On 23 May 2006 the Dixie Chicks released their much-anticipated fourth studio album, Taking the Long Way.Footnote ² After three years of castigation for their denunciation of George W. Bush on foreign soil, the Dixie Chicks responded to their critics with an unapologetic and boldly defiant album. With the help of the renowned producer Rick Rubin, the Dixie Chicks drew on multiple musical influences for a re-positioned country-rock sound, and revealed to their audience that they were still ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’. Under the direction of video producer Sophie Muller, who had directed their ‘Top of the World’ video in 2003, they created a music video that advanced in images the message of defiance that emerged in the lyrics and music of the song.

Taking the Long Way marked a new phase in the Dixie Chicks' career. For the first time, the members of the band co-wrote every song on the album. These songs solidified the members' bonds as women, mothers, sisters and friends, and allowed them to explore not only the controversy that had surrounded them but their life-roles, home, emotional crises, love and family. The album's first single, ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ confronts the career-defining incident and, by extension, allows them to address issues of forgiveness, the inability to forget, the importance of healing and, perhaps most importantly, the struggle for free speech in an age of war and conflict.

This paper explores the contexts that led to the creation of ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’, and offers an analytical interpretation of the song and video. The primary goal of the analysis is to illustrate the narrative structure that the artists developed in order to explore their personal and professional perspectives on a situation that transpired in the public sphere. The trio examine their own responsibilities and the consequences of their actions, as well as the responsibilities of a judgemental and punitive public opinion. They do not present the musical voice that they had established before the incident, but rather carve out a new place for themselves in the music industry, and effect a movement away from the traditional country music genre.

Michel Foucault's concepts of power and institution, and discipline and punishment in modern patriarchal power can aid us in our understanding of the Dixie Chicks' deliberate re-positioning within the music industry. As Sara Mills has observed, Foucault's conception of power ‘is less concerned with focusing on oppression, but rather with foregrounding resistance to power … [for] even at their most constraining, oppressive measures are in fact productive, giving rise to new forms of behavior’ (Mills Reference Mills2003, p. 34). Thus, the Dixie Chicks as individuals were not powerless against their censors; their continued resistance might be viewed through a Foucauldian lens as an enactment of power, giving rise to a new direction in their music. Their resistance to the backlash is established in ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’, but while they refuse to back down, they nevertheless demonstrate their awareness of the ways in which their work remains within the boundaries of country music values. Foucault's ideas will be invoked in the course of our discussion, but will be most pertinent in our analysis of the video.

Through an analysis of lyrics, music and video images, this paper establishes how the Dixie Chicks regain their voice in and through the hit single ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’. We will proceed with the following critical and analytical steps: (1) a summary of the political incident and the contexts surrounding the backlash; (2) a review of the musical response to the backlash, as realised in the creation of the new album Taking the Long Way (2006c); (3) an analysis of the lyrics and images, in which the concepts of time, space and place can be productively invoked; (4) a breakdown of the narrative layers in the video, in consideration of the means by which they are established (staging, costuming, characterisation); (5) an exploration of montage editing techniques as an important vehicle in the development and juxtaposition of these narrative layers; (6) an interpretation of the images of symbolic containment and resistance that are prevalent in the video, through Foucault's concepts of discipline and punishment in modern patriarchal power; and (7) an interpretation of the musical elements and gestures (including vocal and instrumental effects, harmonic structure and patterns, and the dynamic narrative of the song) in relation to the lyrics and images of the song and video. These analytical steps combine to afford an interpretation that offers a deeper understanding of the song's images as well as the pervading use of the first-person narrative and subjective agency. The objective of the music, text and image analysis is to reveal the artists' response to public criticism, their attempt to move forward, and the new position they established for themselves in the music industry.

1. The ‘incident’: backlash to the Dixie Chicks

At the beginning of 2003, the Dixie Chicks were generally considered to be the all-American girls, the most popular female group in country music, and the only group (country or other) that had a hit song addressing the topic of war that appealed to both Democrats and Republicans. ‘Travelin’ Soldier' had plenty of folks – both pro-war and otherwise – a little misty eyed' over its story of a young woman's secret relationship with a man fighting in the Vietnam War (Blecha Reference Blecha2004, p. 180). The song, written by Bruce Robison, outlines their meeting, their correspondence and the young woman's heartache over hearing her soldier's name on the list of local war dead during half-time at a football game.

The Dixie Chicks' position as the top selling country female group changed dramatically after their 10 March concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, England, when news of lead singer Natalie Maines' anti-Bush statement was reported by the Associated Press news agency. The country music world was shocked as ‘the unlikely voice from what looked like the conservative heart of America’ displayed such disrespect toward the commander and chief (Dixie Chicks Reference Chicks2006a). Not only did the Dixie Chicks reveal their political views, but they also did so on foreign soil at a time when war was about to break out. Many viewed their actions as anti-patriotic and un-American.

From the London stage on 10 March 2003, Natalie Maines denounced American President George W. Bush and his imminent invasion of Iraq. At this time, London's streets were filled with anti-war protesters. After performing ‘Travelin’ Soldier', Maines informed her audience that she and her fellow artists shared their sentiments, as they too opposed the impending war, but then attempted to lighten the mood by stating, ‘we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas’ (Clark 2003). Reporter Betty Clark's review of the trio's concert appeared in The Guardian on 12 March, abbreviating Maines' comment and quoting only the denunciation of President Bush. The denunciation of President Bush had a major impact on both the careers and the private lives of the three women in the band. Many in the country music community (fans, industry and media representatives) expressed their disappointment and feelings of betrayal. The Dixie Chicks issued a response to the uproar, with the following statement on their website on the evening of Clark's review:

Their message did not assuage the anger, however; disgruntled fans turned to radio and online blogs to express their lack of support. As Willman has reported in his monograph Rednecks & Bluenecks, by 14 March radio teams and listeners began considering whether or not the trio's music should be dropped from playlists. WTDR-FM in Talladega, Alabama was the first station to institute a boycott, and after they informed the media of their decision to pull the Dixie Chicks, other stations followed suit (Willman Reference Willman2005, p 26).

