April 4, 2025 • 12 mins
In this mini episode we're focusing on "The Giver," Chappell Roan's attempt at a lesbian country song that's making waves in the pop music world.
Is "The Giver" a legitimate country song or is it a mere novelty — or is it branding? Is any country music legitimate? We also discuss why Chappell Roan is allowed to “go country,” but it was controversial when Beyoncé or Lil Nas X did it.
We talk about Chappell's recent SNL performance, and how "The Giver" is makng Dominique more of a fan but Andrew possibly less of a fan?
Tell us about your first listen @AtFirstListenpodcast on Instagram!
Subscribe so you don't miss an episode!
Is "The Giver" a legitimate country song or is it a mere novelty — or is it branding? Is any country music legitimate? We also discuss why Chappell Roan is allowed to “go country,” but it was controversial when Beyoncé or Lil Nas X did it.
We talk about Chappell's recent SNL performance, and how "The Giver" is makng Dominique more of a fan but Andrew possibly less of a fan?
Tell us about your first listen @AtFirstListenpodcast on Instagram!
Subscribe so you don't miss an episode!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Welcome to our first Listen, the music podcast for people
who don't always get the hype but want to. I'm Andrew,
I'm Dominique.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
And today we're talking about we're reacting maybe to Chapel
Yon's The Giver.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
I felt like we just had to talk about this song.
I have been increasingly becoming a fan of Chapel I was.
I was a hater at first. I think I talked
about and I'm a convert. I also realized with this
song that we have a similar range, okay, and like
(00:51):
I realize I can sing like all of her songs nice,
and I feel like there's it's a possibility that that's
part of also why she's so popular, because she's like
in this kind of like alto range that's kind of
sing along with the bull for the girls at least.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, even I think for the boys to some extent.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Totally totally. What did you think about the song?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
So I think I'm maybe going the other way a
little bit or I was. I saw this song for
the first time. I heard this song for the first
time when she performed it on SNL, and I think
it was the YouTube clip that I saw and I
see a song by Chaperone titled The Giver, and I thought, Okay,
(01:43):
I know what this is about.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
It's about the young adult novel by Lewis Lowry exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah, so I watched the performance.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
It was more or less what I expected it would be.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I like the recorded version better. Okay, he recorded version.
I think it was not as as overt on the
record as it is as a live song, and that
that sent me back I'm maybe in the right direction.
And also we're going to talk about why this song exists.
(02:18):
And I think Chapel had a pretty interesting reason for
writing it.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah I didn't. I didn't see the SNL version, so
that that put me on a good side of it.
I just like heard it at work and I decided
to listen to it. But I do love Another thing
that makes me love her is she's just silly, gen zy,
and she said that the reason that she's she's not
trying to make some country crossover crossover and become a
(02:47):
country music star. She just thought it would be really
funny to write a lesbian country song. And I love that.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, there's in the lyrics, there's some funny little on
country tropes.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
But let me.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Play just a clip. This is the first chorus for
context for anybody. So it's really well produced. You have
the violin in there or fiddle because it's country music
and the violin. The single artwork is really funny. It's
(03:24):
just she's wearing a hard hat.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Is she holding like a hammer a drill? I think
she's holding a drill. Yeah, we love it. She's getting
the job done.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
So the first lyric has ain't got antlers on my walls,
but I sure no mating.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Calls so good.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
That's a brilliant little needle to like the country guys
and liking.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
The hunt totally. And then the second the first line
of the second verse is I don't need no lifted truck.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Two what is it to pick you up?
