Miranda Lambert’s collaborative Marfa Tapes project with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall has released another new song. The harmony-drenched cheating saga “Am I Right or Amarillo” made its debut on Friday, with the full album arriving May 7th.
As with previously released Marfa Tapes tracks, “Am I Right or Amarillo” is stripped down in production and instrumentation, blending acoustic guitar, vocals, and ambient sounds captured by their no-frills recording approach. Randall assumes lead vocals this time around, though the bulk of the song is sung in three-part harmony as it employs a classic country melody for a story of infidelity that sparked at a Texas truck stop. “Come lay down on my pillow til’ the dawn comes breaking through,” the singers beckon, while the accompanying video traces the steps from barstool to dimly lit motel room.
“‘Am I Right or Amarillo’ was a Jack Ingram line,” Randall said in a release. “I think we were talking about the most time we’ve ever spent in Amarillo was at the truck stop. We just started riffing on the title and a cheating song showed itself. We all miss country cheating songs so we just went with it.”
“Am I Right or Amarillo” follows “In His Arms” and a new version of Lambert’s single “Tin Man” to be released ahead of the full Marfa Tapes album. Simultaneously, Lambert is the guest vocalist on the maximalist, fully danceable new single from Elle King, “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).” In late April and early May, she’s set to play a handful of shows at the Texas honky-tonk Billy Bob’s.