Chappell Roan made music history with the debut of her lesbian country song “The Giver” on Saturday night’s “SNL.” The song broke country music norms, featuring intimate same-sex relationships, and many LGBTQ+ country artists like Roan have challenged similar heteronormative standards in their music in the past.

Roan’s new track is going to his country for the first time and it has been a great success.

Fiddles “READY TO GO!” The singer, who says he satisfies his female lovers better than any man ever could: “Take it like a taker, ’cause baby I’m a giver / You don’t need to help me, ’cause baby I deliver / Ain’t that the country boy give-up / I get the job done.”

On the bridge, Roan shouted to the audience. “You country boys say you know how to treat a woman, right?” he said. “Only a woman knows how to treat a woman!”

Roan’s debut since Saturday night has made major waves. The choice to premiere the song on “Saturday Night Live” is notable; The first episode of the season attracted a massive audience of over 5 million viewers.

Many see “The Giver” as a weird country anthem.

Now all eyes are on Roan and the oddity in country music.

While Roan’s performance is completely unique with his particular talent, there are many artists who have previously featured LGBTQ+ relationships and discussed queer intimacy in their own country songs.

Let’s talk a little bit about the weirdness in country music.

Homosexuality in country music: Artists who highlight LGBTQ+ relationships

Many people think that singer Patrick Haggerty, lead singer of the band Lavender Country, was the first country singer to come out as gay.

The band’s ’73 album made history with tracks like “Lavender Country,” “Back in the Closet Again” and “Come Out Singing,” among others.

Haggerty died in 2022 at the age of 78 due to complications from a stroke.

Because other artists continue to make history with their openness and music.

These artists include Ty Herndon, Brandy Clark, Brandi Carlile, Chely Wright, TJ Osborne, Brooke Eden, Orville Peck, Allison Russell, Cody Belew, Adeem The Artist, Chris Housman, Lil Nas X, Fancy Hagood, Trixie Mattel, Lily Rose. is taking. Steve Grand, Katie Pruitt and many others continue to represent homosexuality in country music and ensure visibility for the 5 million gay people in the South.

Here are some of the songs that feature “The Giver” as a gay country anthem.

“Follow Your Arrow” by Kacey Musgraves, written with Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally

Musgraves’ 2013 song “Follow Your Arrow” was the 2014 CMA Song of the Year.

The track, which Musgraves co-wrote with gay artist Brandy Clark and well-known gay singer and songwriter Shane McAnally, has become a pro-LGBTQ+ anthem. Many believe the song began breaking down barriers in country music a decade ago.

In the track, Musgraves encourages her listeners to be their true selves: “So make a lot of noise / Kiss a lot of boys / Or kiss a lot of girls, if that’s something you like / So straight when the straight and narrow get a little rough / Roll a joint or “don’t do it.”

“Follow your arrow where it points, yeah,” he sings. “Follow your arrow to where it points.”

‘All-American Boy’ by Steve Grand

Singer-songwriter and model Steve Grand released the song “All-American Boy” in 2013, a queer anthem about longing to be with a man at a Fourth of July party.

He sings, “Be my All-American boy tonight / Every day on the 4th of July / It’s okay, it’s okay / And we can keep it going until the morning light.”

‘The Joke’ by Brandi Carlile with Dave Cobb, Phil and Tim Hanseroth

Queer country and America icon Brandi Carlile has written a number of LGBTQ+ anthems, including the tender love song “I Belong To You,” the somber piano ballad “Party Of One,” and the uplifting 2021 song “You And Me On The Rock.” “A celebration of building your life with a lover.

But Carlile’s 2018 song “The Joke” has become one of Carlile’s most revered anthems for all marginalized individuals, sung to those who are “underrepresented, unloved, or illegal.” he said to NPR.

In the song, which was nominated for Song and Record of the Year at the 2019 Grammy Awards, Carlile appeals to young girls and boys.

“Let them laugh while they can / Let them spin, scatter in the wind,” he sings. “I went to the movies, saw how it ended / And the joke’s on them.”

Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’

Lil Nas

While the song was at number one on the charts, Lil Nas

The song even won two Grammy Awards at the 2020 ceremony.

More: Lil Nas X performing at Municipal Auditorium

Although the song itself is not about same-sex relationships but rather about paths to success, fortune, and fortune, the song once again showed listeners that queer artists could achieve these goals and dominate the charts.

‘Young Me’ by the Osborne Brothers

The Brothers Osborne’s 2021 song “Younger Me” has become an emotional anthem for the gay male community.

In the song’s music video, singer TJ Osborne, who came out as gay the same year, sits in front of the Tennessee State Capitol and delivers a strong message to his younger self about coming out as gay.

“Younger me / Hanging out but I don’t quite fit in / I didn’t know that being different wouldn’t really last / Younger me.” he mutters.

‘I Have No Choice’ by Brooke Eden

Country artist Brooke Eden released her track “Got No Choice” in May 2021, after coming out as gay earlier that year. In the song’s lauded music video, Eden sings to his then-real-life girlfriend, now-wife Hilary Hoover.

In the catchy country-pop song, Eden sings, “I hear gossip from my neighbors / We don’t fit on paper / From bars to church crowds / We’re the talk of the town.”

In the chorus, she screams: “I, I have no choice but to love you / I have no choice but to love you.”

‘In Your Love’ by Tyler Childers, Silas House’s music video story

Tyler Childers’ July 2023 song “In Your Love” made a splash after telling a gay love story in its music video. Many LGBTQ+ activists and artists praised the video and song as an important moment for gay inclusion.

The song, which appears on Childers’ latest album, “Rustin’ In The Rain,” reflects a faithful and faithful love: “I’ll wait for you / ‘Til the sun turns to ashes / And bow to the moon / I’ll wait for you.”

More: Tyler Childers’ new video ‘In Your Love’ is praised for showing gay love in rural America

Although Childers is not gay He told NPR he wanted to create a music video that told a gay love story because his cousin, who is like an older brother to him, is gay. So Childers enlisted the help of his friend and then-Kentucky poet laureate, gay writer Silas House, who wrote the video for the song.

The music video for “In Your Love” tells the story of two men who fall in love while working together in a coal mine in Appalachia in the 1950s. After being attacked by their co-workers, they move to the countryside and start a farm together, remaining devoted to each other until the end.

The video features two gay actors, Colton Haynes and James Scully.

‘Cowboys Are Often Secretly Fond of Each Other’ sung by Orville Peck and Willie Nelson, written by Ned Sublette

This year, Willie Nelson reinterpreted the old song “Cowboys Are Often Secretly Fond of Each Other” with gay country artist Orville Peck, known for his songs “Midnight Ride,” “Dead of Night” and “Roses Are Falling.”

The gay cowboy song was first written by Latin country musician Ned Sublette in 1981 and covered by Nelson in 2006, becoming a major gay country music cover hit.

“Cowboys often secretly like each other / What did you think all those saddles and boots were about?” They sing on the 2024 collaboration.

“There’s a lot of cowboys that don’t understand how you feel for your brother / And inside every woman, there’s a cowboy that wants to get out.”

These eight tracks are just the tip of the iceberg of the queer country community, a community that grew with at least one song released last weekend.

Chappell Roan’s “The Giver” is among a good ensemble, combining tracks that continue to strengthen their experience. More than 7.6% of Americans identify as LGBTQ+.

Audrey Gibbs is the music reporter for The Tennessean. You can reach him at [email protected].

This article first appeared in the Nashville Tennessean: Chappell Roan’s lesbian country song and more queer anthems