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Revinlod to pick you up? So she like says the
words of country stuff.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Yeah she's using the country words.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
But like saying that y'all are not getting the job doese.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Some someday we're gonna have a guest who's going to
pick one of these hot country albums. And I don't
know how that's gonna go because I can't imagine genuinely
writing a country song. And in earnestly, rather putting words
like truck or jenes in a serious song, and people
(04:35):
do it every day.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
It's crazy. I mean I would I would love that
we could find that host because I I like country
music theoretically, but I haven't heard it. I don't know it,
like I don't know the new music, and I don't
know how to search like non racist country music or
(04:59):
if it just is is, like I don't know there's
she doesn't talk about beer, right, so I thought that
was notable.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
There's a line about rhinestone cowgirl all night long, so
she uses some cowboy cowgirl she does.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
True, True, she got that.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
You don't need to throw all of the tropes yeah
at the wall, just a few of them so they
know you're serious.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Yes, I but I really like how it's like this
getting the job done thing obviously. Uh, you know it's
about finishing building a deck, and.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
How there's not a lot of songs about construction and
contracting work. And you know these jobs are essential to
our economy.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Exactly, and and you know more women should have these jobs, yes,
the male dominated field. And she like, but I actually
love that because it's not I think that there is
this like actual feminist, almost like first wave feminist kind
of thing. Yes, totally, because women do get the job done,
(06:18):
and she doesn't actually say that. She doesn't say anything
about women.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
She gets the job done.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
She we.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
So take it like a taker because baby I'm a giver.
Ain't no need to hurry, because baby I deliver. Ain't
no country boy quitter.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Okay, and this is also great. Ain't no country boy
quitter everyone that I know, if you don't look up
the lyrics, you think she's saying, ain't no cucci for
a quitter, Ain't no cuiquitter.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Now I'm gonna hear that every time.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
That's what she's saying. I feel that it is what
she's saying because it's sounds more like that than it
sounds like country boy.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
In my opinion, I think sometimes maybe you fudge a
little on the pronunciation to give people to suggest something.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Yeah, like, there's so many times that that happens. Gaga
famously I want to poke her face, for example, But yeah,
I think it's a successful song. I also want to
I did want to talk about how there's this. There
was a huge uproar when Beyonce came out with the
(07:34):
country songs like oh, she's a pop star, She's what's
the deal? She can't do this? And now this pop
star who Yeah, I don't think her music is any
more country than Beyonce's music. Is coming out with the
country song and nobody cares.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
I mean, she has less of the track record. So
on the one hand, there's that it is funny the
idea of country music being like appropriated, right, So I
don't know how big that outcry is. I think with Beyonce,
some of the complaints are from people who like Beyonce,
(08:18):
where they're like, are we really we like the Beyonce thing?
Are we really gonna do a different thing now?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Like that's true, that makes sense, And I think so
there was that people didn't really like it, and then
or like do we like it?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah? And then it was you and I weren't sure
if it was good.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Yeah we I'm still not sure. And then there's and
then there was okay, but it is good. People decided
it's good.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
But the country maybe by two of the greatest.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Songs of yeah, Yes Yes, Blackbird and Joelene exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Two of the greatest songs of the twentieth injuries.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
So Chaperone is the new Beyonce. Get used to it?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Yeah, get used to it, y'all. She was. She won
Best New Artist, as we predicted. The history books will
remember that we predicted that and outcry that Beyonce wasn't
getting recognized for the music because she was black. And
I think that probably, I'm gonna guess differs from what's
(09:24):
gonna happen. I don't feel like we'll find out. We'll
revisit if there, if if Chapel Roone fans or or
or anybody will be upset if she doesn't get invited
to the Cmas, if she wants to be invited. This song,
like I said, I don't know country music is it?
I think it's great. It's really like hoky and silly,
(09:46):
but like it definitely seems more country ish than like
a lot of pop country music where it's just country
because they say beer jeans.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Yeah, yeah, telecaster Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
She has all the parts, including a chorus of men
that sound like truckers or cowboys.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
That I think is the question with this song, is
is it a genuine country song and will country? Will
it actually show up on country charts?
Speaker 1 (10:21):
We'll have to find out. I mean, it was you know,
Old Town Road did right, Old Town Road won, but
that was almost like maybe more. I mean that Lil
Nas continues to be controversial just because he's like gay
also on top of on top of being a black
(10:41):
country music hit. But he had Billy. It was the
Billy Ray Cyrus version right that got the award, and
he was rapping, which is what black people are allowed
to do. So it was like, Okay, Beyonce didn't do
any of that. She did have she had country stars,
but it was very black. Yeah, so I'm a huge
(11:02):
fan of the song. It's turned me over. I love
a silly song. I love inny windows. She's what is
another one? I love when she says I got you
wrapped around my fingers? Like, which is I love? You
know the expression has got raped around my finger? But
she says fingers another great one, Like I think it's
(11:23):
just great songwriting.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
And yeah, there's a lot of clever little things in
the lyrics that where if you read the lyrics you'll
get a little bit more out of the song.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
I think.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yeah, but remember she saning, ain't no Cucci for a quitter.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Just everybody remembering, remember that it's not what it says
on the official lyric video.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
But that's what it.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Is, and that's what she's saying. That was our first listen,
tell us more about yours. I'm dying to know what
people think about this.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Do people actually like it? Is it a real country
song or is it a Novelty us know at first
listen podcast on Instagram and YouTube at some point.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
We'll be back next week.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Thanks bye,
Welcome to our first Listen, the music podcast for people
who don't always get the hype but want to. I'm Andrew,
I'm Dominique.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
And today we're talking about we're reacting maybe to Chapel
Yon's The Giver.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
I felt like we just had to talk about this song.
