Sheesh, you could have at least waved. On the vaguely Celtic-sounding folk song “Irish Goodbye,” Kacey Musgraves explains that she’s mostly a pretty forgiving person and pretty much liked you right up until you had the presumptuous audacity to ghost her. “I want to respect you and you know I tried,” she sings, her words melting into triplets of tolerance until they break: “But there ain’t much respect in an Irish goodbye.”
The fact is, Musgraves has been holding onto this hurt for a long time, since she didn’t include the song on Deeper Well last spring; instead, she’s sharing her disappointment a year and a half later on Deeper Into the Well, an expanded edition of Deeper Well, out Aug. 2. It’s one of seven previously unreleased tracks she trawled up after diving, well, deeper into the well. Two other pearls she retrieved for the reissue include a Leon Bridges duet, “Superbloom,” and “Perfection” with Tiny Habits (which we know always lead to perfection).
Musgraves debuted “Irish Goodbye” a few months ago at a Dublin concert and it went over pretty well, considering the song impugns the entire country’s ability to offer meaningful, heartfelt farewells. The audience even cheered at the shout-out. The song is that good.
The artist is commemorating this victory (or at least the release of the reissue) with Deeper Into the Well farmer’s market pop-up shops at Nashville’s Amqui, Los Angeles’ Melrose Place, Chicago’s Wicker Park, and Metro NYC at Riverview, Jersey City, on Aug. 4. The pop-up will offer merch, exclusive vinyl, and a free tote (while supplies last) to everyone who has the courtesy to curtsy on the way out the door. Even a nod counts.
Musgraves will take to the road this fall with dates variously supported by Father John Misty, Lord Huron, and Nickel Creek. Some of the venues are pretty big, so expect a big line to say goodbye at the end of the night.
Deeper Into the Well track list:
1. ” Cardinal”
2. ” Deeper Well”
3. ” Too Goodto be True”
4. ” Moving Out”
5. ” Giver/Taker”
6. ” Sway”
7. ” Dinner with Friends”
8. ” Heart of the Woods”
9. ” Jade Green”
10. “The Architect”
11. “Lonely Millionaire”
12. “Heaven Is”
13. “Anime Eyes”
14. “Nothing To be Scared Of”
15. “Ruthless” *
16. “Little Sister” *
17. “Flower Child” *
18. “Superbloom” feat. Leon Bridges *
19. “Perfection” feat. Tiny Habits *
20. “Arm’s Length” *
21. “Irish Goodbye” *
* previously unreleased