Find Out Why This ’90s Hitmaker Is “Very Afraid” Of The Upcoming Presidential Election

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter was at the height of her career in the ’90s. With hits like “Shut Up and Kiss Me,” “I Feel Lucky,” and “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” it was impossible to turn on the radio without hearing Carpenter’s rich vocals on the airwaves. Her success can by proved by the 5 Grammy awards she’s received. To date, the 58-year old is the only female country artist to have won the Best Female Country Vocal Performance Grammy four years in a row. 

While we haven’t heard from Carpenter in a while, the singer has just released her 14th studio album, The Things We’re Made Of, and is the latest country artist to address the upcoming Presidential election. A native of Washington D.C., Carpenter has always been vocal about her political views, something she addressed in a 2012 interview. “I’ve never made any secret of the fact that my parents raised me to be a liberal Democrat. I think liberal is a word of honor. It makes me ill when people use it as an epithet. I have nothing to be ashamed of. That’s who I am.”

In a new interview with Rolling Stone Country, Carpenter spoke openly about her fears regarding the November election. 

“I’m one of those people that, if I were polled, I would be in the column that says I’m very afraid of what would happen if Trump were to win the election. I’m very afraid of that and make no bones about that,” Carpenter said. “I feel a sense of despair that the message he has put out has found such support, because I think it’s a message of all the things I do not admire: hate and bigotry.”

In response to those who feel an artist should just “Shut up and sing”, Carpenter has plenty to say.

“What? I’m not allowed to have a brain? I’m not permitted to speak to issues that affect me? They affect all of us. I don’t subscribe to that way of thinking. I never have and I never will,” the ‘I Feel Lucky’ singer said. “How can I write songs about life if I’m not experiencing it and forming opinions and having opinions and advocating on behalf of things that are important to me. I just never felt any other way about it. People who are dismissive or critical — or at worst, hateful — of artists who speak out or who choose to align themselves with a particular viewpoint or cause, I didn’t ever think that wanting to be an artist would preclude me from having an opinion. I mean, I don’t sing about flowers.”

 

Do you agree with Mary Chapin Carpenter? Let us know in the comments below. 

Want to save this article?

Get this sent to your inbox, plus, get new articles & videos from us every week!

Sponsors / Partners


Interested in becoming a partner?

Contact us for more info

Unapologetically Country

Receive daily updates with the best country music videos, news, and more!