NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When it comes to country music, Maren Morris says she's ready to "Get the Hell Out of Here."
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the native Texan blamed "the Trump years" for a "toxic" cultural shift that she doesn't want to be part of.
Editor's note: The above video originally aired in 2020.
“After the Trump years, people’s biases were on full display,” Morris said in the interview. “It just revealed who people really were and that they were proud to be misogynistic and racist and homophobic and transphobic.”
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter added that she resents music being used as a “toxic weapon in culture wars.”
Morris hinted at the decision in two new songs and music videos released on Friday: “The Tree” and “Get The Hell Out Of Here," CNN reported.
In “The Tree," she sings that she’s “taking an axe to the tree, The rot at the roots is the root of the problem, But you wanna blame it on me, I hung around longer than anyone should.”
In reference to the country genre, the "Bones" singer told the LA Times, “I thought I’d like to burn it to the ground and start over. But it’s burning itself down without my help.”
In “Get The Hell Out Of Here,” Morris sings, “I do the best I can, but the more I hang around here, the less I give a damn."
The music videos for the two songs share a narrative thread and both take place in a fake community that is slowly being destroyed. In a possible reference to Jason Aldean’s polarizing song, “Try That in a Small Town,” and Morris’s earlier public dispute with him, there's a sign that says it's a “perfect small town from sunrise to sundown."
Morris didn't say what's next for her but it could be a move to the pop genre. CNN said she's working on a new LP with Jack Antonoff who is known for creating pop magic with Taylor Swift.