Martha Divine

Album: Never Will (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • Here, Ashley McBryde sings about a young girl whose father is cheating with the titular Martha Divine. This does not sit well with her, so the bible-toting daughter warns her dad's lover she is coming after her.
  • We are unsure whether Martha meets her maker until the end of the song when McBryde sings:

    Martha Divine, Martha Divine
    You put your hands on the wrong damn man this time
    Martha Divine, your ass is mine
    And it ain't murder if I bury you alive


    Asked by American Songwriter why she saved the dirty deed for the very last moment, McBride replied: "I think it makes that character feel better. If I were interrogated after doing that, I could say, 'Officer, the last time I saw her, she was still breathing.' And she's not lying - lying being a sin, of course. [laughs]"
  • Ashley McBryde wrote the peppy, rocking track with frequent Eric Church collaborator Jeremy Spillman in the dimly lit basement of an old church. The location gave McBryde the idea to write a dark murder song, which led Spellman to tell her about an urban legend from his home state of Kentucky: the Martha Divine swimming hole. They didn't use the actual story, but McBryde loved the way 'Martha Divine' sounded and they decided to come up with a tale from the perspective of the cheater's daughter.
  • The song's music video is the second of a trilogy, which begins with "One Night Standards" and ends with "Hang in There Girl." The storyline of the three clips, all directed by Reid Long, centers on a one-night stand gone awry. The main character is a female vigilante seeking revenge on her father's mistress, and this visual finds McBryde as an accomplice to a motel room murder.

Comments: 2

  • Logical Thinker from TexasIf your father cheated on your mother, why would you murder the mistress? If you wanna murder someone, murder your sinful, cheating father. Makes no sense.
  • Martha Divine from TennesseeI crawled my way out of that grave and now I'm coming for you! Better watch your back!
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