Merry Go ' Round ( Kacey Musgraves song ) - wikipedia Merry Go ' Round ( Kacey Musgraves song ) `` Merry Go ' Round '' redirects here. For other uses, see Merry - go - round ( disambiguation ). `` Merry Go ' Round '' Single by Kacey Musgraves from the album Same Trailer Different Park Released September 10, 2012 Format Digital download Genre Country Length 3 : 27 Label Mercury Nashville Songwriter ( s ) Kacey Musgraves Josh Osborne Shane McAnally Producer ( s ) Luke Laird Shane McAnally Kacey Musgraves Kacey Musgraves singles chronology `` String Module Error : Match not found '' ( 2011 ) `` Merry Go ' Round '' ( 2012 ) `` Blowin ' Smoke '' ( 2013 ) `` Oh, Tonight '' ( with Josh Abbott Band ) ( 2011 ) `` Merry Go ' Round '' ( 2012 ) `` Blowin ' Smoke '' ( 2013 ) `` Merry Go ' Round '' is the debut single from American country music artist Kacey Musgraves. It was released in September 2012 as the lead single from Musgraves ' debut album Same Trailer Different Park. Musgraves co-wrote and co-produced the song with Shane McAnally, with additional writing from Josh Osborne and production assistance from Luke Laird. `` Merry Go ' Round '' won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 56th Grammy Awards. Contents 1 Content 2 Critical reception 3 Music video 4 Commercial performance 5 Charts and certifications 5.1 Weekly charts 5.2 Year - end charts 5.3 Certifications 6 References 7 External links Content The song is a cynical observation on life in the American heartland. It also uses samples of the nursery rhyme Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary as a continued play - on - words. The latter part of the song retells another traditional nursery rhyme, Jack and Jill, in a modernized fashion. It is in the key of F - sharp major, in a 2 / 2 time signature with an approximate tempo of 88 beats per minute. The song 's main accompaniment is guitar and banjo. Critical reception Giving it 4.5 stars out of 5, Billy Dukes of Taste of Country compared the song 's style and Musgraves ' voice favorably to Miranda Lambert. It received a `` thumbs up '' from Juli Thanki of Engine 145, who said that she `` writes with a maturity beyond her 24 years, delivering an unflinching look into small - town life that 's more nuanced than the highly romanticized rural anthems offered up by many of her male counterparts. '' Rolling Stone named it the 49th best single of 2012. It also made `` NPR Music 's 100 Favorite Songs of 2012 '' list. It was number 1 on Billboard 's `` 10 Best Country Singles of 2013 '' list. Music video The music video was directed by Perry Bean and premiered in September 2012. Commercial performance `` Merry Go ' Round '' peaked at No. 14 on the Hot Country Songs chart. The song reached the top 10 of the Billboard Country Airplay chart. The song has sold 825,000 copies in the US as of February 2014. Charts and certifications Weekly charts Chart ( 2012 -- 13 ) Peak position Canada ( Canadian Hot 100 ) 84 Canada Country ( Billboard ) 26 US Billboard Hot 100 63 US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) 14 US Country Airplay ( Billboard ) 10 Year - end charts Chart ( 2013 ) Position US Country Airplay ( Billboard ) 63 US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) 52 Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales United States ( RIAA ) Platinum 825,000 sales figures based on certification alone shipments figures based on certification alone References ^ Jump up to : Wade Jessen ( February 6, 2014 ). `` Kacey Musgraves, Hunter Hayes Show Grammy Growth On Country Charts ''. Billboard. ^ Jump up to : `` Kacey Musgraves, ' Merry Go Round ' -- Song Review ''. Tasteofcountry.com. 2012 - 09 - 17. Retrieved 2013 - 03 - 21. Jump up ^ `` ' Merry Go ' Round ' sheet music ''. Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 9 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Kacey Musgraves -- `` Merry Go ' Round '' ``. Engine 145. 2012 - 09 - 26. Archived from the original on 2013 - 01 - 22. Retrieved 2013 - 03 - 21. Jump up ^ `` 50 Best Songs of 2012 : Kacey Musgraves, ' Merry Go Round ' ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013 - 03 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Music 's 100 Favorite Songs Of 2012 : Best Music Of 2012 ''. NPR. 2012 - 12 - 22. Retrieved 2013 - 03 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Billboard Top 10 List ''. Billboard. 2013 - 12 - 23. Archived from the original on 2013 - 12 - 27. Retrieved 2014 - 01 - 03. Jump up ^ `` CMT : Videos : Kacey Musgraves : Merry Go ' Round ''. Country Music Television. Retrieved September 22, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Bjorke, Matt ( 2013 - 02 - 12 ). `` Country Chart News -- The Top 30 Digital Singles -- Feb 12, 2014 : Cole Swindell Dominates ; Scotty McCreery Hits Gold ''. Roughstock. Archived from the original on 2014 - 02 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Kacey Musgraves Chart History ( Canadian Hot 100 ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` Kacey Musgraves Chart History ( Canada Country ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` Kacey Musgraves Chart History ( Hot 100 ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` Kacey Musgraves Chart History ( Hot Country Songs ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` Kacey Musgraves Chart History ( Country Airplay ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` Billboard Country Update for December 16, 2013 '' ( PDF ). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 16, 2013. p. 21. Retrieved December 17, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Best of 2013 : Hot Country Songs ''. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013. Jump up ^ `` American single certifications -- Kacey Musgraves -- Merry Go % 27Round ''. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 10, 2014. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH External links `` Merry Go ' Round '' Official music video on YouTube Kacey Musgraves Studio albums Same Trailer Different Park ( 2013 ) Pageant Material ( 2015 ) A Very Kacey Christmas ( 2016 ) Golden Hour ( 2018 ) Singles `` Merry Go ' Round '' `` Blowin ' Smoke '' `` Follow Your Arrow '' `` Keep It to Yourself '' `` Biscuits '' `` Dime Store Cowgirl '' Related articles Discography `` Mama 's Broken Heart '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Merry_Go_%27Round_(Kacey_Musgraves_song)&oldid=833978227 '' Categories : 2012 singles Kacey Musgraves songs Songs written by Shane McAnally Mercury Nashville singles Debut singles 2012 songs Songs written by Kacey Musgraves Songs written by Josh Osborne Song recordings produced by Luke Laird Song recordings produced by Shane McAnally Hidden categories : Music infoboxes with Module : String errors Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Canada Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for Billboardcanadacountry Singlechart usages for Billboardhot100 Singlechart usages for Billboardcountrysongs Singlechart usages for Billboardcountryairplay Certification Table Entry usages for United States Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Русский 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 3 April 2018, at 08 : 51 ( UTC ). 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Question: who sings the country song merry go round
Answer: American country music artist Kacey Musgraves