{"id":4261,"date":"2026-07-23T16:39:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?p=4261"},"modified":"2026-07-23T16:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:39:08","slug":"the-meaning-behind-rainbow-by-kacey-musgraves-and-how-a-personal-message-became-a-universal-song-of-endurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-meaning-behind-rainbow-by-kacey-musgraves-and-how-a-personal-message-became-a-universal-song-of-endurance\/","title":{"rendered":"The Meaning Behind \u201cRainbow\u201d by Kacey Musgraves and How a Personal Message Became a Universal Song of Endurance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cRainbow\u201d closes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/facts\/kacey-musgraves\">Kacey Musgraves<\/a>\u2019 excellent 2018 album, <em>Golden Hour<\/em>. Within its minimalist production sits Musgraves finding her way through the darkness of life\u2019s most challenging moments. It began as a personal message, then became a hymn for her grandmother. Finally, \u201cRainbow\u201d reached a further destination: in the hearts of anyone looking for a gorgeous and medicinal ballad to cure their despair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kacey Musgraves - Rainbow (Official Music Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6OFv566mj7s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Self-Help Ballad<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRainbow\u201d began as a note-to-self encouragement for the country singer. But, according to Musgraves, it\u2019s become something more universal than what she\u2019d initially intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt turned into a song as a little message to myself, and then ended up being a song for anybody with any kind of weight on their shoulders,\u201d she <a href=\"https:\/\/tasteofcountry.com\/kacey-musgraves-rainbow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>When it rains, it pours,<br>But you didn\u2019t even notice.<br>It ain\u2019t raining anymore,<br>It\u2019s hard to breathe when all you know is<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Co-written with Natalie Hemby and Shane McAnally, the deluge metaphor continues, and here, Musgraves keeps fighting to survive the emotional storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The struggle of staying above the rising waterline<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is Musgraves on the other side of despair, telling herself it gets better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Well, the sky has finally opened,<br>The rain and wind stopped blowing,<br>But you\u2019re stuck out in the same ole storm again.<br>You hold tight to your umbrella,<br>Well, darling, I\u2019m just trying to tell ya.<br>That there\u2019s always been a rainbow,<br>Hanging over your head<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tie Up the Boat, Take Off Your Coat<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Musgraves\u2019 song was also the final one her grandmother heard. \u201cRainbow\u201d was performed at her grandmother\u2019s funeral, which gives the following verse a different reading, a kind of old wisdom one only gains over a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>If you could see what I see,<br>You\u2019d be blinded by the colors.<br>Yellow, red, and orange, and green,<br>And at least a million others<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>So tie up the boat, take off your coat,<br>And take a look around<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recorded live in the studio with production by Musgraves, Ian Fitchuk, and Daniel Tashian, \u201cRainbow\u201d gives listeners a glimpse of an artist exposed, alone at the piano, trying to convince herself to keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Photo by Roberto Ricciuti\/Redferns<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cRainbow\u201d closes Kacey Musgraves\u2019 excellent 2018 album, Golden Hour. Within its minimalist production sits Musgraves finding her way through the darkness of life\u2019s most challenging moments. It began as a personal message, then became a hymn for her grandmother. Finally, \u201cRainbow\u201d reached a further destination: in the hearts of anyone looking for a gorgeous and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":973477,"featured_media":4263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":316,"post_id":2139}}]},"savage_platform_role_ideator":[],"savage_platform_role_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_senior_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_photographer":[],"savage_platform_role_illustrator":[],"savage_platform_role_translator":[],"savage_platform_role_as-told-to":[],"savage_platform_role_reviewed-by":[],"savage_platform_disable_recirculation":false,"savage_platform_article_type":"news","savage_platform_vice_article_type":"article","savage_platform_article_intent":"","savage_platform_show_affiliate_disclaimer":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"wp_curate_deduplication":false,"wp_curate_unique_pinned_posts":false,"savage_platform_featured_image_caption":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"savage_platform_subheadline":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[30,268],"byline":[316],"class_list":["post-4261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-country-music","tag-kacey-musgraves"],"savage_platform_primary_term":{"category":{"term_name":"Features","term_id":12,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/category\/features\/"},"post_tag":{"term_name":"Country Music","term_id":30,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/tag\/country-music\/"}},"hide_from_homepage":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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