In 2007, Miranda Lambert released her song “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”, a classic story about an insanely jealous, gun toting ex girlfriend stalking her boyfriend and throwing things at him in a bar. All of this is completely normal, apparently. And she’s honestly kind of proud of it.
While I can’t say I really identify with Miranda in this situation, it’s still a pretty entertaining song. It’s probably how ridiculous the whole idea is that makes it so good, not many people know what its like to go to 30 bars to try and find your ex boyfriend just to get drunk and throw things at him. But yet it’s so easy to picture it happening that listeners can still relate to it. It also helps to realize what not to do after a breakup, no matter how bad the other person messed up.
We all have some sort of crazy ex though; the one that just can’t seem to get over you. Most likely you haven’t been stalked and assaulted by your ex, but there’s always that one that’s just a little crazy. Usually it just means they can’t stop calling or texting you or even the ones that keep showing up in your life trying to get back with you.
The closest experience I have to this song would be being a UT student and interacting with Texas A&M students. In this situation, the A&M students are the crazy ex. It’s been almost 4 years since these two teams last played each other, and since A&M was beat by the amazing Texas Longhorns. And yet, they still can’t seem to get over us.
To this day, they refer to The University of Texas as “TU”, which is apparently a huge insult. They’re so into hating on us that they even sing about us in their fight song, saying “’They eyes of Texas are upon you’/That is the song they sing so well/So goodbye to Texas University/We’re going to beat you all to.” This song screams “craxy ex-girlfriend” over and over again, just like at the end of Miranda’s song.
I’d say the fact that they feel so strongly about us to incorporate us into their school song says a lot about their sanity levels. But its not just the song that makes them the crazy ex in this relationship, it’s the fact that after 4 years of not playing each other they still sing it. In the words of Mariah Carey, “why you so obsessed with me?”
The cult that is Texas A&M literally breeds their students to hate UT, while UT students somehow manage to find other things to concern themselves with. Meanwhile, Miranda is following her ex around with a pistol and physically assaulting him while he’s just trying to mind his own business. Maybe these two aren’t exactly equivalent, but you get the picture. Hopefully A&M can learn to get over us one day, and Miranda can learn to leave the gun at home after a breakup.
Hi Annie! So right off the bat the title of your article certainly grabbed by attention! It’s a great topic for a blog written by UT students because it is about something we hear about every day. I hadn’t heard that Miranda song before, but it does fit well with her dramatic style of songwriting. I can see how you made the connection, although I would be careful with your assumptions. We are not quite so different from A&M; the UT fight song starts off “Texas fight, Texas fight, and it’s goodbye to A&M”, which we too sing at the beginning of our games all these years later. While I would agree that the hate for A&M pales in comparison to that for OU (which still sucks!), it is important to mention that our traditions haven’t changed much either. Maybe it’s because we both have passion like Miranda Lambert’s that we hate each other so much! It’s a good and entertaining post, just be aware of both sides of the argument!
Annie,
This article made me laugh so much. I though it was really clever how you could relate the craziness of Miranda Lambert with Texas football. It’s funny how country music themes can be so applicable to so many aspects of our lives. I love the song, “Crazy Ex Girlfriend” and Miranda Lambert so this post really caught my attention. I think what you said about everyone having that one crazy ex (or multiple) is so true and relatable to almost anyone. Even the way that Miranda acts can be relatable to readers as well, though. I think something that is so unique to country music that you display in this article is the way that so many songs can be interpreted in many different ways, and identified with on a number of various scales, all depending on the experience of the listener.
Just from reading the title, I was automatically intrigued by your article! That is some major click bait!! I thought that you did a great job relating country music to a common enemy of every UT student. I feel like a lot of country songs can be applied to our lives but we just need to make the connection. The Miranda Lambert song was a great choice to compare it to! I have heard of some crazy things that some A&M people have said and done just to get under our skin. Overall, I loved your article and think your writing is enjoyable and easy to read!