The same day that the station in Alabama removed the Dixie Chicks' music from rotation, Maines issued a second statement. In a carefully written message she apologised to President Bush for her disrespectful remarks, stating that she ‘feels whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect’. She continued, explaining the situation in which she made her statement:

Despite Maines' attempt to apologise for her actions, their number one single at the time, which appeared to show that they supported the military, fell off the charts.Footnote ³ The group's fan support dwindled over the following months, their CDs were destroyed at protests (‘Chick Tosses’), and they received hate mail and death threats. Metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs were brought to some of their American concert venues.Footnote ⁴ Two radio DJs were fired for playing the Dixie Chicks' music.Footnote ⁵ Strong supporters of the Bush presidency branded the Dixie Chicks ‘traitors’, ‘un-American’, ‘Saddam's Angels’ and the ‘Dixie Sluts’. The latter brand appeared on posters and t-shirts of protestors outside of Dixie Chicks concerts, as revealed in the film documentary Shut Up & Sing (Dixie Chicks Reference Chicks2006a).

In response to the professional and personal attacks, the Dixie Chicks posed nude on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, wearing nothing but these slurs.Footnote ⁶ They also became advocates for free speech and voter rights. In October 2004 they joined the ‘Vote for Change’ tour alongside acts such as James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Bonnie Raitt. The tour was organised by the liberal political-action committee MoveOn.org, a group that formed in 1998 in response to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. ‘Vote for Change’ visited swing states to encourage people to register and vote, with a majority of the artists revealing support for Democratic candidate John Kerry (Tyrangiel Reference Tyrangiel2004). No longer welcome on country music radio, the band wrote a new CD entitled Taking the Long Way (2006d), which facilitated their crossover to adult contemporary and, as a result, to a new and wider audience.

After the incident, the Dixie Chicks found themselves on the periphery of a musical community they had once called home. Country music radio refused to play their music, fellow country music artists alienated them, and a large portion of country music audiences rejected the Dixie Chicks' apology; the trio continued to be branded as traitors and as unpatriotic. Maguire expressed her feelings of being out of place in an interview with the German weekly magazine, Der Spiegel, stating, ‘we don't feel part of the country music scene any longer, it can't be our home anymore … we now consider ourselves part of the big rock ’n’ roll family’ (Schallenberg Reference Schallenberg2003).Footnote ⁷ With no need to pander to any specific radio play-list, the Dixie Chicks set to work on their most personal album to date.

2. Musical response: Taking the Long Way

Taking the Long Way marks an important shift in the Dixie Chicks' musical output. Many pivotal changes occurred in the recording process. First of all, the Dixie Chicks left the two prominent centers of country music and worked with artists outside of the country mainstream to record their fourth studio album. They had recorded their first and second albums at Westwood Sound Studio in Nashville, Tennessee with producers Paul Worley and Blake Chancey and their third album at Cedar Creek Studio in Austin, Texas with Lloyd Maines. For their fourth album, the trio moved to Hollywood, California where they recorded at Sunset Sound Studios and worked with the producer Rick Rubin, known for his work with hard punk, rock and metal groups like the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica and System of a Down as well as his award-winning American Recordings records for Johnny Cash. The Dixie Chicks turned to Rubin for guidance in their 2006 project because they appreciated the respect he demonstrated for their work, as well as his openness to experimentation (Dixie Chicks Reference Chicks2006c). Robison admitted that she was drawn to Rubin because of what she refers to as an ‘organic’ quality to his work, explaining that ‘whether it was hard hard rock or rap, there was just a real aspect’ to the music he produced, ‘like it was handmade’ or crafted (Dixie Chicks Reference Chicks2006c, emphasis added). All three women agree that Rubin was a powerful force in liberating the trio from musical constraints; in an interview Maguire stated, ‘Rick really encouraged me to think differently in this respect and not feel limited’ (Dixie Chicks Reference Chicks2006c). With Rubin as producer, they were at liberty to experiment with instrumentation, performance techniques and lyrical themes.

They also enlisted an eclectic group of co-writers outside of Nashville's country music mainstream to aid them in their musical journey, including Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Gary Louris of the Jayhawks', former 4 Non Blondes front woman Linda Perry, Semisonic's Dan Wilson, pop-rock artist Sheryl Crow, rockers Neil Finn and Pete Yorn, and bluesman Keb' Mo'. This geographical and personnel shift away from the heartland of country music was a significant message to the country music industry: the Dixie Chicks were assuming control of their musical output and expanding their musical references. This album became an important exercise in freedom for the trio – not just freedom to speak freely about their beliefs and politics, but also a creative freedom to pursue new sounds, venues and influences outside of the country genre.

While working with Rubin and collaborating with these artists, the Dixie Chicks explored new musical sounds and experimented with various types of instrumentation. The trio drew on influences such as the Eagles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and the Mamas and the Papas, which led them toward a musical association with Country-Rock or 1960s Southern California Rock. In the late 1960s and 1970s groups such as the Byrds and the Eagles looked to country music for inspiration and infused their Rock-style music with slide guitars, pedal steel guitars, banjos and mandolins to create a hybrid Country-Rock genre. Influenced by the amped-up western swing and honky-tonk music emerging from Bakersfield, California – notably that of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard – Gram Parsons was an integral figure in the forging of this new hybrid genre.Footnote ⁸ Rock journalist Ben Fong-Torres referred to the singer as the Father of Country-Rock, stating that he may not have been the ‘first to conceive country-rock, but he was perhaps the most passionate about bringing country music into the increasingly rock & roll world of the 1960s’ (Fong-Torres Reference Fong-Torres1998, p. 405). Parsons joined the Byrds for a short period in 1968, and was instrumental in introducing the group to country music, and as co-founder of the Flying Burrito Brothers he continued to blend country music with rock and roll attitude. As Bill Malone observes, ‘the steel-guitar stylings of [Flying Burrito Brother] Sneaky Pete gave the group a distinctive honky-tonk flavor’ (Malone Reference Malone2002, p. 388). Both the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers were a major influence on Country-Rock bands in the 1970s, notably the Eagles, who were one of the most successful recording artists of the genre with hits such as ‘Take it Easy’ (1972), ‘Tequila Sunrise’ and ‘Desperado’ (1973).Footnote ⁹ Aside from the Eagles, who the Dixie Chicks credit as a major influence on their 2006 album, Joe Ely of Maines' hometown Lubbock, Texas is yet another Country-Rocker whose influence can be heard on several tracks on Taking the Long Way. In a 2003 documentary on musical culture in Lubbock, Texas, Maines revealed the strong connection she had with Ely and his music; as a child she attended Ely's band rehearsals with her father, who was a pedal steel player for the band (Maner and Sledge Reference Maner and Sledge2003).