I have been increasingly becoming a fan of Chapel I was.
I was a hater at first. I think I talked
about and I'm a convert. I also realized with this
song that we have a similar range, okay, and like
(00:51):
I realize I can sing like all of her songs nice,
and I feel like there's it's a possibility that that's
part of also why she's so popular, because she's like
in this kind of like alto range that's kind of
sing along with the bull for the girls at least.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, even I think for the boys to some extent.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Totally totally. What did you think about the song?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
So I think I'm maybe going the other way a
little bit or I was. I saw this song for
the first time. I heard this song for the first
time when she performed it on SNL, and I think
it was the YouTube clip that I saw and I
see a song by Chaperone titled The Giver, and I thought, Okay,
(01:43):
I know what this is about.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
It's about the young adult novel by Lewis Lowry exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah, so I watched the performance.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
It was more or less what I expected it would be.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I like the recorded version better. Okay, he recorded version.
I think it was not as as overt on the
record as it is as a live song, and that
that sent me back I'm maybe in the right direction.
And also we're going to talk about why this song exists.
(02:18):
And I think Chapel had a pretty interesting reason for
writing it.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah I didn't. I didn't see the SNL version, so
that that put me on a good side of it.
I just like heard it at work and I decided
to listen to it. But I do love Another thing
that makes me love her is she's just silly, gen zy,
and she said that the reason that she's she's not
trying to make some country crossover crossover and become a
(02:47):
country music star. She just thought it would be really
funny to write a lesbian country song. And I love that.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, there's in the lyrics, there's some funny little on
country tropes.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
But let me.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Play just a clip. This is the first chorus for
context for anybody. So it's really well produced. You have
the violin in there or fiddle because it's country music
and the violin. The single artwork is really funny. It's
(03:24):
just she's wearing a hard hat.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Is she holding like a hammer a drill? I think
she's holding a drill. Yeah, we love it. She's getting
the job done.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
So the first lyric has ain't got antlers on my walls,
but I sure no mating.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Calls so good.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
That's a brilliant little needle to like the country guys
and liking.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
The hunt totally. And then the second the first line
of the second verse is I don't need no lifted truck.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Two what is it to pick you up?
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Revinlod to pick you up? So she like says the
words of country stuff.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Yeah she's using the country words.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
But like saying that y'all are not getting the job doese.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Some someday we're gonna have a guest who's going to
pick one of these hot country albums. And I don't
know how that's gonna go because I can't imagine genuinely
writing a country song. And in earnestly, rather putting words
like truck or jenes in a serious song, and people
(04:35):
do it every day.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
It's crazy. I mean I would I would love that
we could find that host because I I like country
music theoretically, but I haven't heard it. I don't know it,
like I don't know the new music, and I don't
know how to search like non racist country music or
(04:59):
if it just is is, like I don't know there's
she doesn't talk about beer, right, so I thought that
was notable.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
There's a line about rhinestone cowgirl all night long, so
she uses some cowboy cowgirl she does.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
True, True, she got that.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
You don't need to throw all of the tropes yeah
at the wall, just a few of them so they
know you're serious.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Yes, I but I really like how it's like this
getting the job done thing obviously. Uh, you know it's
about finishing building a deck, and.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
How there's not a lot of songs about construction and
contracting work. And you know these jobs are essential to
our economy.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Exactly, and and you know more women should have these jobs, yes,
the male dominated field. And she like, but I actually
love that because it's not I think that there is
this like actual feminist, almost like first wave feminist kind
of thing. Yes, totally, because women do get the job done,
(06:18):
and she doesn't actually say that. She doesn't say anything
about women.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
She gets the job done.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
She we.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
So take it like a taker because baby I'm a giver.
