The opening track of Beyoncé's eighth studio album 'Cowboy Carter', released in 2024 as the second instalment of the trilogy that began with 'RENAISSANCE' in 2022. The song is both a somber remembrance and full of hope, framing the album's country-inflected project as a reckoning with genre and belonging. Beyoncé addresses the contradictions of her reception, paraphrasing the criticism that she spoke too country for some audiences and not country enough for others, before asking plainly: 'If that ain't country, tell me what is?'
The lyric roots her lineage in Gadsden, Alabama, Galveston, and Louisiana, invoking the granddaughter of a moonshine man as a claim to the tradition. The refrain 'Can we stand for something?' recurs throughout, positioning the song as both personal testimony and a call for collective resolve. The track has found a second life in school choirs, adopted as an anthem in classrooms two years after the album's release.
"AMERIICAN REQUIEM" is a track by Beyoncé, from the album COWBOY CARTER, released 29th March 2024. The track is 5:25 long. It's filed under Country. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 15 articles about Beyoncé.