Thus, just as the Byrds had infused their rock music with country elements for the first Country-Rock album Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968), the Dixie Chicks infused their traditional country and bluegrass music with rock elements on Taking the Long Way. Footnote ¹⁰ Their new sound maintained some traditional features of country and bluegrass music, but introduced elements from rock, including the prominence of electric guitars, a harder rock beat, power chords and a more declamatory vocal style. In addition, Maguire and Robison found themselves thinking about their instrumental roles within a new framework. Known for their quick finger-picking, fiddle riffs and flashy virtuosic solos, Robison and Maguire's banjo and fiddle had previously been at the fore of their arrangements. On Taking the Long Way, however, the sisters' traditional country techniques were woven into a more ‘electric’ Country-Rock arrangement.

In their development of lyrical thematic content, the trio did not focus solely on the political backlash; rather, they used this album to address a wide range of personal and intimate themes. They addressed motherhood in ‘Lullaby’, Robison and Maguire's struggles with infertility in ‘So Hard’, and the emotional experience of watching a grandparent struggle with Alzheimer's disease or dementia in ‘Silent House’. Robison claims that the ‘album was about finding a balance in the different aspects of [their] lives’; she also explains that there is thematic coherence to the album's 14 tracks (Robison Reference Robison2006). Maguire articulates her experience of defending her values despite the negative effects on her career (Dixie Chicks Reference Chicks2006c). The album became a statement about war, politics, free speech, ‘small-town narrow mindedness’ and celebrity life (Robison Reference Robison2006).

Many songs on the album respond to or comment on the three-year controversy. ‘The Long Way Around’ presents a message of non-conformity in which they quote the titles of two songs from their previous album (‘Long Time Gone’ and ‘Top of the World’) and allude to the Byrds' ‘Wasn't Born to Follow’ throughout the Chorus. In ‘Easy Silence’ the band members address the solace they found with their husbands during and after the chaos of the incident. The album's seventh track, ‘Lubbock Or Leave It’ is a personal response from Maines to her hometown of Lubbock, Texas for discounting the lead singer after her anti-Bush statement. ‘Lubbock Or Leave It’ in turn influenced the response ‘Trouble in the Henhouse’ by Lubbock native Billy Briggs. But it was the album's first (and only) single that sent the most direct message to its former audience and critics.

‘Not Ready To Make Nice’ established an instant dialogue between the Dixie Chicks and those who chastised them for speaking out. Some viewed the song as an ‘angry comeback’, understanding the song as a medium for re-sparking the controversy. Others praised the Dixie Chicks for their adherence to their values. In a press release Robison stated,

Co-writer Dan Wilson stated that he had originally proposed a song called ‘Undivided’ to the Dixie Chicks; he believed that too many people were being divided by politics, but also that while others were being divided, the trio remained together. When he presented this idea to the trio, Maines asked if this meant that she would have to forgive those who opposed and censored the group. When Wilson said that perhaps they would, just for the song, Maines did not even hesitate and responded with ‘nope’ (Dixie Chicks Reference Chicks2006a). The result of their writing efforts was an intensely personal, unapologetic song. ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ invites the audience into the core of the incident, offering an artistic representation of the backlash and its personal, professional and public effects.

3. Temporality in lyrics and images: time, space and place

In ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’, the Dixie Chicks achieve a sense of historical time by implying a chronology in the song lyrics which is then realised in the setting and editing of the music video. The concept of chronology or the passing of ‘time’ is an important theme in country music. One of the most common lyrical devices used by country songwriters is what Jocelyn Neal has defined as a ‘Time-Shift’ paradigm, a strategy that enables the songwriter to relay ‘brief episodes or snap-shots from the characters’ lives in successive verses' with a recurring Chorus, enhanced or changed by the context of the verse and bridge text (Neal Reference Neal2007, p. 46). This type of narrative structure is typically used to depict stories of a multigenerational life cycle or family chronology. In ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’, however, the time frame is drastically reduced to cover a three-year period in the Dixie Chicks' career and concerns only the incident as it affected the three women in the band. Despite the actual shorter time frame, the events that occur in the video narrative in the story are represented in metaphorical staging that suggests a deeper historical past.

The lyrics are delivered in the first person, assuming an individual narrative authority. However, the video images allow the three artists to tell their collective story, and to develop multiple subjective perspectives. The video images and settings allow each of the artists to establish her own individual voice and agency, but also permit the multiple perspectives that an individual experiences during a personal struggle over social values and responsibilities. We see this most prominently in the role of Natalie Maines, who is embodied in three different characterisations, in order to represent her struggle with her own responsibility for the incident. Although she is featured as the primary bearer of that responsibility, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison still maintain powerful video subjectivities in each layer of the narrative structure.

The lyrics comprise eight sections, featuring a conventional Verse-Chorus-Bridge structure, opened and closed by a Prologue and Epilogue that establish the outer frames of the narrative.Footnote ¹¹ The four lines of the Prologue/Epilogue reflect on past, present and future; they are thus very suitable to open and close the song lyric. The past is suggested by the concept of forgiveness and the attempt to forget; we understand that something has taken place in the past, which now needs to be addressed. The past is also evident in the line ‘Time heals everything.’ The present is established by the active voice of the narrator who uses the present tense to reflect on forgiveness (‘sounds good’) and the act of waiting (‘I'm still waiting’). The future is implied through the notion of waiting for the injury to heal.