I loved this post! Great timing with this weekend being OU! I hadn’t heard this Miranda Lambert song, but now I’m going to definitely go listen to it. I think this is an awesome song because you can relate to any two groups or any two people who don’t see eye to eye It sort of reminds me Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”. I liked the way you formatted your article and it was easy to follow your thoughts throughout the post.
This article is great from the title all the way to the last sentence. I’ve never really listened to Miranda Lambert but this post made me go listen to this song and I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve always wondered the same question regarding A&M and their students. I also learned that we do mention A&M in our Texas Fight song due to Caitie’s comment and I was very surprised. While I do agree we need to be careful due to this (and any other A&M references in songs we have that I do not know about), I still agree that A&M is the crazy ex. The main songs we sing at sporting events are the school song “The eye’s of Texas” and a couple others which don’t refer to A&M in any fashion. While on the other hand, I know due to having multiple friends at A&M (and them posting videos from games on social media) that they reference UT over and over again in their “school song”. So in my opinion the comparison between Miranda Lambert’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and A&M is spot on! Great post once again!
This post was great. I was actually laughing out loud from it. A&M is seriously a crazy ex girlfriend. All of my friends from high school go to A&M and I honestly find it amusing that they give me such a hard time that I go to UT. And I still don’t understand why they refer to us as “TU” if that is an insult or something? I also loved how you brought in Mariah Carey for even more comical relief, so funny. This was definitely one of my favorite posts that I have read on the website…so so good!
This was a great idea to write about, Annie! I had never thought of A&M like that before, but it’s a very funny parallel. I also believe that our rivals over in college station may take the competition between our schools a little more seriously than we do, but remember that A&M is also mentioned in our fight song: “Texas Fight, Texas Fight/And it’s goodbye to A&M.” I maybe would have focused on the music aspect of the article a little more, but overall it was an extremely funny and entertaining article to read! Awesome idea for an article, keep up the great work!
Annie, this article is so funny and clever! You hit the nail on the head with this comparison. When I first read the title, I will admit, I was a little skeptical as to whether you could pull it off but you did! I thought you were going to compare Miranda Lambert to A&M students… LOL! Nonetheless, I thought the crazy-ex comparison was brilliant. You’re right that we all have that crazy ex and sometimes I even catch myself being that person but I think we all have a little crazy in us! Thank you for making me laugh this morning!
YES this post is so accurate!! My best guy friend goes to A&M and every single time I mention something about UT he has to tell me that A&M is sooo much better. Aggies are so annoyingly obsessed with their school and hating on UT. You’re totally right: they can’t get over us. We don’t even play them anymore but their fight song is about us…so weird. But anyway I love Miranda Lambert because she is crazy. As a girl, she’s the best person to listen to after a break up because she’s all about the women empowerment and also making the guy suffer. Although most girls wouldn’t end up being like Miranda or the “crazy ex girlfriend” most of us wish we could pull it off like she does.
I went to the Alabama A&M game last year with some friends of mine at the University, and I was somehow dragged along to the Midnight Yell which is like a huge pep rally before all their games? Anyway, this was supposed to be the biggest game of their entire season and they said “Alabama” or something related to the school less than 15 times. UT on the other hand, had three light up signs, 4 posters, 3 ENTIRE SONGS, and was mentioned over 40 times. I watched astounded as 50,000 some odd students chanted “Saw ’em off” over and over. I have a few good friends at the university, so I hate to brand it as culty, but IT’S BEEN 4 YEARS SINCE WE EVEN PLAYED Y’ALL MOVE ON. The funniest part about this is that a large fan base for this song attends that university, and they probably wouldn’t mind the comparison.
This post is great. After working at a camp that was completely dominated by A&M people, I was made well aware of the “crazy-ex” situation. I feel like so many country songs sing to this “crazy-ex” as well, like Carrie Underwoods “Before He Cheats”, and Taylor Swifts “Better Than Revenge.” The UT/A&M rivalry personifies this perfectly, and the fact that you thought to relate these two things is great. The scariest part is that A&M would be proud of this comparison (like Candace pointed out in earlier comments) and own it. However, if any one person would own being the “crazy ex” it’s also Miranda. Basically the amount of truth in this post is terrifying. Hook ’em.