cash. The Dixie Chicks turned to Rubin for guidance in their
2006 project because they appreciated the respect he demonstrated for their work,
as well as his openness to experimentation (Dixie Chicks 2006c). Robison admitted
that she was drawn to Rubin because of what she refers to as an ‘organic’ quality
to his work, explaining that ‘whether it was hard hard rock or rap, there was just
a real aspect’ to the music he produced, ‘like it was handmade’ or crafted (Dixie
Chicks 2006c, emphasis added). All three women agree that Rubin was a powerful
force in liberating the trio from musical constraints; in an interview Maguire stated,
‘Rick really encouraged me to think differently in this respect and not feel limited’
(Dixie Chicks 2006c). With Rubin as producer, they were at liberty to experiment
with instrumentation, performance techniques and lyrical themes.
They also enlisted an eclectic group of co-writers outside of Nashville’s country
music mainstream to aid them in their musical journey, including Mike Campbell of
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Gary Louris of the Jayhawks’, former 4 Non
Blondes front woman Linda Perry, Semisonic’s Dan Wilson, pop-rock artist Sheryl
Crow, rockers Neil Finn and Pete Yorn, and bluesman Keb’ Mo’. This geographical
and personnel shift away from the heartland of country music was a significant
message to the country music industry: the Dixie Chicks were assuming control of
their musical output and expanding their musical references. This album became
an important exercise in freedom for the trio – not just freedom to speak freely
about their beliefs and politics, but also a creative freedom to pursue new sounds,
venues and influences outside of the country genre.
While working with Rubin and collaborating with these artists, the Dixie
Chicks explored new musical sounds and experimented with various types of instrumentation. The trio drew on influences such as the Eagles, Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers, and the Mamas and the Papas, which led them toward a musical
association with Country-Rock or 1960s Southern California Rock. In the late 1960s
and 1970s groups such as the Byrds and the Eagles looked to country music for inspiration and infused their Rock-style music with slide guitars, pedal steel guitars, banjos and mandolins to create a hybrid Country-Rock genre. Influenced by the
amped-up western swing and honky-tonk music emerging from Bakersfield,
California – notably that of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard – Gram Parsons was
an integral figure in the forging of this new hybrid genre.8 Rock journalist Ben
Fong-Torres referred to the singer as the Father of Country-Rock, stating that he
may not have been the ‘first to conceive country-rock, but he was perhaps the
most passionate about bringing country music into the increasingly rock & roll
330
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
world of the 1960s’ (Fong-Torres 1998, p. 405). Parsons joined the Byrds for a short
period in 1968, and was instrumental in introducing the group to country music,
and as co-founder of the Flying Burrito Brothers he continued to blend country
music with rock and roll attitude. As Bill Malone observes, ‘the steel-guitar stylings
of [Flying Burrito Brother] Sneaky Pete gave the group a distinctive honky-tonk flavor’ (Malone 2002, p. 388). Both the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers were a
major influence on Country-Rock bands in the 1970s, notably the Eagles, who
were one of the most successful recording artists of the genre with hits such as
‘Take it Easy’ (1972), ‘Tequila Sunrise’ and ‘Desperado’ (1973).9 Aside from the
Eagles, who the Dixie Chicks credit as a major influence on their 2006 album, Joe
Ely of Maines’ hometown Lubbock, Texas is yet another Country-Rocker whose
influence can be heard on several tracks on Taking the Long Way. In a 2003 documentary on musical culture in Lubbock, Texas, Maines revealed the strong connection she
had with Ely and his music; as a child she attended Ely’s band rehearsals with her
father, who was a pedal steel player for the band (Maner and Sledge 2003).
Thus, just as the Byrds had infused their rock music with country elements for
the first Country-Rock album Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968), the Dixie Chicks infused
their traditional country and bluegrass music with rock elements on Taking the Long
Way.10 Their new sound maintained some traditional features of country and bluegrass music, but introduced elements from rock, including the prominence of electric
guitars, a harder rock beat, power chords and a more declamatory vocal style. In
addition, Maguire and Robison found themselves thinking about their instrumental
roles within a new framework. Known for their quick finger-picking, fiddle riffs and
flashy virtuosic solos, Robison and Maguire’s banjo and fiddle had previously been
at the fore of their arrangements. On Taking the Long Way, however, the sisters’ traditional country techniques were woven into a more ‘electric’ Country-Rock
arrangement.
In their development of lyrical thematic content, the trio did not focus solely on
the political backlash; rather, they used this album to address a wide range of personal and intimate themes. They addressed motherhood in ‘Lullaby’, Robison and
Maguire’s struggles with infertility in ‘So Hard’, and the emotional experience of
watching a grandparent struggle with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia in ‘Silent
House’. Robison claims that the ‘album was about finding a balance in the different
aspects of [their] lives’; she also explains that there is thematic coherence to the
album’s 14 tracks (Robison 2006). Maguire articulates her experience of defending
her values despite the negative effects on her career (Dixie Chicks 2006c). The
album became a statement about war, politics, free speech, ‘small-town narrow
mindedness’ and celebrity life (Robison 2006).
Many songs on the album respond to or comment on the three-year controversy. ‘The Long Way Around’ presents a message of non-conformity in which
they quote the titles of two songs from their previous album (‘Long Time Gone’
and ‘Top of the World’) and allude to the Byrds’ ‘Wasn’t Born to Follow’ throughout
the Chorus. In ‘Easy Silence’ the band members address the solace they found with
their husbands during and after the chaos of the incident. The album’s seventh track,
‘Lubbock Or Leave It’ is a personal response from Maines to her hometown of
Lubbock, Texas for discounting the lead singer after her anti-Bush statement.
‘Lubbock Or Leave It’ in turn influenced the response ‘Trouble in the Henhouse’
by Lubbock native Billy Briggs. But it was the album’s first (and only) single that
sent the most direct message to its former audience and critics.
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
331
‘Not Ready To Make Nice’ established an instant dialogue between the Dixie
Chicks and those who chastised them for speaking out. Some viewed the song as
an ‘angry comeback’, understanding the song as a medium for re-sparking the controversy. Others praised the Dixie Chicks for their adherence to their values. In a
press release Robison stated,
the stakes were definitely higher on that song. We knew it was special because it was so
autobiographical, and we had to get it right. And once we had that song done, it freed us
up to do the rest of the album without that burden. (Robison 2006)
Co-writer Dan Wilson stated that he had originally proposed a song called
‘Undivided’ to the Dixie Chicks; he believed that too many people were being
divided by politics, but also that while others were being divided, the trio remained
together. When he presented this idea to the trio, Maines asked if this meant that she
would have to forgive those who opposed and censored the group. When Wilson
said that perhaps they would, just for the song, Maines did not even hesitate and
responded with ‘nope’ (Dixie Chicks 2006a). The result of their writing efforts was
an intensely personal, unapologetic song. ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ invites the audience into the core of the incident, offering an artistic representation of the backlash
and its personal, professional and public effects.
3. Temporality in lyrics and images: time, space and place
In ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’, the Dixie Chicks achieve a sense of historical time by
implying a chronology in the song lyrics which is then realised in the setting and
editing of the music video. The concept of chronology or the passing of ‘time’ is
an important theme in country music. One of the most common lyrical devices
used by country songwriters is what Jocelyn Neal has defined as a ‘Time-Shift’ paradigm, a strategy that enables the songwriter to relay ‘brief episodes or snap-shots
from the characters’ lives in successive verses’ with a recurring Chorus, enhanced
or changed by the context of the verse and bridge text (Neal 2007, p. 46). This type
of narrative structure is typically used to depict stories of a multigenerational life
cycle or family chronology. In ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’, however, the time frame
is drastically reduced to cover a three-year period in the Dixie Chicks’ career and concerns only the incident as it affected the three women in the band. Despite the actual
shorter time frame, the events that occur in the video narrative in the story are
represented in metaphorical staging that suggests a deeper historical past.