The multiple perspectives on time that are apparent in the Prologue/Epilogue make it well suited to open and close a song about a past injury that a subject is attempting to resolve. It serves to set up the narrator's struggle as well as the ominous implications of that struggle, but also serves to conclude the story with a sense of regret for the past and conviction for the current position.

Verse 1 of the lyrics is consistent with the presentation of time in the Prologue. With line 1, the narrator again adopts the active present tense (‘I'm through with doubt’). Line 3 refers to the past injury (‘I've paid a price’), and line 4 suggests the future persistence of the situation (‘I'll keep paying’).

The Chorus is more firmly situated in the present, in order to allow the narrator to express her anger and defiance. The past situation is implicit in what is understood to be a response to it: ‘I'm not ready to make nice. … It's too late to make it right. …’ We understand that an injury has occurred, but we are only hearing the subject's response to that injury. A momentary departure from the present tense in the Chorus occurs with the subjunctive reflection, ‘I probably wouldn't if I could’. The subject's struggle of conscience is worth noting here, as it is something that will be developed in the characterisation of Natalie Maines in the video.

At the end of the Chorus and the beginning of Verse 3, for the first time in the lyrics, an Other is introduced (‘you’). As the subject admits, ‘I know you said’, the narrator introduces a narratee, an Other, who is someone from the subject's past. In response to the Other's pressure to ‘just get over it’ (the injury), the subject reveals her resistance: ‘it turned my whole world around, and I kind of like it’. The final line here replaces the concepts of ‘waiting’ to get over it (Prologue) and ‘paying’ the price (Verse 1) with a more self-affirming concept – her life has turned in a direction for the better. Here for the first time, the future does not hold the ongoing pain of waiting for an injury to heal, but rather holds the potential for this subject to have her own sense of agency.

The lyrical climax occurs during the Bridge, and for the first time there are references to actual events from the backlash. The first refers to an incident that occurred at one of the anti-Chicks rallies where a mother, holding her son, screams ‘Screw ’em’ into the camera and then turns to her son and coaxes him to follow her lead (‘It's a sad sad story when a mother will teach her / Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger’). The second reference refers to the death threat that Maines received in the Summer of 2003 (‘And how in the world can the words that I said / Send somebody so over the edge / That they'd write me a letter sayin’ that I'd better / Shut up and sing or my life will be over’).Footnote ¹² The final line of the Bridge also makes reference to country music journalist Chet Flippo's message to Maines to ‘shut up and sing’, which ultimately became the title of their 2006 documentary.Footnote ¹³ This is not only the textual climax, but, as will be demonstrated below, it is also the musical climax and the emotional climax of the video. After addressing the death threat, the lyrics return to the Chorus and then close with the Epilogue. The Chorus reiterates once again the anger and the stance of the subject not to back down. The Epilogue, however, leaves the text with a sense of ambiguity: forgiveness is appealing, but has not yet come, and she is still waiting for time to heal her wounds.

The temporal effect of the lyrical narrative is that the subject is clearly situated in the present, as an agent who is struggling with a past injury by establishing her current stance of anger and resistance, while also looking ahead to her future, with an ambiguous sense of whether forgiveness will come or further resistance. The listener is pulled between the present-day anger and the past struggle, and comes to appreciate the specifics of the past injury during the emotional outburst of the Bridge. The Prologue and Epilogue help to ground the story in a synoptic statement of the past, present and future.

The visual narrative of ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ presents both a sense of past and immediate present as the Dixie Chicks address their anger and vulnerability over the incident, responding to those who questioned and rejected them. The images that are developed in the video for the song can be understood, in Andrew Goodwin's terms, as an ‘amplification’ of the lyric by the video narrative, which ‘occurs when the clip introduces new meanings that do not conflict with the lyric, but add layers of meaning’ (Goodwin Reference Goodwin1992, p. 87).

The original performance of the incident is represented in the video by the staining of the performers' clothing with black paint, a metaphor for the staining of their careers. Sophie Muller then invoked the images and themes of the Salem Witch Trials, drawn from Arthur Miller's 1952 play ‘The Crucible’, through setting, characterisation and wardrobe (CMT.com 2008). Miller's play was written as a response to McCarthyism, drawing parallels between the 17th-century Salem Witch Trials and the 1956 Committee on Un-American Activities – the blacklisting of communists in the United States. The judgement of their actions by the music industry and traditional country audience is represented by the imposing presence of several stylised figures in Southern American costume (a headmistress, a religious leader, an elder) who stand watch over the performers as they are lined up against a white picket fence in front of a country house, symbols of traditional country values and lifestyle. The punishment that was inflicted upon the performers is represented as a schoolroom detention, with the three artists dressed in school uniforms and writing on the chalkboard (‘to talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming’). The invocation of discipline and punishment that have their source in these historical social contexts reflects the Foucauldian concept of systematic institutional power. The video images are crafted to symbolise the systematic discipline imposed upon the artists by the country music industry.

As the lyrics intersect with these images, the listener is pulled between the stance of a present-day narrator and the historical representation. The time-shift between present and past is achieved very distinctly in the images, where setting, actions and costumes are strategically used to establish a temporal context. In order to distinguish present and past representations in the video, we will develop a narrative analysis in the following section.

