Miranda Lambert is longing for life in the wild West in "If I Was a Cowboy": "If I was a cowboy, I'd be wild and free / Rollin' around these towns like tumbleweeds ... If I was a cowboy, I'd be the queen," she sings in the chorus.

Lambert co-wrote "If I Was a Cowboy" with Jesse Frasure, after the two met while creating a remix of her song "Tequila Does." (As a DJ, Frasure — also a well-known songwriter — goes by Telemitry.) Below, she shares the story behind the song, in her own words.

I wrote this song with my new-found friend Jesse Frasure. It was our first write together, actually, and we had a blast. We went out to the West in our heads, and I had to use all my favorite little quirky cowgirl terms — like "hairpin trigger," for instance — so I'm really, really excited about this song. It makes me bring out my inner cowgirl ...

You know, it's funny: He's a Detroit boy, and I'm an East Texan, but somehow we wrote a song about the wild West together, so it's pretty cool.

Top Country Songs of 2021, Ranked

You'll find much more than just the Top 10 Country Songs of 2021 on this list. Enjoy the 21 best country songs of the year, based on Taste of Country staff and country music fan opinion, plus commercial data (sales, streaming, airplay).

To be considered, the song must have been released in 2021 or have actively charted for a portion of the year (see "Wine, Beer, Whiskey"). New artists including Lainey Wilson, Larry Fleet and Morgan Wade crack the top songs list, while hitmakers including Thomas Rhett, Jason Aldean and Luke Combs make the Top 10.

Let us know your favorite song of 2021 on Twitter, or email us at staff@tasteofcountry.com.

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