All Kinds of Kinds

Album: Four the Record (2011)
Charted: 89
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Miranda celebrates the diversity of humanity on this bluegrass-influenced tune. Amongst the different characters the singer references are Horatio the Human Cannonball, a dog-faced boy, a congressman who is a closeted cross-dresser and a pharmacist who secretly feeds herself and her family pills. Truly, "It takes all kinds of kinds," Miranda sings, "to keep the world spinning."
  • The song was co-written by veteran singer-songwriter Don Henry, who in 1990 co-penned Kathy Mattea's Grammy-winning tune, "Where've You Been." The other writer was Country Music artist Phillip Coleman, who penned in 2008 the original version of Ronnie Dunn's hit "Cost of Livin'".
  • Lambert is accompanied on the chorus by Texas Country/Red Dirt artist Stoney LaRue, whose Velvet longplayer reached the top 20 of the Billboard country album chart in 2011.
  • Lambert said: "'All Kinds of Kinds' is such a different song. To me, I heard this — my producer sent it to me — and I don't know, I just identified with it immediately."
    She added: "I found my niche, I found my spot in country music, and everyone's uplifted me through that, and winnin' awards and havin' hits, but I still feel like I'm a little bit different. And I'm glad for that."
  • Directed by Bluford Sanders, the video intercuts footage of Lambert rehearsing the song informally, clips from her live show, and black and white shots of ordinary people holding up whiteboards on which they have written messages as to what kind of person they are.

Comments: 1

  • G_rod from SeattleThis song ostensibly "celebrates the diversity of humanity," but it uses some rather unsavory examples. I'm not so sure that we need circus freakshows (which ostracized and subjugated those with physical abnormalities as something less than human), cross-dressing politicians with dark skeletons in the closet, and pharmacist moms who feed their young children Ritalin without their knowledge, to "keep the world spinning." Odd song with lyrics in its verses that seem to undercut the sentiment of its chorus.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Early Days of MTV

Early Days of MTVFact or Fiction

If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" Album

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" AlbumSong Writing

In the summer of 1990, you could get arrested for selling a 2 Live Crew album or performing their songs in Southern Florida. And that's exactly what happened.

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul Station

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul StationSongwriter Interviews

Paul Stanley on his soul music project, the Kiss songs with the biggest soul influence, and the non-make-up era of the band.

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.