The lyrics are delivered in the first person, assuming an individual narrative authority. However, the video images allow the three artists to tell their collective story, and
to develop multiple subjective perspectives. The video images and settings allow each
of the artists to establish her own individual voice and agency, but also permit the
multiple perspectives that an individual experiences during a personal struggle over
social values and responsibilities. We see this most prominently in the role of Natalie
Maines, who is embodied in three different characterisations, in order to represent
her struggle with her own responsibility for the incident. Although she is featured as
the primary bearer of that responsibility, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison still maintain powerful video subjectivities in each layer of the narrative structure.
The lyrics comprise eight sections, featuring a conventional Verse-ChorusBridge structure, opened and closed by a Prologue and Epilogue that establish the
332
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
outer frames of the narrative.11 The four lines of the Prologue/Epilogue reflect on
past, present and future; they are thus very suitable to open and close the song
lyric. The past is suggested by the concept of forgiveness and the attempt to forget;
we understand that something has taken place in the past, which now needs to be
addressed. The past is also evident in the line ‘Time heals everything.’ The present
is established by the active voice of the narrator who uses the present tense to reflect
on forgiveness (‘sounds good’) and the act of waiting (‘I’m still waiting’). The future
is implied through the notion of waiting for the injury to heal.
The multiple perspectives on time that are apparent in the Prologue/Epilogue
make it well suited to open and close a song about a past injury that a subject is
attempting to resolve. It serves to set up the narrator’s struggle as well as the ominous implications of that struggle, but also serves to conclude the story with a
sense of regret for the past and conviction for the current position.
Verse 1 of the lyrics is consistent with the presentation of time in the Prologue.
With line 1, the narrator again adopts the active present tense (‘I’m through with
doubt’). Line 3 refers to the past injury (‘I’ve paid a price’), and line 4 suggests the
future persistence of the situation (‘I’ll keep paying’).
The Chorus is more firmly situated in the present, in order to allow the narrator
to express her anger and defiance. The past situation is implicit in what is understood
to be a response to it: ‘I’m not ready to make nice. . . . It’s too late to make it right. . . .’
We understand that an injury has occurred, but we are only hearing the subject’s
response to that injury. A momentary departure from the present tense in the
Chorus occurs with the subjunctive reflection, ‘I probably wouldn’t if I could’. The
subject’s struggle of conscience is worth noting here, as it is something that will be
developed in the characterisation of Natalie Maines in the video.
At the end of the Chorus and the beginning of Verse 3, for the first time in the lyrics,
an Other is introduced (‘you’). As the subject admits, ‘I know you said’, the narrator introduces a narratee, an Other, who is someone from the subject’s past. In response to the
Other’s pressure to ‘just get over it’ (the injury), the subject reveals her resistance: ‘it
turned my whole world around, and I kind of like it’. The final line here replaces the concepts of ‘waiting’ to get over it (Prologue) and ‘paying’ the price (Verse 1) with a more
self-affirming concept – her life has turned in a direction for the better. Here for the
first time, the future does not hold the ongoing pain of waiting for an injury to heal,
but rather holds the potential for this subject to have her own sense of agency.
The lyrical climax occurs during the Bridge, and for the first time there are references to actual events from the backlash. The first refers to an incident that occurred
at one of the anti-Chicks rallies where a mother, holding her son, screams ‘Screw ’em’
into the camera and then turns to her son and coaxes him to follow her lead (‘It’s a
sad sad story when a mother will teach her / Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger’). The second reference refers to the death threat that Maines received in
the Summer of 2003 (‘And how in the world can the words that I said / Send somebody so over the edge / That they’d write me a letter sayin’ that I’d better / Shut up
and sing or my life will be over’).12 The final line of the Bridge also makes reference to
country music journalist Chet Flippo’s message to Maines to ‘shut up and sing’,
which ultimately became the title of their 2006 documentary.13 This is not only the
textual climax, but, as will be demonstrated below, it is also the musical climax
and the emotional climax of the video. After addressing the death threat, the lyrics
return to the Chorus and then close with the Epilogue. The Chorus reiterates once
again the anger and the stance of the subject not to back down. The Epilogue,
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
333
however, leaves the text with a sense of ambiguity: forgiveness is appealing, but has
not yet come, and she is still waiting for time to heal her wounds.
The temporal effect of the lyrical narrative is that the subject is clearly situated
in the present, as an agent who is struggling with a past injury by establishing her
current stance of anger and resistance, while also looking ahead to her future, with
an ambiguous sense of whether forgiveness will come or further resistance. The listener is pulled between the present-day anger and the past struggle, and comes to
appreciate the specifics of the past injury during the emotional outburst of the
Bridge. The Prologue and Epilogue help to ground the story in a synoptic statement
of the past, present and future.
The visual narrative of ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ presents both a sense of past
and immediate present as the Dixie Chicks address their anger and vulnerability over
the incident, responding to those who questioned and rejected them. The images that
are developed in the video for the song can be understood, in Andrew Goodwin’s
terms, as an ‘amplification’ of the lyric by the video narrative, which ‘occurs when
the clip introduces new meanings that do not conflict with the lyric, but add layers
of meaning’ (Goodwin 1992, p. 87).
The original performance of the incident is represented in the video by the staining of the performers’ clothing with black paint, a metaphor for the staining of their
careers. Sophie Muller then invoked the images and themes of the Salem Witch
Trials, drawn from Arthur Miller’s 1952 play ‘The Crucible’, through setting, characterisation and wardrobe (CMT.com 2008). Miller’s play was written as a response to
McCarthyism, drawing parallels between the 17th-century Salem Witch Trials and
the 1956 Committee on Un-American Activities – the blacklisting of communists in
the United States. The judgement of their actions by the music industry and traditional
country audience is represented by the imposing presence of several stylised figures in
Southern American costume (a headmistress, a religious leader, an elder) who stand
watch over the performers as they are lined up against a white picket fence in front
of a country house, symbols of traditional country values and lifestyle. The punishment
that was inflicted upon the performers is represented as a schoolroom detention, with
the three artists dressed in school uniforms and writing on the chalkboard (‘to talk
without thinking is to shoot without aiming’). The invocation of discipline and punishment that have their source in these historical social contexts reflects the Foucauldian
concept of systematic institutional power. The video images are crafted to symbolise
the systematic discipline imposed upon the artists by the country music industry.
As the lyrics intersect with these images, the listener is pulled between the
stance of a present-day narrator and the historical representation. The time-shift
between present and past is achieved very distinctly in the images, where setting,
actions and costumes are strategically used to establish a temporal context. In
order to distinguish present and past representations in the video, we will develop
a narrative analysis in the following section.
4. Breakdown of narrative layers and character roles
The video features three distinct narratives which are marked visually through costumes and staging. Muller draws on a technique of montage editing (defined below) to
move between and among the images that derive from these three narrative layers –
often changing at a fast rate. That is, an image in one narrative temporality is
334
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
juxtaposed immediately with an image from another narrative. The rate of change is
quite fast in certain sections, resulting in visual rhythms that intersect with the music
and lyrics to create powerful effects. We will discuss some examples of the montage editing below, but first we will introduce the visual content in each of the three narratives.14
4.1. The ‘Primary Narrative’
In the ‘Primary Narrative’ of the video, Maines appears not to take on a character or
narrator role, but rather to communicate directly as an autobiographical subject. The
Primary Narrative features Maines in a simple black dress with a documentary-style
black background (Example 1). (We will refer to this narrative role as ‘Maines 1’.) On
this stage Maines assumes the ‘personal voice’ of the song’s narrative; she is the only
member of the trio to be placed in this particular setting, and as such becomes the
primary story narrator. We will argue here that the voice in this song is autodiegetic,
which suggests a personal role for the narrator who is self-consciously telling her
own history.15 This is further enhanced by the closeness of the camera shot: as the
song’s autodiegetic narrator, Maines is featured in close-up shots to suggest that
she is telling us (the audience) her story. Through the autodiegetic voice and the
direct address form of the Primary Narrative, Maines is seen to claim personal
responsibility for her actions. Maines’ responsibility here is crucial to the Dixie
Chicks’ story: although they experienced the controversy together, Maines was the
one who spoke out against the President and she experienced a tremendous struggle
over her responsibility for the backlash.16
For the Chorus, the background is altered to suggest a performance stage. Maines
remains in her simple black dress, but the stage features a narrow column of pale blue
light directly behind her, in sharp contrast to the remainder of the background which
is framed by black walls, creating a stage effect. She is shown in close-up shots, and
occasionally in medium shots and long shots that zoom out. On this stage Maines
becomes part of a ‘communal’ narrative voice, a role that she shares with her
Example 1. Primary Narrative.