Ain't no need to hurry, because baby I deliver. Ain't
no country boy quitter.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Okay, and this is also great. Ain't no country boy
quitter everyone that I know, if you don't look up
the lyrics, you think she's saying, ain't no cucci for
a quitter, Ain't no cuiquitter.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Now I'm gonna hear that every time.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
That's what she's saying. I feel that it is what
she's saying because it's sounds more like that than it
sounds like country boy.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
In my opinion, I think sometimes maybe you fudge a
little on the pronunciation to give people to suggest something.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Yeah, like, there's so many times that that happens. Gaga
famously I want to poke her face, for example, But yeah,
I think it's a successful song. I also want to
I did want to talk about how there's this. There
was a huge uproar when Beyonce came out with the
(07:34):
country songs like oh, she's a pop star, She's what's
the deal? She can't do this? And now this pop
star who Yeah, I don't think her music is any
more country than Beyonce's music. Is coming out with the
country song and nobody cares.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
I mean, she has less of the track record. So
on the one hand, there's that it is funny the
idea of country music being like appropriated, right, So I
don't know how big that outcry is. I think with Beyonce,
some of the complaints are from people who like Beyonce,
(08:18):
where they're like, are we really we like the Beyonce thing?
Are we really gonna do a different thing now?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Like that's true, that makes sense, And I think so
there was that people didn't really like it, and then
or like do we like it?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah? And then it was you and I weren't sure
if it was good.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Yeah we I'm still not sure. And then there's and
then there was okay, but it is good. People decided
it's good.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
But the country maybe by two of the greatest.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Songs of yeah, Yes Yes, Blackbird and Joelene exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Two of the greatest songs of the twentieth injuries.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
So Chaperone is the new Beyonce. Get used to it?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Yeah, get used to it, y'all. She was. She won
Best New Artist, as we predicted. The history books will
remember that we predicted that and outcry that Beyonce wasn't
getting recognized for the music because she was black. And
I think that probably, I'm gonna guess differs from what's
(09:24):
gonna happen. I don't feel like we'll find out. We'll
revisit if there, if if Chapel Roone fans or or
or anybody will be upset if she doesn't get invited
to the Cmas, if she wants to be invited. This song,
like I said, I don't know country music is it?
I think it's great. It's really like hoky and silly,
(09:46):
but like it definitely seems more country ish than like
a lot of pop country music where it's just country
because they say beer jeans.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Yeah, yeah, telecaster Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
She has all the parts, including a chorus of men
that sound like truckers or cowboys.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
That I think is the question with this song, is
is it a genuine country song and will country? Will
it actually show up on country charts?
Speaker 1 (10:21):
We'll have to find out. I mean, it was you know,
Old Town Road did right, Old Town Road won, but
that was almost like maybe more. I mean that Lil
Nas continues to be controversial just because he's like gay
also on top of on top of being a black
(10:41):
country music hit. But he had Billy. It was the
Billy Ray Cyrus version right that got the award, and
he was rapping, which is what black people are allowed
to do. So it was like, Okay, Beyonce didn't do
any of that. She did have she had country stars,
but it was very black. Yeah, so I'm a huge
(11:02):
fan of the song. It's turned me over. I love
a silly song. I love inny windows. She's what is
another one? I love when she says I got you
wrapped around my fingers? Like, which is I love? You
know the expression has got raped around my finger? But
she says fingers another great one, Like I think it's
(11:23):
just great songwriting.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
And yeah, there's a lot of clever little things in
the lyrics that where if you read the lyrics you'll
get a little bit more out of the song.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
I think.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yeah, but remember she saning, ain't no Cucci for a quitter.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Just everybody remembering, remember that it's not what it says
on the official lyric video.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
But that's what it.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Is, and that's what she's saying. That was our first listen,
tell us more about yours. I'm dying to know what
people think about this.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Do people actually like it? Is it a real country
song or is it a Novelty us know at first
listen podcast on Instagram and YouTube at some point.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
We'll be back next week.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Thanks bye,
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