Chappell Roan made music history with the debut of her lesbian country song “The Giver” on “SNL” Saturday night. The song broke country music norms, shining a light on queer intimate relationships — and many LGBTQ+ country artists, like Roan, have challenged similar heteronormative norms in their music in the past.

Roan’s new track is her first country release, and she’s gone big.

Fiddles supported the “HOT TO GO!” singer as she strived to satisfy her lovers better than any man: “Take it as a taker, ’cause baby, I’m a giver / I don’t need no help, ’cause baby I’m giving birth / This ain’t no country boy quitting / I’m doing the work.”

On the bridge, Roan shouted to the audience. “All you country boys say you know how to treat a woman, don’t you?” she said. “Well, only a woman knows how to treat a woman well!”

Since Saturday night, Roan’s debut has made huge waves. The choice to feature the song on “Saturday Night Live” is important; the first episode of the season attracted a massive audience of over 5 million viewers.

Many consider “The Giver” to be a queer country anthem.

Now all eyes are on Roan and homosexuality in country music.

And while Roan’s performance was very unique with his particular flair, many artists have previously highlighted LGBTQ+ relationships and discussed queer intimacy in their country songs.

Let’s talk about homosexuality in country music.

Queerness in country music: Artists bringing LGBTQ+ relationships to the forefront

Many consider singer Patrick Haggerty, frontman of the group Lavender Country, to be the first openly gay country singer.

The group’s 1973 album made history with tracks like “Lavender Country,” “Back in the Closet Again” and “Come Out Singing,” among others.

Haggerty died in 2022 at age 78 following a stroke.

Since then, other artists have continued to write history with their open-mindedness and their music.

These artists include Ty Herndon, Brandy Clark, Brandi Carlile, Chely Wright, TJ Osborne, Brooke Eden, Orville Peck, Allison Russell, Cody Belew, Adeem The Artist, Chris Housman, Lil Nas X, Fancy Hagood, Trixie Mattel, Lily Rose, Steve Grand, Katie Pruitt and many others who continue to represent homosexuality in country music and make the South’s 5 million gay people feel seen.

Here are some of the songs that “The Giver” joins as a queer country anthem.

“Follow Your Arrow” by Kacey Musgraves, written with Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally

Musgraves’ 2013 song “Follow Your Arrow” was the 2014 CMA Song of the Year.

The track, which Musgraves wrote with queer artist Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, a famous gay singer and songwriter, became a pro-LGBTQ+ anthem. Many believe that ten years ago, the song began to break down barriers in country music.

In the track, Musgraves encourages his listeners to embrace being themselves: “So make a lot of noise / Kiss a lot of boys / Or kiss a lot of girls, if that’s something you’re into / When the right and the narrow ones get a little too straight / Roll a joint, or not.”

“Just follow your arrow where it points, yeah,” she sings. “Follow your arrow wherever it points.”

“All-American Boy” by Steve Grand

Singer-songwriter and model Steve Grand released his song “All-American Boy” in 2013, a queer anthem about wanting to be with a man at a Fourth of July party.

He sings: “Be my American boy tonight / Where every day is the Fourth of July / Everything’s alright, alright / And we can go on until the morning light.”

“The Joke” by Brandi Carlile, written with Dave Cobb, Phil and Tim Hanseroth

Queer country and Americana icon Brandi Carlile has written a number of LGBTQ+ anthems, including the tender love song “I Belong To You,” the dark piano ballad “Party Of One,” and her uplifting 2021 song “You And Me On The Rock,” a celebration of building your life with a lover.

But Carlile’s 2018 song “The Joke” has become one of his most respected anthems for all marginalized people, a song in which Carlile sings for those who are “underrepresented, unloved or illegal.” she said at NPR.

The song, which was nominated for song and record of the year at the 2019 Grammy Awards, sees Carlile speaking to young girls and boys.

“Let them laugh while they can / Let them spin, let them scatter in the wind,” she sings. “I went to the movies, I saw how it ends / And the joke’s on them.”

“Old Town Road” by Lil Nas

Lil Nas

Lil Nas

The song even won two Grammy Awards at the 2020 ceremony.

More: Lil Nas X performs at the Municipal Auditorium

And although the track is not about same-sex relationships per se, but rather about paths to success, wealth, fortune, the song once again showed listeners that queer artists can achieve these goals and dominate the charts .

“Younger Me” by Brothers Osborne

Brothers Osborne’s 2021 song “Younger Me” has become a moving anthem for the queer male community.

In the song’s music video, singer TJ Osborne, who came out as gay that same year, sits in front of the Tennessee State Capitol building and sings a powerful message to his younger self about coming out.

He croons: “I’m younger / I’m hanging around but I don’t really fit in / I didn’t know that being different / It really wouldn’t be the end / I’m younger.”

“I Have No Choice” by Brooke Eden

Country artist Brooke Eden released her track “Got No Choice” in May 2021 after coming out as queer earlier the same year. In the song’s acclaimed music video, Eden sings to his real-life girlfriend at the time, Hilary Hoover, who is now his wife.

In the catchy country-pop song, Eden sings, “I hear the gossip from my neighbors / We don’t fit on paper / From the bars to the church crowd / We talk all over town.” »

On the chorus, she warbles: “I, I have no choice but to love you / I have no choice but to love you.”

“In Your Love” by Tyler Childers, music video by Silas House

Tyler Childers’ July 2023 track “In Your Love” made waves after its music video depicted a gay love story. Many LGBTQ+ activists and artists hailed the video and song as an important moment for queer inclusion.

The song, which appeared on Childers’ latest album “Rustin’ In The Rain,” showcases devoted and loyal love: “I’ll wait for you / ‘Til the sun turns to ashes / And s ‘bow before the moon / I’ll wait for you.’

More: Tyler Childers’ New Video, ‘In Your Love,’ Praised for Showing Gay Love in Rural America

Although Childers is not queer, he told NPR he wanted to create a music video that tells a gay love story because his cousin, who is like a big brother to him, is gay. So Childers enlisted the help of his friend and Kentucky poet laureate at the time, queer writer Silas House, who wrote the video for the song.

The “In Your Love” music video tells the story of two Appalachian men in the 1950s who fall in love while working in a coal mine together. After facing attacks from their colleagues, they move to the countryside and build a farm together, remaining devoted to each other through and through.

The video stars two gay actors, Colton Haynes and James Scully.

“Cowboys Frequently Secretly Love Each Other” sung by Orville Peck and Willie Nelson, written by Ned Sublette

This year, Willie Nelson revisited the old song “Cowboys Are Frequency Secretly Fond Of Each Other,” in collaboration with Orville Peck, a gay country artist known for “Midnight Ride,” “Dead of Night” and “Roses Are Falling.”

The gay cowboy song was originally written in 1981 by Latin country musician Ned Sublette and covered by Nelson in 2006, becoming a major cover in gay country music.

“Cowboys often secretly love each other / What do you think all these saddles and boots are for?” they sing in the collaboration 2024.

“There’s a lot of cowboys who don’t understand how they feel about their brother / And inside every woman there’s a cowboy who would love to get out.”

These eight songs are just the tip of the iceberg of the queer country community, a community that grew by at least one song this past weekend.

Chappell Roan’s “The Giver” exists in good company, joining pieces that continue to amplify the experiences of more than 7.6% of Americans identify as LGBTQ+.

Audrey Gibbs is a music reporter for The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected].

This article was originally published on Nashville Tennessean: Lesbian country song by Chappell Roan, plus other queer anthems