Every Song on Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Middle of Nowhere’ Album, Ranked

Kacey Musgraves'  Middle of Nowhere is — pretty much from start to finish — about loneliness. But don't think that means you're in for a bunch of gloomy ballads.

Loneliness, and the art of being alone, mean quite a few different things on this album. Not all of those are bad. Everybody already knows that "Dry Spell" is about, uh, being "lonely with a capital H," for example, and Musgraves' lyrics in that song are downright, laugh-out-loud funny.

Read More: Kacey Musgraves' 'Lonely With a Capital H Lyric' Explained

Elsewhere, the ironically titled "Loneliest Girl" makes being alone sound like a dang blast. "I don't have to act like I like all your friends and your mama / I don't have to take on your childhood trauma," Musgraves rejoices in the lyrics of that track.

Middle of Nowhere also explores the eerieness of lonely places. The singer embraced the sounds of her home state of Texas on this album, from mariachi bands to Latin pop flair. The images we're picturing as she sings include a barren desert town, or an empty honky tonk on a sleepy Sunday afternoon. Exploring a deserted landscape solo is its own kind of loneliness, and sometimes it's empowering.

A handful of exciting duets, including the much-anticipated "Horses and Divorces," with Musgraves' onetime nemesis Miranda Lambert, add even more layers to this album.

Keep reading as Taste of Country counts down all 13 tracks on Kacey Musgraves' new album, from worst to first.

Kacey Musgraves' Middle of Nowhere Album: All the Tracks Ranked

No. 13: "Mexico Honey" — The Latin pop influence on this song makes perfect sense for the Middle of Nowhere project as a whole. What makes less sense, though, is the subject matter. "Mexico Honey" is flirtatious, colorful and bubbly: So unlike the other songs thematically that it feels like it should be on a whole different album.

No. 12: "I Believe in Ghosts" — It's Halloween season in this song, and Musgraves has got her very own ghost: But not the fun blow-up lawn decor kind. Her ghost is an ex-boyfriend who suddenly, disappointingly disappeared from her life without saying goodbye. Romantic disappointment comes up a lot on Middle of Nowhere, and there are better examples of it than this song on the project.

No. 11: "Rhinestoned" — Musgraves puts a Band Aid on loneliness in this delicate track. When she runs into someone who's as lonely as she is, she suggests they slip out back and avail themselves of the something — weed, presumably — she's got in her pocket. It's a well-executed song about the times when you need a little artificial sparkle to get through tough times.

No. 10: "Coyote" (feat. Gregory Alan Isakov) — "Coyote" is one of the most haunting ballads on the album, and expertly evokes the titular animal. It's an eerie song about loving something, or someone, who's too wild to love you back.

No. 9: "Everybody Wants to Be a Cowboy" (feat. Billy Strings) — Throughout this album, Musgraves finds herself let down by folks who are — in the emotional sense — all hat, no cattle. Nowhere is that truer than in "Everybody Wants to Be a Cowboy," where she bitterly observes, "Everybody wants to be a cowboy / Until it's time to stay."

No. 8: "Middle of Nowhere" — Album-opening tracks are supposed to set the scene, and this album's title and leading track, "Middle of Nowhere," does the job perfectly.

No. 7: "Loneliest Girl" — The flip side of loneliness is freedom. Once Musgraves learns to be alone, she starts to realize that solitude has its perks, and they're not bad! From simple stuff like not sharing a bed to the more weighty topics — "I don't have to take on your childhood trauma" — Musgraves makes living alone sound like a dang blast.

No. 6: "Hell on Me" — Confessional and stripped-down, "Hell on Me" is a perfect album closer. Maybe more than any other song on the project, it feels like Musgraves' unvarnished, unedited emotions: Here, she mourns a breakup and looks at some of her more destructive romantic tendencies in the eye. "I always do this / Wind up losing my light / In someone else's dark," she sings.

No. 5: "Abilene" — This story song kind of feels like the darker, more mature older sister of Musgraves' early-career single "Blowin' Smoke." It's a gossipy story song about a girl who made it out of Abilene, Texas: A place where leaving seems to be so difficult, Musgraves sings about the woman's feat in hushed, almost reverent tones. As for Musgraves' character in the song? She admits she'll probably always be stuck in Abilene.

No. 4: "Back on the Wagon" — Fans who've been through the ringer with toxic relationships will recognize the thought pattern in "Back on the Wagon": It's about a girl who's taking back her troubled boyfriend, and all too happy to put blinders on and ignore the red flags. "No one understands him like me," Musgraves sings openheartedly in the chorus. We've all been there.

No. 3: "Horses and Divorces" (feat. Miranda Lambert) — Now this is how you put a feud to bed. (Gavin Adcock and Zach Bryan should be taking notes!) Lambert and Musgraves hash out their real-life, decade-old beef in this song and conclude that they're actually pretty similar in some ways they hadn't thought of before. Not only did they quash their beef, but they gave fans a great (and juicy!) song in the process. That's a win-win.

No. 2: "Dry Spell" — This is the most talked-about song on the album, with good reason. On the first listen, you know the lyrics are dirty. The second time around, you know the chorus is going to get stuck in your head. But the third listen will make you realize that "Dry Spell" is way more than its shock value. It's an extremely solid country song that deserves to be in rotation long after the dry spell has ended.

No. 1: "Uncertain, TX" (feat. Willie Nelson) — "Uncertain, TX" contains a lyric that just might be the best country clapback since Patty Loveless' "Blame It On Your Heart"! "Down here in Uncertain, TX / Nobody ever makes up their dusty old, love-bombin', snake-charmin', bull-s--ttin', heartbreakin', godforsaken dumb-a-- mind," Musgraves sings. It's the conclusion to a perfect song about a town full of disappointing men, and a light vocal feature from Willie Nelson only adds to this cynical, hilarious musical romp.