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
335
bandmates.17 Both Maguire and Robison are dressed and staged to be consistent with
Maines 1 in the Primary Narrative setting: simple black clothing in close or medium
shots, with the blue column of light behind each artist (we will refer to the artists in
the Primary Narrative as Robison 1 and Maguire 1). The similar staging suggests that
each member of the trio assumes a position on this narrative stage (Example 1).
The three individual artists in the ‘communal voice’ of the Primary Narrative
communicate their shared responsibility for the incident. Robison and Maguire are
seen to demonstrate their support for Maines and their own persistent anger over
the situation. Although the lyrics feature the first-person ‘I’, it becomes an unstated
‘we’ through the union of their three voices and the distribution of subjective authority in this narrative.
4.2. The ‘Incident Narrative’
The second narrative layer is one which presents each of the three artists (referred to as
Maines 2, Robison 2 and Maguire 2) in formal concert attire and on stage with a white
backdrop which features swirling black smoke or ink that first appears to ‘stain’ the
white backdrop, and gradually becomes very heavily distributed over the white screen
(observed through Example 2). On this narrative stage all three women have freedom of
movement and gesture. Maines 2 is dressed in an off-the-shoulder black dress, with a
feathered and netted black hairpiece at the back of her head. With the increase of
emotional intensity in the lyrics, Maines jerks back and forth as though she is shaking
with anger over her current situation. Robison 2 is wearing a long white gown, and
moves fluidly to reflect the emotions of the lyrics; she hurls herself forward, turns in
circles, swings her arms, sits on the floor and sways freely. Maguire 2 is wearing a
black dress suit, and is featured with a white violin. Her bow arm is emphasised as a
rhythmic element, articulating strong down-bow attacks and punctuating the lyrics.
The gestural movements identified here are important markers of personal space
and reaction to the lyrical story. In several of the scenes featuring Maguire 2, the narrow
vertical column of white light behind her is connected to a horizontal bar of light, creating the effect of an inverted cross. A similar effect is created for Maines 2, when the column of light behind her connects with the white picket fence that runs to her left and
right. The symbol of the inverted cross becomes a strong signifier of the forces of judgement that are invoked to bring the artists into social order.
The Incident Narrative features a high level of emotional intensity and serves
simultaneously to represent the performance context of the incident, when the
stain occurred, as well as to stage the resistance that the artists wish to project as
they move forward to establish their new style and regain their voice. The temporality of this narrative is thus ambiguous, as it invites reflection not only on the
past moment of performance career damage, but also on the immediate and current
position of defiant resistance to judgement and punishment.
4.3. The ‘Historical Narrative’: flashback sequences
This narrative layer offers flashbacks to several scene sequences which represent the
incident and its consequent effects (Example 3). These scenes are described briefly
here:
336
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
Example 2. The Incident (‘The Performance’) Narrative.
1. ‘The Stain’. Wearing a white ruffled dress, Maines 3 applies black paint to the white
dresses of Maguire and Robison, a gesture symbolic of her words tarnishing their
reputation.
2. ‘Personal Responsibility’: Maines 3 struggles with her personal conscience over the incident, her struggling symbolised by the gesture of wiping black ink from her hands.
3. ‘The Trial’. Maines 3, Robison 3 and Maguire 3, in historical costumes suggesting early
20th-century America – white dresses or black-and-white striped skirts – with a white
picket fence in the background, are judged by several imposing figures.
4. ‘The Punishment’. Maines 3, Robison 3 and Maguire 3 are in school detention, writing lines
on a chalkboard.
5. ‘The Unified Resistance’. Maines 3, Robison 3 and Maguire 3, in the school costumes but
removed from the school setting, are now in the performance setting with the white screen
backdrop from Narrative 2.
6. ‘Medical Examination’. Maines 3 is on an examining table, being handled by Robison and
Maguire, while three doctors prepare to examine her.
5. Montage editing and shifting narrative voice
The reader is encouraged to view the video before reading the analysis of montage
editing, as it is important to familiarise oneself with the distinctive editing style of
‘Not Ready to Make Nice’. The video uses the technique of montage editing to juxtapose images from the three narrative layers – primary, incident and historical. Montage
allows the artists to make links between and among a number of subjective
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
337
Example 3. Historical Narrative: flashback sequences.
perspectives. Maines is seen to be struggling with her responsibility for the incident,
and knows that her actions had consequences for Robison and Maguire. The juxtaposition of the artists in different modes of action and reflection allows for a deeper
exploration of their situation and their interpersonal relationships.
The most prominent montage theorist, Sergei Eisenstein, established a formula
for montage. The formula, ‘thesis + antithesis = synthesis’ (or A + B = C), is defined as
follows:
Sequence A, made from elements of the film’s theme, and Sequence B, derived from the same
source, will, when juxtaposed, generate an image in which the content of the theme is most
clearly embodied. (Eisenstein 1991, p. 296)
338
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
To explain, the material of Sequence A is cut and interspersed with similarly cut
materials from Sequence B such that a new series of images is born, one that allows
for an understanding of cause and effect, of character relations and development, and
of cross-temporal connections. In the video under consideration here, the images
from the three narrative layers are juxtaposed and cross-associated throughout the
video to reveal not only the individual storylines of Narratives 1, 2 and 3, but also
an overall montage narrative that supports a significant message from these artists.
The montage effects intersect with the lyrics and music to explore the experiences
of the artists as the incident unfolded, the backlash intensified and their resistance
grew. Montage permits the development of multiple perspectives and, especially
in the case of Natalie Maines, allows for the representation of her own multi-faceted
perspectives on a difficult personal and professional situation.
The technique of montage is used to juxtapose the multiple perspectives of
Natalie Maines. In her role in the Primary Narrative (1), she communicates a resistant
edge, noted especially in the lyric ‘And I kind of like it’ [1:40–8]. In her role in the
Incident Narrative (2), she unleashes her anger and emotion in strong gestures. In
the Historical Narrative (3), she struggles against the social forces of judgement
and attempts to wipe the stain from her own hands [0:26–36]. At the beginning of
the video, the three Maines characters occupy three individual perspectives. That
is, at the end of the Prologue, Maines 2 claims her continuing anger (‘They say
time heals everything / But I’m still waiting’ [0:21–31]); immediately following this
line, the image cuts to Maines 3, attempting to clean her hands [0:30–3], a symbol
of her struggling conscience; Verse 1 then begins with the resistant position of
Maines 1, in a direct statement to the camera: ‘I’m through with doubt’ [0:34].
