Not Ready to Make Nice
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| "Not Ready to Make Nice" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by Dixie Chicks | ||
| from the album Taking the Long Way | ||
| Released | March 2006 (North America) | |
| Format | Digital download | |
| Genre | Country–pop | |
| Length | 3:55 | |
| Label | Columbia Records | |
| Writer(s) | M. Maguire, N. Maines, E. Robison, D. Wilson | |
| Producer(s) | Rick Rubin | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Dixie Chicks singles chronology | ||
| "I Hope" (2005) |
"Not Ready to Make Nice" (2006) |
"Everybody Knows" (2006) |
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| Alternative single cover | ||
"Not Ready to Make Nice" is a country–pop song written and recorded by the American all-female band Dixie Chicks for their seventh studio album, Taking the Long Way (2006). The song was released as the first single from the album in March 2006.
The song was nominated for three Grammy Awards in the categories of Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
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[edit] Song information
Taking the Long Way was the first studio album released by the Dixie Chicks after controversy erupted over them in 2003 following a critical comment vocalist Natalie Maines made of the American President George W. Bush while singing in a concert in London, United Kingdom. The controversy and the band reaction to it is the major theme of some of the songs in the album, including "Not Ready to Make Nice".
The song, which was written by all of the three band members along with Dan Wilson, is an statement of how the band feels over the controversy and freedom of speech. While interviewing the band for the October 25 episode of her television program, Oprah Winfrey stated that the song is so well-written that you can not even tell it is about the controversy. Natalie said that she and the other writers wanted the song to have an universal interpretation. However, on the final lines of the fourth verse, it can be noted that Natalie is singing about the death threats the band received during the 2003 Top of the World Tour:
- "And how in the world
- Can the words that I said
- Send somebody so over the edge
- That they'd write me a letter
- Saying that I better shut up and sing
- Or my life will be over."
Some other lines on the beginning of this same verse is about a scene featured on the documentary Shut Up and Sing (2006), in which a mother is stimulating her small daughter to say screw you, Dixie Chicks:
- "It's a sad sad story
- That a mother will teach her daughter
- That she ought'a hate a perfect stranger."
[edit] Comments about the song by band members
The band members of the Dixie Chicks released their comments about writing the songs of Taking the Long Way through the website Frontpage Publicity [1].
- Emily commented that the song is "special because it's autobiographical" and that they "have all gone through so many emotions about the incident. We talked for days with Dan before putting pen to paper, and he really helped get inside our heads and put these feelings out. And once we had this song done, it freed us up to do the rest of the album without that burden."
- Martie commented: "I realized I had suppressed a lot about the death threat. It all came flooding back in the process of writing this song. I think we all realized just how painful it had been for us."
- Natalie stated that the Dixie Chicks "tried to write about the incident a few times, but [they got] nervous that [they're] being too preachy or too victimized or too nonchalant."
[edit] Music video
The music video for "Not Ready to Make Nice", which was directed by the critically-acclaimed British director Sophie Muller, uses the contrast of dark and white colors. The video start with a scene of Natalie painting the white clothes of the other two band members, Martie Erwin and Emily Erwin Robison, with black paint; what symbolizes the banning of the band by part of her comment. Then, Natalie is seen wearing a black dress with her hands on a puddle of black paint. In another scene, the band members are siting in a chair and when Natalie gets up to say something, Martie and Emily pull her back in to the chair. Then, Natalie and the other Dixie Chicks are seen in an environment that looks like a classroom and the teacher sends Natalie to write "To talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming" on the blackboard. On the final scenes of the video, Natalie is seen in front of three doctors, trying to escape from them.
[edit] Chart performance
"Not Ready to Make Nice" charted at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the first song by the Dixie Chicks to chart in the U.S. after the 2003 controversy. The song was much more popular in Canada, where it peaked at #3 on the Jam! chart. It reached the Top 20 in Australia; becoming the second single of the band to chart on the ARIA chart, at #18. On the United Kingdom, the song charted poorly on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #70; however, it became the fourth single by the band to chart in that country.
The music video of the song broke the record as the longest run at #1 on VH1's VSpot Top 20 Countdown spending 14 weeks at #1, 13 of them consecutive.
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Canadian Jam! Country Songs | #1 (11 weeks) |
| 2006 | U.S. iTunes Music Store | #2 |
| 2006 | Canadian Jam! Hits 100 | #3 |
| 2006 | U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs | #8 |
| 2006 | Spanish Top 40 | #17 |
| 2006 | Australia ARIA chart | #18 |
| 2006 | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #23 |
| 2006 | U.S. Billboard Pop 100 | #23 |
| 2006 | U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | #32 |
| 2006 | U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs | #36 |
| 2006 | UK Singles Chart | #70 |
