The origins of “Elizabeth” are far from glamorous, its central melody inspired by an earworm Maygen Lacey couldn’t shake as she waited in line to pick up her kid at school. And while it may be named after her daughter, the song is more fictional than anything.
“It’s about someone who needs to loosen the reins a little bit and let other people be a part of their life, even though sometimes it might be uncomfortable for them,” says Lacey, leader of the Minnesota-based folk/bluegrass sextet. “The song walks the line between admiration and heartbreak in the struggle with what it means to love someone who never truly lets you in—but who you’d still take back in a heartbeat.”
Maygen & The Birdwatcher have seen their stock rise sharply in Americana circles in recent years as they’ve shared festival stages with the likes of Sierra Ferrell, Old Crow Medicine Show and Grace Potter. Our premiere of “Elizabeth” is part of a lengthy buildup to the October 10 release of The Americana Dream via Yellow House/Missing Piece. Two years in the making, the album was co-produced by John Fields, best known for his work with an extensive list of rock and pop acts, including Soul Asylum, Semisonic, Rooney, Brandi Carlisle, Pink and Miley Cyrus.
With his boatload of experience, Fields serves as the perfect mediator, facilitator and sonic technician on The Americana Dream. Ultimately, it’s the band’s easy Midwestern charm and effortless versatility that loom largest on this stylistically expansive follow-up to the band’s 2021 debut, Moonshine.
We’re proud to premiere Maygen & The Birdwatcher’s “Elizabeth.”
—Hobart Rowland