Although the song begins with these three distinct perspectives for Maines, the
roles merge into a unified stance by the end of the song. The Bridge brings the three
roles into immediate juxtaposition in a notable montage sequence. Lines 5–6 (‘And
how in the world can the words that I said / Send somebody so over the edge’)
are distributed to Maines 2 (at close-up range), to Maines 3 (from a long shot, sitting
on the pedestal with a striking image of the black swirling ink in the background),
and to Maines 1 (with the black documentary background) [1:57–2:05]. The lyrics
are delivered at an uninterrupted pace, but the scenes cut from Maines 2 to
Maines 3 to Maines 1 with a seamless effect. The seamlessness is achieved not
only by means of the consistent and uninterrupted level of musical intensity, but
also because the three images of Maines all exhibit the same degree of physical
emotion and expression. The gestures (movement of arms and face) appear to be continuous and seamless despite the change in background setting, camera distance and
costuming. The three ‘characters’ merge here, leading us to witness a point of resolution in Maines’ personal conflict [2:09].
Montage is also used to establish the relationships between and among Maines,
Robison and Maguire. The three come together in a unified presentation of the
Chorus lyrics, which comprise a communal statement of resolve not to back down.
Although all three voices sing throughout the Chorus, the three singers are not
shown together, but rather their images are presented in a montage sequence that
delivers sections of the text featuring one artist at a time. In other words, we hear
all three in harmony, but we only see them in individual shots, each one in her
own direct address to the camera, with the lyrics distributed from one to another
during the Chorus sections [0:58–1:25 and 2:22–3:18]. The focus is predominantly
on Maines, but cuts to Robison and Maguire at an increasing rate of change toward
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
339
the end of the first Chorus. The rate of change in the montage is most intense in lines
7 and 8 of the first Chorus, where the images are changing at a rate of a second or less
than a second [1:15–25]. During these last two lines of the Chorus, the only image
that appears other than the three artists in the Primary Narrative is a scene from
the Historical Narrative, in which Maines 3 struggles between Robison and
Maguire. The effect of the montage sequence in the Chorus is one of communal
voice, as the artists sing and claim the lyrics together; however, the artists appear
as individuals, lending the communal voice a disquieting sense of disunity. The
image of Maines struggling between Robison and Maguire offers a more direct illustration of the conflict that the artists experienced.
Over the course of the video narrative, montage is used to effect a resolution of
the conflict. At the end of the Bridge (‘Shut up and sing or my life will be over’ [2:05–
25]), the final word is subjected to a montage sequence that features Maines 1, Maines
2, a new image of the artists in the ‘Unified Resistance’ sequence, as well as Robison 2
and Maguire 2 on stage. There are no flashback sequences throughout this entire section of the song. The level of performance intensity is strong and, as will be observed
in the musical analysis, there is a consistently high level of intensity for this section of
the song. This is a moment of musical resolution from the Bridge to the Instrumental
section as well as a moment of narrative resolution. Maines 3 no longer struggles
between Robison and Maguire, and at the end of the section they all wipe their
dresses clean with clean hands [2:15–30].
6. Interpretation of symbolic images: containment and resistance
One of the most striking visual effects in this video is the use of colour and wardrobe
to create a symbolic setting of imprisonment. Almost the entire video, with the exception of the opening scene, is staged (in costumes and settings) in black and white –
from the backgrounds, to the props, to their prison striped dresses. The dresses worn
by the artists are all representative of a period style that one might associate with the
Southern American tradition. In using this style of Southern dress the Dixie Chicks
appear to reference the region and, by extension, the country music genre, making
a strong statement that they feel imprisoned by the mentalities of the South and
their continual punishments and the more conservative genre of country music.
The colour red used in the backdrop behind the judging figures of ‘The Stain’ and
‘The Trial’ flashback sequences also serves as a reference to region, politics and
emotion. Red remains a colour strongly association with a range of human emotions,
from passion and love to anger and hatred, and with strong connotations of blood,
fire, damnation and danger. One cannot overlook political affiliations with the
colour red; aside from communism, red has come to represent US conservatism,
Republican political values and, since 2000, it has become a way to indicate states
whose residents predominantly vote Republican (‘Red’ states). Thus, red, as used
in these particular scenes can serve to associate the judgement characters with the
anger and hatred of those who criticised the trio, some of whom may have been
affiliated to conservative political values. On the other hand, we can also view the
colour in relation to the deeper historical past staged in the video and with feelings
of anger and hatred of those who feared the potential danger of witches in the 17th
century or communists in 1950s. (See Example 4 for still shots of the judgement
figures.)
340
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
Example 4. Judgement figures.
The concept of prison is further enhanced in the stage settings: Muller creates a
Panopticon around the Dixie Chicks’ career, capturing the essence of a disciplinary
society through references to a court trial (suggestive of a Salem witch-trial), a punitive school system and finally a macabre health institution, all of which work to contain the Dixie Chicks as a consequence of the incident. These scenes are all
representative of Foucault’s concept of discipline and punishment in modern patriarchal power, where the institutions of law, education and healthcare can come to represent societal containment and even a threat to personal security (Bartky 1999).
Yet, the Dixie Chicks break out of this symbolic containment with the final
sequence of video images; despite the dominant images that represent institutional
power, they ultimately resist and confront the symbolic social forces and move forward together onto a new stage, represented in the video by the image of the artists
in ‘Unified Resistance’. We will take the interpretive step to understand this gesture
as symbolic of their emergence onto a new stage, with a new sound and concomitant
audience. Thus, the video closes with an assertion of their agency and control over
their artistic careers and lives.
We witness this resistance and re-positioning through the use of gesture and
gaze in the video. Sandra Bartky has indicated that there are ‘significant gender
differences in gesture, posture, movement, and general bodily comportment:
women are far more restricted than men in their manner of movement and in their
spatiality’ (Bartky 1999, p. 163). In the flashback sequences, the bodily movements
of each band member are highly restricted; in fact, in these punishment scenes
each woman sits perfectly still in her chair as she awaits the verdict. It is during
the Bridge that they begin to break with the punishment. As Maines 2 sings the
lines about the death threat, she clenches tightly and thrashes her body forward in
an attempt to resist containment. This attempt to escape the prison occurs in the
doctor’s office as well; Maines 3 is hunched over and then thrashes her body to
break free from Maguire and Robison’s hold. The cycle of punishment and observation is broken in the final sequence of images as the three band members walk forward together, push the hair back from their eyes, look ahead with confidence and
wipe their dresses clean of any stains. The female subject is typically trained to
avert her eyes under male (or external) scrutiny (Bartky 1999, p. 163). Throughout
the entire video we – and the ‘judgement’ figures (representing the Conservative
critics) – observe and scrutinise Maines’ every move. She has been the recipient of
an external gaze. Through the Primary Narrative (Maines 1) and the Incident
Narrative (Maines 2), Maines adopts a direct gaze at the camera. Instead of being
watched, she is now casting her gaze on those who oppose her – asserting (or
re-asserting) her control over her life, career and reputation.
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
341
7. Musical elements and gestures in relation to lyrics and images
During the analysis of lyrics and images in the foregoing discussion, several interpretive themes emerged that can now be considered in relation to the musical elements:
(1) the lyrical and visual exploration of past and present through the techniques of
montage and narrative; (2) the struggle of conscience that Maines experiences as
she attempts to resolve her past actions with the consequences upon her fellow
artists; (3) the themes of individual and collective agency and authority; and (4)
the narrative of containment and resistance. It is interesting to consider how these
themes are developed in the musical content and expression of the song. Although
we will not assert that the music ‘represents’ the past and present, we can certainly
explore the ways in which the music opens up the space for reflection on the past, as
well as how it enhances gestures of stability and directionality, and how it serves to
amplify the theme of unified resistance. The Dixie Chicks and co-author Dan Wilson,
under the production guidance of Rick Rubin, use phrase structure, harmonic patterning, vocal phrasing and expression, as well as instrumentation and dynamic
form to complement their lyrical and visual narratives. In the analysis that follows,
we will discuss the song materials with the aim of illustrating a number of gestural
strategies that support and amplify the lyrical and visual narrative themes.
