Actin' Up

Album: Palomino (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This sassy, bluesy number features irreverent lyrics that capture Lambert's freewheeling personality.

    Mirror mirror on the saddle
    Hear my rhinestones rattle
    Actin' up
    Billy Bob Texas
    Picking out new exes
    Actin' up


    Lambert lives her life under her own terms and refuses to behave conventionally. She's had a successful career by doing things her own way.

    With my microphone money bought my own milk and honey
    Got my own kind of country, kinda funky
    Turn it up
  • Lambert recorded "Actin Up" for Palomino; the album title comes from this song's chorus.

    I wanna see the desert
    From a painted Palomino
    Señorita need to have a little fun
    Mm, I'm actin' up


    A palomino is a horse with a gold coat and white mane and tail. Because of their distinct coloring, palominos are sought after as parade horses. Neil Young sang of saddling up the palomino on his 1977 country-flavored track of that title.
  • Lambert wrote "Actin Up" with frequent collaborators Luke Dick and Jon Randall. Dick co-wrote nine of the 15 songs on Palomino. In 2021, Lambert dropped The Marfa Tapes, an acoustic project she wrote and recorded together with her fellow Texans, Randall and Jack Ingram.
  • Lambert debuted "Actin Up" during her set at the Country 2 Country Festival in London on March 10, 2022.
  • This is the opening track of Miranda Lambert's Palomino album. "'Actin' Up' felt right for the first song," Lambert told Audacy. "It sort of eases you into this journey. I thought, 'Let's get people in from like the first note, the first line of the song, especially the first line of a record, that's important. You can lose people quick!'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Zakk Wylde

Zakk WyldeSongwriter Interviews

When he was playing Ozzfest with Black Label Society, a kid told Zakk he was the best Ozzy guitarist - Zakk had to correct him.

Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

Adam Duritz of Counting CrowsSongwriter Interviews

"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.

P.F. Sloan

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.

00s Music Quiz 1

00s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

Do you know the girl singer on Eminem's "Stan"? If so, this quiz is for you.

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A Timeline

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A TimelineSong Writing

Untangling the events that led to the "Stairway To Heaven" lawsuit.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.