4. Breakdown of narrative layers and character roles

The video features three distinct narratives which are marked visually through costumes and staging. Muller draws on a technique of montage editing (defined below) to move between and among the images that derive from these three narrative layers – often changing at a fast rate. That is, an image in one narrative temporality is juxtaposed immediately with an image from another narrative. The rate of change is quite fast in certain sections, resulting in visual rhythms that intersect with the music and lyrics to create powerful effects. We will discuss some examples of the montage editing below, but first we will introduce the visual content in each of the three narratives.Footnote ¹⁴

4.1. The ‘Primary Narrative’

In the ‘Primary Narrative’ of the video, Maines appears not to take on a character or narrator role, but rather to communicate directly as an autobiographical subject. The Primary Narrative features Maines in a simple black dress with a documentary-style black background (Example 1). (We will refer to this narrative role as ‘Maines 1’.) On this stage Maines assumes the ‘personal voice’ of the song's narrative; she is the only member of the trio to be placed in this particular setting, and as such becomes the primary story narrator. We will argue here that the voice in this song is autodiegetic, which suggests a personal role for the narrator who is self-consciously telling her own history.Footnote ¹⁵ This is further enhanced by the closeness of the camera shot: as the song's autodiegetic narrator, Maines is featured in close-up shots to suggest that she is telling us (the audience) her story. Through the autodiegetic voice and the direct address form of the Primary Narrative, Maines is seen to claim personal responsibility for her actions. Maines' responsibility here is crucial to the Dixie Chicks' story: although they experienced the controversy together, Maines was the one who spoke out against the President and she experienced a tremendous struggle over her responsibility for the backlash.Footnote ¹⁶

Example 1.

Primary Narrative.

For the Chorus, the background is altered to suggest a performance stage. Maines remains in her simple black dress, but the stage features a narrow column of pale blue light directly behind her, in sharp contrast to the remainder of the background which is framed by black walls, creating a stage effect. She is shown in close-up shots, and occasionally in medium shots and long shots that zoom out. On this stage Maines becomes part of a ‘communal’ narrative voice, a role that she shares with her bandmates.Footnote ¹⁷ Both Maguire and Robison are dressed and staged to be consistent with Maines 1 in the Primary Narrative setting: simple black clothing in close or medium shots, with the blue column of light behind each artist (we will refer to the artists in the Primary Narrative as Robison 1 and Maguire 1). The similar staging suggests that each member of the trio assumes a position on this narrative stage (Example 1).

The three individual artists in the ‘communal voice’ of the Primary Narrative communicate their shared responsibility for the incident. Robison and Maguire are seen to demonstrate their support for Maines and their own persistent anger over the situation. Although the lyrics feature the first-person ‘I’, it becomes an unstated ‘we’ through the union of their three voices and the distribution of subjective authority in this narrative.

4.2. The ‘Incident Narrative’

The second narrative layer is one which presents each of the three artists (referred to as Maines 2, Robison 2 and Maguire 2) in formal concert attire and on stage with a white backdrop which features swirling black smoke or ink that first appears to ‘stain’ the white backdrop, and gradually becomes very heavily distributed over the white screen (observed through Example 2). On this narrative stage all three women have freedom of movement and gesture. Maines 2 is dressed in an off-the-shoulder black dress, with a feathered and netted black hairpiece at the back of her head. With the increase of emotional intensity in the lyrics, Maines jerks back and forth as though she is shaking with anger over her current situation. Robison 2 is wearing a long white gown, and moves fluidly to reflect the emotions of the lyrics; she hurls herself forward, turns in circles, swings her arms, sits on the floor and sways freely. Maguire 2 is wearing a black dress suit, and is featured with a white violin. Her bow arm is emphasised as a rhythmic element, articulating strong down-bow attacks and punctuating the lyrics. The gestural movements identified here are important markers of personal space and reaction to the lyrical story. In several of the scenes featuring Maguire 2, the narrow vertical column of white light behind her is connected to a horizontal bar of light, creating the effect of an inverted cross. A similar effect is created for Maines 2, when the column of light behind her connects with the white picket fence that runs to her left and right. The symbol of the inverted cross becomes a strong signifier of the forces of judgement that are invoked to bring the artists into social order.

Example 2.

The Incident (‘The Performance’) Narrative.

The Incident Narrative features a high level of emotional intensity and serves simultaneously to represent the performance context of the incident, when the stain occurred, as well as to stage the resistance that the artists wish to project as they move forward to establish their new style and regain their voice. The temporality of this narrative is thus ambiguous, as it invites reflection not only on the past moment of performance career damage, but also on the immediate and current position of defiant resistance to judgement and punishment.

4.3. The ‘Historical Narrative’: flashback sequences

This narrative layer offers flashbacks to several scene sequences which represent the incident and its consequent effects (Example 3). These scenes are described briefly here:

1. 1. ‘The Stain’. Wearing a white ruffled dress, Maines 3 applies black paint to the white dresses of Maguire and Robison, a gesture symbolic of her words tarnishing their reputation.

2. 2. ‘Personal Responsibility’: Maines 3 struggles with her personal conscience over the incident, her struggling symbolised by the gesture of wiping black ink from her hands.

3. 3. ‘The Trial’. Maines 3, Robison 3 and Maguire 3, in historical costumes suggesting early 20th-century America – white dresses or black-and-white striped skirts – with a white picket fence in the background, are judged by several imposing figures.

4. 4. ‘The Punishment’. Maines 3, Robison 3 and Maguire 3 are in school detention, writing lines on a chalkboard.

5. 5. ‘The Unified Resistance’. Maines 3, Robison 3 and Maguire 3, in the school costumes but removed from the school setting, are now in the performance setting with the white screen backdrop from Narrative 2.

6. 6. ‘Medical Examination’. Maines 3 is on an examining table, being handled by Robison and Maguire, while three doctors prepare to examine her.

Example 3.

Historical Narrative: flashback sequences.

5. Montage editing and shifting narrative voice

The reader is encouraged to view the video before reading the analysis of montage editing, as it is important to familiarise oneself with the distinctive editing style of ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’. The video uses the technique of montage editing to juxtapose images from the three narrative layers – primary, incident and historical. Montage allows the artists to make links between and among a number of subjective perspectives. Maines is seen to be struggling with her responsibility for the incident, and knows that her actions had consequences for Robison and Maguire. The juxtaposition of the artists in different modes of action and reflection allows for a deeper exploration of their situation and their interpersonal relationships.

