Miranda Lambert was all sass back in 2015. She entertained audiences with the fun and up-tempo song “Little Red Wagon” which showed off a playful side to the artist.
But it also left fans asking what exactly is a little red wagon? It’s a question that became the Citizen Kane of country music for a short time. But Lambert has an answer. A little red wagon is a state of mind.
“I think it’s just about a state of mind. You know, [like], ‘I’ve got this on my own. I’ve got swagger,'” she tells Glamour. “I think it’s just sassy, and it’s up for whatever interpretation you have as a person.”
Audra Mae Recorded “Little Red Wagon”
Oklahoma-based songwriter Audra Mae developed the song for her 2012 album “Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound,” which Lambert soon became a fan of. While on the road, John Eddie introduced Lambert to the song to the country artist. He called Lambert’s manager suggesting that the tune would perfect for a cover.
Lambert happened to agree when she finally heard it.
“When I heard it, I thought, ‘Oh god. This girl is ridiculous,’ “So I stalked her down. We’re the same age, and she’s from Oklahoma,” Lambert said, according to Song Facts. “I asked her point-blank: ‘What’s your plan for ‘Little Red Wagon’? Can I cut it? Can I even try to be a hair on the a– of how you did it?'”
Miranda Lambert Reached out to Audra Mae
Meanwhile, Mae had a slightly different story than Lambert’s. She revealed that the country singer had been nervous about contacting her. Lambert asked her then-husband, Blake Shelton, to reach out to Mae’s publisher to establish contact between the two singers.
“She was apparently nervous about contacting me,” Mae told ET Online. So her husband [Blake Shelton] cornered my publisher at a country awards show in Vegas and said, ‘Can you please get me her number because my wife has listened to this record all the time, and she’s too shy to do anything about it.’ She hit me up and invited me to a party they were having for the finale of ‘The Voice.‘ And so that was the first time I met her.”
After a few months, Lambert finally worked up the courage to ask Mae if she could cover the song.
“I thought it was so funny because that’s not common at all,” Mae continued. “It’s really not necessary, especially if you’re a huge artist – you can do whatever you want! But she’s old-school cool.”
Lambert included the song on her 2015 studio album “Platinum,” which won a Grammy for Best Country Album.