Throughout this discussion, we will refer to Example 5, which is a summary of
the musical content in each section of the song form. At the top of the page is a diagram of the dynamic amplitudes from the beginning to the end of the song. The formal sections and time markers are labelled below the amplitude diagram. The
vertical lines that mark the sections are placed in alignment with the time points
in the amplitude diagram. (We will discuss the amplitude diagram in a later section.)
Example 5 also summarises the vocal and instrumental content and the harmonic
structure in each section of the song form and visual narrative.
7.1. Harmonic content
The harmonic structure of ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ exploits cyclic repetition that is
disrupted by dissonance and avoids resolution. Tonal resolution is used at strategic
moments in connection with the lyrics and images. A sense of stability is created
through the preservation of tonic function at the beginning of each phrase, with an
increase in tonal directionality as each phrase moves toward an unresolved harmonic
function in the vocal cadences. A duality between minor and major is also explored,
reaching its greatest intensity in the Bridge.
‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ preserves two tonal areas, that of E flat minor (in the
Prologue, Epilogue, Verses and Bridge) and its relative major, G flat (in the Chorus
and Instrumental Section).18 Each tonal area builds on an open harmonic gesture that
leads to C flat. The E flat minor progression (featured in the Prologue and Verse) is I–
VII–III–VI // I–VII–VI //. The G flat major progression (featured in the Chorus) comprises two iterations of the pattern I–V–VI–IV //. These harmonic progressions might
be interpreted as stable and grounding, or one might interpret them as ‘locked in’ or
contained – the C flat close of each phrase limits or contains the harmonic potential of
both tonal areas. The return to tonic function at the beginning of a subsequent section
only initiates the movement away once again, as the phrases keep directing toward C
flat. The vocal cadences contribute to the lack of resolution in the phrasing. The
Prologue closes with the voice on the seventh of the C flat chord (B flat), approached
342
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
Example 5. Amplitude form and musical content in ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’.
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
343
in a rising step from the fifth of the preceding D flat harmony (A flat). In the Verse,
the voice cadences on the third of the C flat harmony (E flat), the third suggesting
movement and contrapuntal activity. The Chorus closes with a skip from the seventh
to the fifth of the C flat chord (B flat to G flat), the seventh remaining unresolved.
The two tonal areas and the associated harmonic patterns are used in the following formal organisation:
Intro
Prol
V.1
Chorus
V.2
Bridge
Inst.
E♭m
E♭m
E♭m
G♭
E♭m
E♭m➔G♭
G♭
Chorus
(X2)
G♭➔E♭m
Epilogue
E♭m
The harmonic patterning is modified in the Bridge, during which section the
harmony modulates from E flat minor to G flat major. The Bridge opens with the
I–VII–VI progression of the E flat minor sequence, and then begins to repeat that progression; however, the VII chord (D flat) is used to pivot as dominant into G flat
major, offering a V–I resolution for the first time in the song. (The resolution is
marked with an asterisk in the chart of Example 5.) This resolution is not the closing
progression of the Bridge, however, as the harmony then moves on to IV and IV7 (the
C flat 7 chord that was heard at the end of the Prologue as well as Verse 2), with the
voice on the seventh of the chord for the phrase ending. Whereas in the earlier sections the seventh was left unresolved, in this instance the vocal dissonance is carried
over while the harmony elides to the beginning of the next section (Instrumental
Section), the vocal B flat resolving to G flat as the harmony also resolves to G flat.
This elision between the Bridge and the Instrumental Section is the first moment in
the song where a vocal cadence is given tonic support rather than the unresolved
C flat harmony.
The Instrumental Section then continues with a progression in G flat that is new
to the song: I–V–IV. This is yet another progression that closes on C flat; in fact it
includes the harmonic pattern of D flat to C flat, which is the closing gesture of
the E flat minor progression (there understood as VII–VI). This new function in G
flat is reinforced when the V–IV progression resolves directly to G flat in a cadential
elision with the opening of the Chorus.
The Chorus ushers in its familiar G flat progression (I–V–VI–IV), but when the
progression repeats for the second phrase of the Chorus and reaches the ultimate IV
chord, it is resolved by tonic harmony with tonic vocal cadence. Just as the IV harmony at the end of the Instrumental section resolved to G flat, the IV harmony
once again leads to resolution, now as closure for the Chorus.
The entire Chorus repeats, and in the second statement the resolution to G flat is
replaced by a resolution to E flat minor. This second Chorus statement is extended to
repeat the final line ‘what it is you think I should’, during which lyric repetition the
harmony moves from IV of G flat (C flat) to I of E flat minor (E flat). It is a remarkable
harmonic gesture, because one could hear this as a parallel gesture to the tonic resolution in G flat that closed the preceding Chorus statement. In other words, C flat
has had the opportunity to resolve to G flat as tonic with a fully supported vocal
phrase ending on G flat, and now it has the opportunity to resolve to E flat as
tonic, with a fully supported vocal cadence on E flat.
The song’s tonal narrative intersects with the lyrics and images in a way that
amplifies the themes of conflict and resolution, containment and resistance that
emerge in the video. We will extract several analytical details to consider here.
344
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
The cyclic pattern in E flat minor is repeated for the Instrumental Introduction,
the Prologue and the first Verse. During this time in the video, the images shift from
the singing subject to flashback images from the Historical Narrative. In the
Prologue, the singing subject is Maines 2, juxtaposed with images of the judgement
figures and the black paint representing the ‘incident’. In the Verse, the singing subject is Maines 1, juxtaposed with the scene of ‘the trial’. The simple chord progression
and melodic gestures, as well as the metric placement of one chord per measure, provide the time needed to advance the montage narrative. In other words, the simplicity of harmonic and melodic design allows space for the images to shift from the
singing subject to the flashback images. Montage-style cuts to flashback images
occur in the space between the singer’s melodic gestures.
The placement of harmonic dissonance is also linked artistically to the lyrics
and images. For instance, the dissonant seventh above C flat (B flat) is heard at the
end of the Prologue, at the lyric ‘waiting’. When that vocal gesture returns at the
end of Verse 2, it supports the lyric ‘like it’ from the phrase ‘and I kind of like it’,
suggesting that she likes the position of tension that has resulted from the incident,
and affirming her resistant stance.
The resolution of harmonic tension occurs at significant moments in the lyrical
and visual narrative. The first moment of tonic resolution (from C flat to G flat) at the
end of the Bridge, elided to the beginning of the Instrumental Section, occurs when
the lyrics have reached a peak of resistant energy and intensity: ‘shut up and sing or
my life will be over’. As ‘over’ is sustained, the B flat seventh steps down through A
flat to G flat, dissolving the contrapuntal tension as the G flat harmony arrives. The
instrumental section bursts into a unified sound of strings, with a strong rhythmic
pattern in a consonant homophonic delivery. We discussed earlier how the montage
images here present a fast montage sequence featuring Maines 1 and Maines 2, each
exhibiting intense emotion in the presentation of the word ‘over’, with cuts to
Robison 2 and Maguire 2 who make striking gestural movements on stage, and to
the new image of the artists in ‘Unified Resistance’. The harmonic resolution is
thus bound to a moment of lyrical and visual climax.
The final two instances of harmonic resolution occur in the last two statements
of the Chorus. The first Chorus following the Bridge closes with the resolution to G
flat, and the second closes with the resolution to E flat minor. The line associated
with these phrase endings is ‘what it is you think I should’. In the first of these closing statements, the progression is direct from C flat to G flat. In the second and final
statement of the Chorus, the progression plays with listener expectations – the harmony arrives on C flat for the vocal phrase, but does not move on to G flat; instead,
the harmony remains on C flat, holding C flat while the voice repeats the line ‘what it
is you think I should’, before ultimately coming to a close on an E flat minor chord.