The most prominent montage theorist, Sergei Eisenstein, established a formula for montage. The formula, ‘thesis + antithesis = synthesis’ (or A + B = C), is defined as follows:

To explain, the material of Sequence A is cut and interspersed with similarly cut materials from Sequence B such that a new series of images is born, one that allows for an understanding of cause and effect, of character relations and development, and of cross-temporal connections. In the video under consideration here, the images from the three narrative layers are juxtaposed and cross-associated throughout the video to reveal not only the individual storylines of Narratives 1, 2 and 3, but also an overall montage narrative that supports a significant message from these artists. The montage effects intersect with the lyrics and music to explore the experiences of the artists as the incident unfolded, the backlash intensified and their resistance grew. Montage permits the development of multiple perspectives and, especially in the case of Natalie Maines, allows for the representation of her own multi-faceted perspectives on a difficult personal and professional situation.

The technique of montage is used to juxtapose the multiple perspectives of Natalie Maines. In her role in the Primary Narrative (1), she communicates a resistant edge, noted especially in the lyric ‘And I kind of like it’ [1:40–8]. In her role in the Incident Narrative (2), she unleashes her anger and emotion in strong gestures. In the Historical Narrative (3), she struggles against the social forces of judgement and attempts to wipe the stain from her own hands [0:26–36]. At the beginning of the video, the three Maines characters occupy three individual perspectives. That is, at the end of the Prologue, Maines 2 claims her continuing anger (‘They say time heals everything / But I'm still waiting’ [0:21–31]); immediately following this line, the image cuts to Maines 3, attempting to clean her hands [0:30–3], a symbol of her struggling conscience; Verse 1 then begins with the resistant position of Maines 1, in a direct statement to the camera: ‘I'm through with doubt’ [0:34].

Although the song begins with these three distinct perspectives for Maines, the roles merge into a unified stance by the end of the song. The Bridge brings the three roles into immediate juxtaposition in a notable montage sequence. Lines 5–6 (‘And how in the world can the words that I said / Send somebody so over the edge’) are distributed to Maines 2 (at close-up range), to Maines 3 (from a long shot, sitting on the pedestal with a striking image of the black swirling ink in the background), and to Maines 1 (with the black documentary background) [1:57–2:05]. The lyrics are delivered at an uninterrupted pace, but the scenes cut from Maines 2 to Maines 3 to Maines 1 with a seamless effect. The seamlessness is achieved not only by means of the consistent and uninterrupted level of musical intensity, but also because the three images of Maines all exhibit the same degree of physical emotion and expression. The gestures (movement of arms and face) appear to be continuous and seamless despite the change in background setting, camera distance and costuming. The three ‘characters’ merge here, leading us to witness a point of resolution in Maines' personal conflict [2:09].

Montage is also used to establish the relationships between and among Maines, Robison and Maguire. The three come together in a unified presentation of the Chorus lyrics, which comprise a communal statement of resolve not to back down. Although all three voices sing throughout the Chorus, the three singers are not shown together, but rather their images are presented in a montage sequence that delivers sections of the text featuring one artist at a time. In other words, we hear all three in harmony, but we only see them in individual shots, each one in her own direct address to the camera, with the lyrics distributed from one to another during the Chorus sections [0:58–1:25 and 2:22–3:18]. The focus is predominantly on Maines, but cuts to Robison and Maguire at an increasing rate of change toward the end of the first Chorus. The rate of change in the montage is most intense in lines 7 and 8 of the first Chorus, where the images are changing at a rate of a second or less than a second [1:15–25]. During these last two lines of the Chorus, the only image that appears other than the three artists in the Primary Narrative is a scene from the Historical Narrative, in which Maines 3 struggles between Robison and Maguire. The effect of the montage sequence in the Chorus is one of communal voice, as the artists sing and claim the lyrics together; however, the artists appear as individuals, lending the communal voice a disquieting sense of disunity. The image of Maines struggling between Robison and Maguire offers a more direct illustration of the conflict that the artists experienced.

Over the course of the video narrative, montage is used to effect a resolution of the conflict. At the end of the Bridge (‘Shut up and sing or my life will be over’ [2:05–25]), the final word is subjected to a montage sequence that features Maines 1, Maines 2, a new image of the artists in the ‘Unified Resistance’ sequence, as well as Robison 2 and Maguire 2 on stage. There are no flashback sequences throughout this entire section of the song. The level of performance intensity is strong and, as will be observed in the musical analysis, there is a consistently high level of intensity for this section of the song. This is a moment of musical resolution from the Bridge to the Instrumental section as well as a moment of narrative resolution. Maines 3 no longer struggles between Robison and Maguire, and at the end of the section they all wipe their dresses clean with clean hands [2:15–30].

6. Interpretation of symbolic images: containment and resistance

One of the most striking visual effects in this video is the use of colour and wardrobe to create a symbolic setting of imprisonment. Almost the entire video, with the exception of the opening scene, is staged (in costumes and settings) in black and white – from the backgrounds, to the props, to their prison striped dresses. The dresses worn by the artists are all representative of a period style that one might associate with the Southern American tradition. In using this style of Southern dress the Dixie Chicks appear to reference the region and, by extension, the country music genre, making a strong statement that they feel imprisoned by the mentalities of the South and their continual punishments and the more conservative genre of country music. The colour red used in the backdrop behind the judging figures of ‘The Stain’ and ‘The Trial’ flashback sequences also serves as a reference to region, politics and emotion. Red remains a colour strongly association with a range of human emotions, from passion and love to anger and hatred, and with strong connotations of blood, fire, damnation and danger. One cannot overlook political affiliations with the colour red; aside from communism, red has come to represent US conservatism, Republican political values and, since 2000, it has become a way to indicate states whose residents predominantly vote Republican (‘Red’ states). Thus, red, as used in these particular scenes can serve to associate the judgement characters with the anger and hatred of those who criticised the trio, some of whom may have been affiliated to conservative political values. On the other hand, we can also view the colour in relation to the deeper historical past staged in the video and with feelings of anger and hatred of those who feared the potential danger of witches in the 17th century or communists in 1950s. (See Example 4 for still shots of the judgement figures.)

Example 4.

Judgement figures.

