What Is the Meaning of Beyoncé’s Ameriican Requiem?

Every Beyoncé song has a deeper meaning, but as the first track on her 2024 album Cowboy Carter, “Ameriican Requiem” has to be one of the most significant. Queen Bey introduces us to her country album (although she’s said it’s a “Beyoncé album,” not a specifically country album) through a half-spoken, storytelling requiem to Black folks’ contribution to the country genre.

Leading up to the release of Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé knew she was taking a risk by visiting a genre that the powers that be have repeatedly excluded her from. And now, she’s taking the genre by storm and has already broken a record by becoming the first Black woman to top the Billboard Country chart. “Ameriican Requiem” addresses this and more, but what exactly does the song mean?

Let’s go back to the title of the song — it’s an American requiem. As defined by the Oxford Dictionary, a requiem is often a song sung in remembrance of something. In this case, it seems that Beyoncé is referring to how Black people contributed to the creation of the country genre despite now being left out of it decades later. But she begins, “For things to stay the same, they have to change again,” likely referring to the shift in the genre helmed by artists like Beyoncé and formerly, Lil Nas X.

Beyoncé sings, “It’s a lot of talkin’ goin’ on / While I sing my song / Can you hear me? / I said, ‘Do you hear me?’” Throughout her career, while people talked about her, no one truly listened. She is considered one of the best performers and singers in America and yet, she’s often been forcibly separated from her American country roots.