The very first Chorus of the song closes this vocal phrase on C flat; the second statement of the Chorus closes on G flat, resolving to the harmony that was associated
with the energetic expression of unity in the Instrumental Section; and the third statement of the Chorus closes on E flat, returning to the opening gesture of the song. The
variation of harmonic closure for this vocal phrase in the Chorus is a musical development of the theme of personal struggle that is projected in the song and in the particular lyric, ‘what it is you think I should’. The song is framed by the Prologue and
Epilogue, which shape not only the lyrical and visual narratives, but also the tonal
narrative. In lyrics and images, the Prologue and Epilogue feature Maines as the primary narrator in a reflection on the question of forgiveness and whether or not she
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
345
will find it. In the music, despite the climax of the tonal tension and its resolution in
the Bridge and final Chorus sequence, the Epilogue returns to the unresolved harmonic progression that opened the song: in E flat minor, I–VII–III–VI // I–VII–VI7, with
the final vocal cadence rising from A flat to B flat above the final C flat (VI) chord.
This vocal seventh (marked in the Prologue and Epilogue in Example 5), approached
by step from below, is a very effective musical representation of the theme of ‘waiting’.
In this final cadence for the song, the music fades out before Maines’ image leaves the
screen, with the effect that the unresolved musical gesture is truly left without resolution, as it is followed by silence (except for the very high-pitched hum of the
Hammond B3 on C flat), accompanied by Maines’ direct gaze, in silence, at the camera.
7.2. Dynamic vocal and instrumental narrative
The amplitude diagram at the top of Example 5 reveals that the song has an overarching increase and decrease in dynamic amplitude (< >), a design that reflects the growing intensity of the vocal gestures and instrumentation and complements the
intensification of anger and resistance in the lyrics. The dynamics begin at a low
level and increase through the first Chorus. They fall back again to begin the second
Verse, and then build to a very high level of intensity that is sustained through the
Bridge, the Instrumental Section and two statements of the Chorus. The final
Epilogue brings us back to the low dynamic level of the opening.
Maines’ vocals open with breathy tones in the Prologue (a detached sound) and
develop into a more strained and inflected quality in the verse and Chorus, to a nasal
and emotionally powerful presentation in the Bridge. Maines’ vocal presentation
reflects the gradual intensification of her struggle with her own conscience as well
as her resistance to the social forces that she had to contend with. At the Chorus,
Robison and Maguire join Maines in three-part harmony, creating a thicker vocal texture (and signifying their collective responsibility). Maines’ voice remains dominant,
namely because she carries the principal melody, but also because she pushes a more
nasal quality while Robison and Maguire produce a more neutral vocal sound.
The repetitive and unresolved harmonies in the first section of the song, described
above, are arranged for a sparse instrumental texture. The song begins with a dry
acoustic guitar and the piano provides low doublings of the harmonic bass line, contributing an ominous depth to the sound. The drum kit enters in the first verse, quite prominently at the front of the mix, and very active on the eighth note pulse with a dry
stopped high-hat sound. At the end of the Verse, the electric bass and bass drum
enter for the two bars that precede the Chorus, repeating a low pedal C flat.
The Chorus offers a fuller and more active instrumental texture with acoustic
and electric guitars, bass, violin, kit, organ, as well as the already-mentioned back-up
vocals. The vocal line is more active in its rhythmic delivery, leaving no room (no
space) for the historical reflection exhibited in the prologue and first verse. The
images now focus on Maines 1, Robison 1 and Maguire 1, with a fast-paced rate of
change from one artist to another as the narrative voice delivering the lyrics. There
are a few flashbacks, but the main focus is on the three artists in their ‘present-day’
roles. The backbeat emphasis is crisp and the amp distortion on the guitar (panned to
the left) lends an edgy sound.
Verse 2 returns to the lower dynamics and the sparse vocal phrasing; however,
the texture is denser than that of the first verse. The guitars, keyboard, kit and bass
346
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
are active, and a French horn enters (panned to the right), doubling a contrapuntal
line in the violin to create a rich, dark and mellow sound. In the Bridge, the horn
offers rhythmic punches, and gradually the back-beat rhythm becomes more prominent as Maguire delivers energetic repeated strokes on her violin and Maines delivers
the lyrics at an intense rate. All of this leads to the burst of sound from the unified
strings in the Instrumental Section, with the solo violin at the forefront of the texture.
The final two Chorus statements sustain the full instrumental texture. The
back-up vocals return, and now an additional vocal track is introduced that is a descant offered by Maines. This descant, a high-pitched vocal release, is heard as Maines
3 struggles on the doctor’s examining table. For a brief moment, the image of Maines
2 is featured as she delivers this descant vocal (3:07 (27)–3:08 (14)). At the high end of
the frequency spectrum, in counterpoint with the vocal descant, a high-pitched
Hammond B3 enters the mix. As the texture reduces down to guitar and voice for
the Epilogue, the high B3 remains, and is the last very faint sound we hear on the
track.
Conclusions
‘What it is you think I should’: the Dixie Chicks and freedom of speech
In 2003, Chet Flippo sent a message to Maines in his column for Nashville Skyline:
‘You’re an artist? And you have a message? Hey, put it in a song. We’ll listen to
that. But otherwise – shut up and sing’ (Flippo 2003). Flippo’s message to Maines
is typical of those who were angered by her statement. Many country fans, media
and critics were quick to judge Maines and express their desire to have her silenced.
For those who wanted the Dixie Chicks to ‘shut up and sing’, they got their response.
And instead of introducing a radio-friendly song first, the Dixie Chicks led with what
has been labelled ‘a middle-finger-extended track’ (Cohen 2006) sending a personal,
and direct, message to their audience and critics that, not only are they not going to
back down, but also that Maguire and Robison support and agree with Maines, her
politics and her anti-Bush stance.
The public interest in the story continued for several years. On 15 January 2008
a US marine and combat veteran in both Afghanistan and Iraq released a ‘cover’ of
the song that served as a response, entitled ‘Not Ready to End the Fight’. With the
support of Toby Keith’s Easy Money Band, Corporal David Thibodeaux sends a
message to the Dixie Chicks that he is not prepared to stop fighting the war, and
that he received their comments as disrespectful (‘It’s a sad sad story that her mother
didn’t teach her daughter to respect the ones who protect her’). Thibodeaux then
released a video drawing on similar editing techniques to the trio’s video, where
his narrative position is juxtaposed with images from 9/11, the war in Iraq, and statistics about American Casualties.19
It is interesting to reflect on the public discourse that has emerged in connection
to the song and video ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’. Although the Dixie Chicks do not
make exact references to a place, there is an understanding that they are indeed
speaking to a specific place: the ‘you’ in the lyrics represent the institution of country
music, comprising country music radio and even regions of the Southern United
States where they are no longer welcome. The ‘you’ is also the individual listener
who participated in anti-Chicks rallies, boycotts and negative media communications. And finally, the ‘you’ could be the very politician whose actions sparked
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
347
the ‘incident’: President George W. Bush. The Shut Up & Sing documentary reveals
that President Bush himself weighed in on the political backlash to the Dixie
Chicks; when asked for his thoughts on the controversy Bush notoriously stated
‘they shouldn’t have their feelings hurt just because people don’t want to buy their
records’ (Dixie Chicks 2006c). At the same time, the Dixie Chicks address the fans
who remained supportive throughout the incident fall-out. The song is structured
to invite empathetic listeners to assume a participatory role in the lyrics; that is, a
communal voice is created in the Chorus, inviting the listener to contribute as the
back-up vocals unite to deliver the lines ‘I’m not ready to make nice . . .’ For many
fans, taking a stance alongside the Dixie Chicks made a strong political statement
in a time of war and upheaval in American politics.