The concept of prison is further enhanced in the stage settings: Muller creates a Panopticon around the Dixie Chicks' career, capturing the essence of a disciplinary society through references to a court trial (suggestive of a Salem witch-trial), a punitive school system and finally a macabre health institution, all of which work to contain the Dixie Chicks as a consequence of the incident. These scenes are all representative of Foucault's concept of discipline and punishment in modern patriarchal power, where the institutions of law, education and healthcare can come to represent societal containment and even a threat to personal security (Bartky Reference Bartky and Pearsall1999).

Yet, the Dixie Chicks break out of this symbolic containment with the final sequence of video images; despite the dominant images that represent institutional power, they ultimately resist and confront the symbolic social forces and move forward together onto a new stage, represented in the video by the image of the artists in ‘Unified Resistance’. We will take the interpretive step to understand this gesture as symbolic of their emergence onto a new stage, with a new sound and concomitant audience. Thus, the video closes with an assertion of their agency and control over their artistic careers and lives.

We witness this resistance and re-positioning through the use of gesture and gaze in the video. Sandra Bartky has indicated that there are ‘significant gender differences in gesture, posture, movement, and general bodily comportment: women are far more restricted than men in their manner of movement and in their spatiality’ (Bartky Reference Bartky and Pearsall1999, p. 163). In the flashback sequences, the bodily movements of each band member are highly restricted; in fact, in these punishment scenes each woman sits perfectly still in her chair as she awaits the verdict. It is during the Bridge that they begin to break with the punishment. As Maines 2 sings the lines about the death threat, she clenches tightly and thrashes her body forward in an attempt to resist containment. This attempt to escape the prison occurs in the doctor's office as well; Maines 3 is hunched over and then thrashes her body to break free from Maguire and Robison's hold. The cycle of punishment and observation is broken in the final sequence of images as the three band members walk forward together, push the hair back from their eyes, look ahead with confidence and wipe their dresses clean of any stains. The female subject is typically trained to avert her eyes under male (or external) scrutiny (Bartky Reference Bartky and Pearsall1999, p. 163). Throughout the entire video we – and the ‘judgement’ figures (representing the Conservative critics) – observe and scrutinise Maines' every move. She has been the recipient of an external gaze. Through the Primary Narrative (Maines 1) and the Incident Narrative (Maines 2), Maines adopts a direct gaze at the camera. Instead of being watched, she is now casting her gaze on those who oppose her – asserting (or re-asserting) her control over her life, career and reputation.

7. Musical elements and gestures in relation to lyrics and images

During the analysis of lyrics and images in the foregoing discussion, several interpretive themes emerged that can now be considered in relation to the musical elements: (1) the lyrical and visual exploration of past and present through the techniques of montage and narrative; (2) the struggle of conscience that Maines experiences as she attempts to resolve her past actions with the consequences upon her fellow artists; (3) the themes of individual and collective agency and authority; and (4) the narrative of containment and resistance. It is interesting to consider how these themes are developed in the musical content and expression of the song. Although we will not assert that the music ‘represents’ the past and present, we can certainly explore the ways in which the music opens up the space for reflection on the past, as well as how it enhances gestures of stability and directionality, and how it serves to amplify the theme of unified resistance. The Dixie Chicks and co-author Dan Wilson, under the production guidance of Rick Rubin, use phrase structure, harmonic patterning, vocal phrasing and expression, as well as instrumentation and dynamic form to complement their lyrical and visual narratives. In the analysis that follows, we will discuss the song materials with the aim of illustrating a number of gestural strategies that support and amplify the lyrical and visual narrative themes.

Throughout this discussion, we will refer to Example 5, which is a summary of the musical content in each section of the song form. At the top of the page is a diagram of the dynamic amplitudes from the beginning to the end of the song. The formal sections and time markers are labelled below the amplitude diagram. The vertical lines that mark the sections are placed in alignment with the time points in the amplitude diagram. (We will discuss the amplitude diagram in a later section.) Example 5 also summarises the vocal and instrumental content and the harmonic structure in each section of the song form and visual narrative.

Example 5.

Amplitude form and musical content in ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’.

7.1. Harmonic content

The harmonic structure of ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ exploits cyclic repetition that is disrupted by dissonance and avoids resolution. Tonal resolution is used at strategic moments in connection with the lyrics and images. A sense of stability is created through the preservation of tonic function at the beginning of each phrase, with an increase in tonal directionality as each phrase moves toward an unresolved harmonic function in the vocal cadences. A duality between minor and major is also explored, reaching its greatest intensity in the Bridge.

‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ preserves two tonal areas, that of E flat minor (in the Prologue, Epilogue, Verses and Bridge) and its relative major, G flat (in the Chorus and Instrumental Section).Footnote ¹⁸ Each tonal area builds on an open harmonic gesture that leads to C flat. The E flat minor progression (featured in the Prologue and Verse) is I–VII–III–VI // I–VII–VI //. The G flat major progression (featured in the Chorus) comprises two iterations of the pattern I–V–VI–IV //. These harmonic progressions might be interpreted as stable and grounding, or one might interpret them as ‘locked in’ or contained – the C flat close of each phrase limits or contains the harmonic potential of both tonal areas. The return to tonic function at the beginning of a subsequent section only initiates the movement away once again, as the phrases keep directing toward C flat. The vocal cadences contribute to the lack of resolution in the phrasing. The Prologue closes with the voice on the seventh of the C flat chord (B flat), approached in a rising step from the fifth of the preceding D flat harmony (A flat). In the Verse, the voice cadences on the third of the C flat harmony (E flat), the third suggesting movement and contrapuntal activity. The Chorus closes with a skip from the seventh to the fifth of the C flat chord (B flat to G flat), the seventh remaining unresolved.

