Beyonce Drops Remixed Version of Hit ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ and Unveils Cryptic ‘Cowboy Carter’ Website
Beyoncé is following up the success of her latest album, Cowboy Carter, with two new releases.
The Grammy winner, 42, dropped a surprise remix of her hit song “Texas Hold ‘Em,” titled the “Texas Hold ‘Em (Pony Up) Remix,” on Wednesday, April 3. The new version of the track trades in the original’s banjo instrumentals for a New Orleans bounce-inspired sound, as well as an entire verse of new lyrics.
“Now, I’m gonna need all my cowboys to the dance floor. Get to the dance floor,” Beyoncé shouts before the beat drops and heads into the new verse. “Woke up this mornin', my heart keeps racin' (Woo) / Straight to the bottom, we all need salvation (Come take it to the floor now, ooh) / Need you to end this drought, take me downtown / Gon' leave the truck, whiskey, baby / Let's get weak and (Weak and) wasted.”
Fitting with the remix’s title, Beyoncé goes on to sing, “And pony up, bitch, don't hold back on me / It's a rodeo, we gon' dosido.”
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The song concludes with Beyoncé telling her “lover” to “pony up and salute your town,” adding, “Chasin' our sins away, way brown / And I'll be damned if I cannot dance with you / Baby, pour that sugar and liquor on me, too / Furs, spurs, boots (There's a whole lot of South comin' out of me, gettin' money and a whole lot of truth comin' out) / Solargenic, photogenic, shoot.”
Coinciding with the remix’s release was the drop of a new Beyoncé website. The website — beencountry.com — features a childhood photo of Beyoncé singing at a Texas Sweetheart Pageant, as well as a school photo of her mother, Tina Knowles, with her legal name, Celestine Beyincé, listed underneath.
During a September 2020 interview on Heather Thomson’s “In My Heart” podcast, Knowles, 70, revealed that her maiden name, Beyoncé, was spelled as Beyincé on her birth certificate. Beyoncé paid tribute to the name’s spelling in Cowboy Carter’s album art, posing for a photo wearing a sash that reads, “act ii BEYINCé.”
Many fans have suspected the new website could be a tease for an upcoming Cowboy Carter tour. “Another tour to add to 2024,” one X user wrote on Wednesday, while another tweeted, “Beyoncé is NOT creating a whole website and putting up posters outside just for merch! Let’s be so serious right now.”
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One month before Cowboy Carter’s March release, Beyoncé dropped singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” after announcing her new music in a February Super Bowl LVIII commercial. “Texas Hold ‘Em” went on to break records, making Beyoncé the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs charts. The song topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart later that month.
While Cowboy Carter features collabs with music legends such as Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, and Willie Nelson, Beyoncé also teamed up with several Black female country artists, including Linda Martell, Tiera Kennedy, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts and Tanner Adell. Following the album’s release, Beyoncé also sent flowers to more Black female country singers Mickey Guyton, K. Michelle and Tyla.