The lyrics for ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ address the fallout over the incident,
the boycott and the death threat. The lyrics also provide the Dixie Chicks with a platform for sharing their emotions – their disbelief, anger, upset and, ultimately, their
inner strength to stick together – while also allowing Maines the space for assuming
responsibility for her actions with the first-person narrative. Their performance
strengthens these messages as the Dixie Chicks create meaning and feeling in the
musical score that echoes the vulnerability and anger revealed in the lyrics. The harmonic structure establishes a solid ground on which they can deliver their message,
and illustrates their ambivalence toward the backlash. The harmonic duality between
E flat and G flat is brought into focus for the pensive question ‘what it is you think I
should’ at the end of the final Chorus, where Maines offers closure in G flat and then
closure in E flat. The brilliantly executed vocal and instrumental arrangement provides the musical space for the intensification of expression, enhancing the emotions
behind the lyrical message. Maines explores her defiance in the second Verse, but
unleashes her anger during the explosive statements of the Bridge and final
Choruses. To open and close the song, a softer, more vulnerable emotion is captured
in the Prologue and Epilogue, echoing the sentiments of the text and harmonic structure. Through the three-part harmonies and instrumental support, the audience
realises that this message emanates from all three of the band members, sending a
message to their critics about their unified stance.
We are better able to understand these emotions, their unified stance, as well as
the first-person narrative through the analysis of the montage images in the music
video. The black and white clothing, opening red background, sets and props create
a Panopticon, a prison, around the Dixie Chicks, a visual representation of the effects
of this incident on their lives and career in the flashback sequences – also revealing the
effects of a strong, predominantly Conservative fan and media response to their
actions. They become prisoners (on trial, in a classroom and in a doctor’s office) to
the values and opinions so strongly associated with the genre of Country music and
they use this video to break free from this suffocating opposition. By drawing upon
references to American historical–political contexts associated with ‘The Crucible’,
they make an explicit parallel to their own struggle against institutional authority.
Also, in placing each Dixie Chick on her own narrative stage, they each have an opportunity to assume a role in the first-person narrative, confirming that the message emanates from all three. They reinforce their unity by stepping onto the same stage and
joining hands in the final sequence to reveal the unbreakable bond shared between
these three courageous and strong-willed women. In the Epilogue Maines steps outside their story, back on to her ‘documentary stage’ to reclaim her lost voice. The lyrics
and music of the song are amplified by this complex video setting and narrative.
348
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
In the relationship forged between the text, music and image of the ‘Not Ready
to Make Nice’ music video, the Dixie Chicks allow us to witness their uncensored
emotions as they deal with their punishment and anger, and their attempt to
move forward to break free of the constricting confines and beliefs of those who
oppose them. The Dixie Chicks worked from within the country genre and drew
on external musical influences to reposition themselves in the Country-Rock fold,
creating a bold, aggressive and assertive response to the ‘incident’. Through the artistic development of the lyrical, musical and visual intersections, not only do they create a platform for resisting oppressive institutional power, but also for enacting
power and working to reverse the power structure.
Endnotes
1. The research for this paper was funded by the Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council of
Canada, through a standard research grant (2007–
2010) with co-investigators Lori Burns and Marc
Lafrance. A portion of this paper was presented by
Jada Watson at the 14th Biennial Conference of
the International Association for the Study of
Popular music (Mexico City, June 2007) and the
Society for Music Analysis Study Day (University
of Liverpool, November 2007). The authors would
like to thank Dr Freya Jarman-Ivens for her insightful comments about Natalie Maines’ gaze in the
video and Dr Marc Lafrance for his suggested readings on Michel Foucault and the concept of
imprisonment.
2. Taking The Long Way is the fourth studio album by
the Dixie Chicks in its current formation of
Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily
Robison. Robison and Maguire released three
albums prior to Maines joining the group, also
under the moniker of the Dixie Chicks.
3. It is important to note here that the Dixie Chicks
controversy was not an isolated case; rather, theirs
simply received the most national and international media attention. For further examination
on censorship of popular music post-9/11 see
Peter Blecha 2004; Nuzum 2004; Eric Nuzum
2004, pp. 149–59; Reebee Garofalo 2007, pp. 3–
26; Scherzinger 2007, pp. 91–122.
4. See Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing, 2006b.
5. On 6 May 2003 it was reported that two radio
jocks were suspended for playing the Dixie
Chicks’ music during the station’s formal ban of
their music. See NBC 6 News Team 2003.
6. The reader is encouraged to visit the Entertainment
Weekly archive to see the Dixie Chicks’ cover
photo from the 2 May 2003 issue at http://www.
ew.com/ew/inside/issue/0,ewTax:708,00.html.
7. This interview received considerable backlash
from the country music community and some
fans over what seemed like the Dixie Chicks’ defiance and rejection of country music. Maguire was
quoted by Der Spiegel as having noted the lack of
support from her fellow country musicians as well
as the lack of nominations at the American
Country Music Awards and the round of boos
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
that ensued from their colleagues when their
names were announced.
This strain of amplified western swing and
honky-tonk music was later dubbed ‘Bakersfield
Sound’ as a nod to the town from which it
emerged. ‘Bakersfield Sound’ was seen as a reaction to and commercial rival of the smoother
‘Nashville Sound’ produced in Nashville’s studios
in the 1950s. According to Mark Humphrey
(1998), observers in the late 1960s referred to
Bakersfield as ‘Nashville West’ – to which Buck
Owens wittily countered ‘We call Nashville
Bakersfield East’ (Humphrey 1998, p. 26).
Guitarist and fellow International Submarine
Band member, John Neuse introduced Parsons
to Owens and Haggard’s music. Parson became
an avid fan of their modern country sound and,
as biographer David Meyer observes, ‘took on
that music and made it his own’ (Meyer 2008,
pp. 160–1).
In October 2007 the Eagles released their first
album since 1979, The Long Road Out of Eden, an
album inspired by the events of 9/11 that critiqued war, US politics and global warming. In
November 2007, the Dixie Chicks joined the
Eagles for a two-night engagement celebrating
the opening of Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre.
Sweetheart of the Rodeo is often thought of as the
first Country-Rock album, preceding the release
of Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline by more than
six months. Not only did the Byrds record the
album in Columbia’s Nashville studio, but they
also performed on the historic Grand Ole Opry
stage in March 1968.
The reader is encouraged to access the lyrics for
‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ on the Dixie Chicks
Henhouse website, http://chickoholic.tripod.com/
DixieChicks/id195.html.
The death threat warned that Maines would be
shot at their 6 July 2003 concert in Dallas,
Texas. See Shut Up & Sing.
This is also the title of radio host Laura
Ingraham’s monograph, subtitled ‘How elites
from Hollywood, politics and the UN are subverting America’ (Ingraham 2006). Ingraham discusses the Dixie Chicks ‘incident’ in this book.
Resisting exile and asserting musical voice
14. This style of montage editing was also used in the
Dixie Chicks’ music video for ‘Top of the World’,
also directed by Sophie Muller. In their article
‘Subjective perspectives through word, image, and
sound: temporality, narrative agency and embodiment in the Dixie Chicks’ video Top of the World’,
Burns’ and Watson’s analysis reveals how
montage-style editing was used as a means of
exploring themes of domestic abuse over a multigenerational story line (see Burns and Watson 2010).
15. Feminist literary theorist Susan Sniader Lanser
addresses the autodiegetic narrative voice in the
context of feminist readings of literature, and concludes that the absence of third-person omniscient
narration makes the ‘personal voice less formidable
for women than authorial voice, since an authorial
narrator claims broad powers of knowledge and
judgement, while a personal narrator claims only
16.
17.
18.
19.
349
the validity of one person’s right to interpret her
experience’ (Lanser, 1992, p. 19).
See Shut Up & Sing.