The two tonal areas and the associated harmonic patterns are used in the following formal organisation:

The harmonic patterning is modified in the Bridge, during which section the harmony modulates from E flat minor to G flat major. The Bridge opens with the I–VII–VI progression of the E flat minor sequence, and then begins to repeat that progression; however, the VII chord (D flat) is used to pivot as dominant into G flat major, offering a V–I resolution for the first time in the song. (The resolution is marked with an asterisk in the chart of Example 5.) This resolution is not the closing progression of the Bridge, however, as the harmony then moves on to IV and IV7 (the C flat 7 chord that was heard at the end of the Prologue as well as Verse 2), with the voice on the seventh of the chord for the phrase ending. Whereas in the earlier sections the seventh was left unresolved, in this instance the vocal dissonance is carried over while the harmony elides to the beginning of the next section (Instrumental Section), the vocal B flat resolving to G flat as the harmony also resolves to G flat. This elision between the Bridge and the Instrumental Section is the first moment in the song where a vocal cadence is given tonic support rather than the unresolved C flat harmony.

The Instrumental Section then continues with a progression in G flat that is new to the song: I–V–IV. This is yet another progression that closes on C flat; in fact it includes the harmonic pattern of D flat to C flat, which is the closing gesture of the E flat minor progression (there understood as VII–VI). This new function in G flat is reinforced when the V–IV progression resolves directly to G flat in a cadential elision with the opening of the Chorus.

The Chorus ushers in its familiar G flat progression (I–V–VI–IV), but when the progression repeats for the second phrase of the Chorus and reaches the ultimate IV chord, it is resolved by tonic harmony with tonic vocal cadence. Just as the IV harmony at the end of the Instrumental section resolved to G flat, the IV harmony once again leads to resolution, now as closure for the Chorus.

The entire Chorus repeats, and in the second statement the resolution to G flat is replaced by a resolution to E flat minor. This second Chorus statement is extended to repeat the final line ‘what it is you think I should’, during which lyric repetition the harmony moves from IV of G flat (C flat) to I of E flat minor (E flat). It is a remarkable harmonic gesture, because one could hear this as a parallel gesture to the tonic resolution in G flat that closed the preceding Chorus statement. In other words, C flat has had the opportunity to resolve to G flat as tonic with a fully supported vocal phrase ending on G flat, and now it has the opportunity to resolve to E flat as tonic, with a fully supported vocal cadence on E flat.

The song's tonal narrative intersects with the lyrics and images in a way that amplifies the themes of conflict and resolution, containment and resistance that emerge in the video. We will extract several analytical details to consider here.

The cyclic pattern in E flat minor is repeated for the Instrumental Introduction, the Prologue and the first Verse. During this time in the video, the images shift from the singing subject to flashback images from the Historical Narrative. In the Prologue, the singing subject is Maines 2, juxtaposed with images of the judgement figures and the black paint representing the ‘incident’. In the Verse, the singing subject is Maines 1, juxtaposed with the scene of ‘the trial’. The simple chord progression and melodic gestures, as well as the metric placement of one chord per measure, provide the time needed to advance the montage narrative. In other words, the simplicity of harmonic and melodic design allows space for the images to shift from the singing subject to the flashback images. Montage-style cuts to flashback images occur in the space between the singer's melodic gestures.

The placement of harmonic dissonance is also linked artistically to the lyrics and images. For instance, the dissonant seventh above C flat (B flat) is heard at the end of the Prologue, at the lyric ‘waiting’. When that vocal gesture returns at the end of Verse 2, it supports the lyric ‘like it’ from the phrase ‘and I kind of like it’, suggesting that she likes the position of tension that has resulted from the incident, and affirming her resistant stance.

The resolution of harmonic tension occurs at significant moments in the lyrical and visual narrative. The first moment of tonic resolution (from C flat to G flat) at the end of the Bridge, elided to the beginning of the Instrumental Section, occurs when the lyrics have reached a peak of resistant energy and intensity: ‘shut up and sing or my life will be over’. As ‘over’ is sustained, the B flat seventh steps down through A flat to G flat, dissolving the contrapuntal tension as the G flat harmony arrives. The instrumental section bursts into a unified sound of strings, with a strong rhythmic pattern in a consonant homophonic delivery. We discussed earlier how the montage images here present a fast montage sequence featuring Maines 1 and Maines 2, each exhibiting intense emotion in the presentation of the word ‘over’, with cuts to Robison 2 and Maguire 2 who make striking gestural movements on stage, and to the new image of the artists in ‘Unified Resistance’. The harmonic resolution is thus bound to a moment of lyrical and visual climax.

The final two instances of harmonic resolution occur in the last two statements of the Chorus. The first Chorus following the Bridge closes with the resolution to G flat, and the second closes with the resolution to E flat minor. The line associated with these phrase endings is ‘what it is you think I should’. In the first of these closing statements, the progression is direct from C flat to G flat. In the second and final statement of the Chorus, the progression plays with listener expectations – the harmony arrives on C flat for the vocal phrase, but does not move on to G flat; instead, the harmony remains on C flat, holding C flat while the voice repeats the line ‘what it is you think I should’, before ultimately coming to a close on an E flat minor chord. The very first Chorus of the song closes this vocal phrase on C flat; the second statement of the Chorus closes on G flat, resolving to the harmony that was associated with the energetic expression of unity in the Instrumental Section; and the third statement of the Chorus closes on E flat, returning to the opening gesture of the song. The variation of harmonic closure for this vocal phrase in the Chorus is a musical development of the theme of personal struggle that is projected in the song and in the particular lyric, ‘what it is you think I should’. The song is framed by the Prologue and Epilogue, which shape not only the lyrical and visual narratives, but also the tonal narrative. In lyrics and images, the Prologue and Epilogue feature Maines as the primary narrator in a reflection on the question of forgiveness and whether or not she will find it. In the music, despite the climax of the tonal tension and its resolution in the Bridge and final Chorus sequence, the Epilogue returns to the unresolved harmonic progression that opened the song: in E flat minor, I–VII–III–VI // I–VII–VI7, with the final vocal cadence rising from A flat to B flat above the final C flat (VI) chord. This vocal seventh (marked in the Prologue and Epilogue in Example 5), approached by step from below, is a very effective musical representation of the theme of ‘waiting’. In this final cadence for the song, the music fades out before Maines' image leaves the screen, with the effect that the unresolved musical gesture is truly left without resolution, as it is followed by silence (except for the very high-pitched hum of the Hammond B3 on C flat), accompanied by Maines' direct gaze, in silence, at the camera.