Country music star Kacey Musgraves is not afraid to try new things. As Musgraves told NPR, she never wants to just make country albums to be able to say she is “country” — instead, she is inspired by different sounds and beats and uses that to her advantage. And that is obvious in her new album and song “Cherry Blossom.”
“Cherry Blossom” finds itself teetering the line of country-pop. But the song also finds itself teetering a new relationship. Musgraves sings, “We happened quickly, as humans do / Summer was coming, and change was too / Look at me now, I’m fallin’ at your feet / I’m your cherry blossom baby / Don’t let me blow away.”
And using a cherry blossom tree as the metaphor is no coincidence to Musgraves who is a methodically thought out singer. In Japanese culture (she mentions Tokyo in the song), cherry blossom trees represent fragility, and that while life may be beautiful, life is short. The tree represents the sweet acceptance of appreciating every moment before it’s gone. So while the song envisions Musgraves as a cherry blossom tree, hoping to hold onto her love with her now ex-husband Ruston Kelly, it seems she knew their love would be fleeting.