Sniader Lanser develops the concept of the communal voice in order to accommodate a collective
voice or a collective of voices that share narrative
authority, a practice in which narrative authority
is invested in a definable community and textually
inscribed either through multiple, mutually
authorising voices or through the voice of a single
individual who is manifestly authorised by a community (Lanser 1992, p. 21).
The published song sheet presents the song in E
minor/G major, but the recording is a half-step
lower than this published version.
Thibodeaux’s video can be viewed on the
Internet at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u
Ffd9eMdzbI.
References
Baltin, J. 2006. ‘The Dixie Chicks move on’, Venice, June, pp. 50–5
Bartky, S. 1999. ‘Foucault, femininity and the modernization of patriarchal power’, in Women and Values: Readings in
Recent Feminist Philosophy, ed. M. Pearsall (Belmont, Wadsworth Publishing Company), pp. 160–73
Beebe, R., and Middleton, J. (eds.) 2007. Medium Cool: Music Videos from Soundies to Cellphones (Durham and
London, Duke University Press)
Blecha, P. 2004. Taboo Tunes: A History of Banned Bands and Censored Songs (San Francisco, Backbeat Books)
Bufwack, M.A., and Oermann, R.K. 2003. Finding her Voice: Women in Country Music, 1800–2000 (Nashville,
Country Music Foundation Press, Vanderbilt University Press)
Burns, L., and Watson, J. 2010. ‘Subjective perspectives through word, image, and sound: temporality, narrative
agency and embodiment in the Dixie Chicks’ video Top of the World’, Music, Sound and Moving Image, 4/1,
pp. 3–37
Burns, L., Lafrance, M., and Hawley, L. 2008. ‘Embodied subjectivities in the lyrical and musical expression of
PJ Harvey and Björk’, Music Theory Online, 14/4
Campbell, D. 2003. ‘“Dixie sluts” fight on with naked defiance’, The Guardian, 25 April. http://www.guardian.
co.uk/world/2003/apr/25/arts.usa (accessed August 2008)
Clarke, B. 2003. ‘The Dixie Chicks – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London’, The Guardian, 12 March. http://www.
guardian.co.uk/music/2003/mar/12/artsfeatures.popandrock (accessed August 2008)
CMT.com. 2008. ‘Dixie Chicks biography’. http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/dixie_chicks/bio.jhtml (accessed
August 2008)
Cohen, H. 2006. ‘Taking the Dixie out of the Chicks’, Miami Herald, 4 June, p. 1
Dallach, C., and Matussek, M. 2006. ‘Let them hate us’, Der Spiegel, 11 July. http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,426213,00.html (accessed August 2008)
Dixie Chicks. 2006a. Shut Up & Sing, dirs/prods Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck (New York, Cabin Creek Films
79929)
Du Lac, J. 2006. ‘Dixie Chicks leave their old country’, Washington Post, 24 May, p. C01
Eisenstein, S. 1991. ‘Montage 1938’, in Eisenstein Volume 2: Towards a Theory of Montage, ed. R Taylor, trans.
M. Glenny (London, BFI Publishing)
Flippo, C. 2003. Nashville Skyline: Shut Up and Sing? CMT.com. http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1470672/
03202003/dixie_chicks.jhtml (accessed August 2008)
Fong-Torres, B. 1998. ‘Gram Parsons’ in The Encyclopedia of Country Music (Nashville, Country Music
Foundation), p. 405
Frith, S. 1996. Performing Rites: on the Value of Popular Music (Cambridge, Harvard University Press)
Garofalo, R. 2007. ‘Pop Goes to War, 2001–2004: U.S. Popular Music After 9/11’, in Music Since the Post 9/11
World, ed. J. Ritter and J. M. Daughtry (New York, Routledge), pp. 3–26
Goodwin, A. 1992. Dancing in the Distraction Factory: Music Television and Popular Culture (Minnesota,
University of Minnesota Press).
Heidgerd, D. 2003. Some Texas Stations drop Dixie Chicks Tunes, Associated Press State and Regional Service, 15
March. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/865320/posts (accessed August 2008)
Humphrey, M. 1998. ‘Bakersfield Sound’ in The Encyclopedia of Country Music (Nashville, Country Music
Foundation), p. 26
Ingraham, L. 2006. Shut up & Sing: How Elites from Hollywood, Politics and the UN are Subverting America.
Washington DC: Regnery Publishing.
350
Jada Watson and Lori Burns
Kroft, S. 2006. Dixie Chicks: not ready to make nice’ on 60 Minutes, aired 27 November
Lanser, S.S. 1992. Fictions of Authority: Women Writers and Narrative Voice (Ithaca, Cornell University Press)
Maguire, M. 2006. Dixie Chicks Quotes. http://dixiechicksfans.net/quotes.html (accessed December 2007)
Malone, B. 2002. Country Music, USA (Austin, University of Texas Press)
Maner, A., and Sledge, G. 2003. Lubbock Lights (Lubbock, 289 Films Distributing), DC 100
McCusker, K. & Pecknold, D. (eds.) 2004. A Boy Named Sue: Gender and Country Music (Jackson, University
Press of Mississippi)
Meyer, D. 2008. Twenty Thousand Roads: the Ballad of Gram Parsons and his Cosmic American Music (New York,
Villard)
Mills, S. 2003. Michel Foucault (New York and London, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group)
NBC 6 News Team. 2003. Radio Jocks Suspended for Playing the Dixie Chicks. http://www.channel3000.com/
entertainment/2185232/detail.html (accessed July 2010)
Neal, J. 2007. ‘Narrative paradigms, musical signifiers, and form as function in country music’, Theory Music
Spectrum, 29/1, pp. 41–72
Nuzum, E. 2004. ‘Crash into me, baby: America’s implicit music censorship since 11 September’, in Shoot the
Singer! Music Censorship Today, ed. M. Korpe (London, Zed Books), pp. 149–59
Pearsall, M. (ed.) 1999. Women and Values: Readings in Recent Feminist Philosophy (Belmont, Wadsworth
Publishing Company)
Ritter, J., and Daughtry, J.M. (eds.) 2007. Music in the Post-9/11 World (New York, Routledge)
Robison, E. 2006. Editorial Reviews. http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Long-Way-Dixie-Chicks/dp/
B000F7MG4G/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1219864139&sr=8-1 (accessed August 2007)
Rose, C. 2006. ‘Dixie Chicks interview’ on The Charlie Rose Show, aired 14 May
Schallenberg, J. 2003. ‘Interview with the Dixie Chicks: good girls, bad girls’, Der Spiegel, 20 September. http://
www.guitarattack.com/microfrets/dcinterview.htm (accessed August 2008)
Scherzinger, M. 2007. ‘Double voices of musical censorship after 9/11’, in Music Since the Post 9/11 World, ed.
J. Ritter and J.M. Daughtry (New York, Routledge), pp. 91–121
Tyrangiel, J. 2004. ‘Born to stump’, TIME (30 October). http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/
0,9171,709021,00.html (accessed August 2008)
United Nations. 1948. ‘Article 19’, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December. http://www.un.org/
en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a19 (accessed September 2009)
Willman, C. 2005. Rednecks and Bluenecks: the Politics of Country Music (New York, New Press)
Discography
CMT, ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’. CMT Music Awards Special. Country Music Television; Monument Records;
Open Wide Records (Sony). 2007.
Dixie Chicks. ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’, dir. Sophie Muller. Monument Records; Open Wide Records (Sony).
2006b.
Dixie Chicks. Taking the Long Way. Columbia Records; Open Wide Records (Sony) 82876830802. 2006c.
Fleeger, C. Protesting the Dixie Chicks. Mold-A-Rama. 2006.
Thibodeaux, D. ‘Not Ready to End the Fight’, single. StarFi Records. 2008.
Thibodeaux, D. ‘Not Ready to End the Fight’, dir. Jonathan J. Moore. StarFi Records. 2008.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.