Miranda Lambert Joins Kacey Musgraves on 2013 Feud Song
miranda lambert is on a new track with Kacey Musgraves, and the song choice makes the history hard to miss. Their duet, “Horses and Divorces,” arrives as Musgraves turns the old speculation into an album-cycle release tied to Middle of Nowhere this Friday.
Musgraves said there was beef between them, calling it “grass-fed, grade A.” That is the first time the tension has been laid out this directly, after years of public reading between the lines around two singers who kept ending up in the same rooms.
2013 and “Mama's Broken Heart”
The feud traces to 2013, when Lambert recorded “Mama's Broken Heart,” a song Musgraves wrote while she was making her debut studio album, Same Trailer Different Park. Musgraves had wanted to record it herself and said she was excited enough that she wanted it as her first single.
Instead, the track was pitched to Lambert and ended up on Four the Record. Musgraves later recorded “Merry Go Round,” saying that song made more sense for her “aesthetically and lyrically.” That split matters because it shows the dispute was never about a public clash on a stage; it started with a cut song and a lost release slot.
Musgraves on the split
“Oh, there was,” Musgraves told Variety on Wednesday when asked about the beef. She was more explicit in March, saying Lambert recorded and released “Mama's Broken Heart” without her permission or knowledge. “There was all this excitement behind ‘Mama's Broken Heart’ for me. It was gonna be my first single and I loved the song so much,” she said.
“Then, the song gets pitched to her without my consent or knowledge,” Musgraves said. “It was a tricky situation.” She added, “She ended up loving the song and she really wanted it.”
Lambert's 2013 shoutout
Lambert also made a point of acknowledging Musgraves at the 2013 Country Music Awards while accepting Female Vocalist of the Year. “Kacey, congratulations on new artist. That was awesome. These Texas girls gotta stick together,” she said.
Musgraves shared a clip of her reaction in March, and it went viral. That reopened the feud conversation just before the new duet surfaced, turning a years-old songwriting dispute into current promotional momentum for Middle of Nowhere.
“Horses and Divorces” lands Friday
“Horses and Divorces” now gives both artists a cleaner ending than the rumor mill did. For listeners, the practical takeaway is simple: the song is out as part of Musgraves’s album rollout this Friday, and the collaboration itself is the headline — not the old grievance.
