Miranda Lambert’s Private Investigator Parents Also Provided Shelter for Victims of Domestic Violence

Miranda Lambert is a country music superstar and has been for years. Even as her music has switched between different subgenres, her songwriting ability continues to excel and please her huge fan base nearly two decades into her career. Lambert frequently pulls from her personal life for lyrical content, and her parent’s efforts to help local victims of domestic violence inspired one of her first big hits. 

Miranda Lambert’s private eye parents lent aid to abused locals

Miranda Lambert lived through some unique circumstances during her childhood. Her parents, Rick and Bev, worked as private investigators, at times even using a young Miranda in their schemes to collect evidence. In fact, according to Country Living, the Lamberts even became involved in the impeachment investigations of President Bill Clinton.

The family eventually began to work together on a less sordid endeavor: making their home a shelter for abused women and children. They did so at the behest of a local preacher and friend, and the situation profoundly affected the younger Lambert going forward. 

Her parents’ work opened Lambert’s eyes to how difficult life can be

The Lamberts had some financial struggles early in Miranda’s life, but she still grew up with a level of comfort that sadly evades many unlucky people. In a video for Vanity Fair on YouTube breaking down her career, she discusses how seeing the plight of others made her aware of the privilege she had of growing up in a supportive and healthy household. 

“I grew up really sheltered, going to church every Sunday and cookies after school, but I was also exposed to quite a bit of real life, you know? It’s very heavy to come home from school and see one of your friends’ moms at the table, crying, and my mom to say ‘they’re gonna stay with us for a little while,’ Lambert recalled. “And it’s a very real problem and especially in a small town in the Bible belt, that’s a little bit shocking because you sort of live in Mayberry in your mind, you’re going to this little school and church every Sunday and Wednesday and then all of a sudden, a bombshell like this happening right down the road.”

The victims she met and the stories she heard would inadvertently serve as an early influence on Lambert’s writing. 

‘Gunpowder & Lead’ was written to spread awareness about the pain these women are forced to live with

Miranda Lambert has many songs that mean a lot to her fans, but “Gunpowder & Lead” is particularly poignant. The song, which became the third single from her second album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, tells the story of an unnamed woman who plans to shoot her abusive husband once he is released from jail. It was co-written with Heather Little, a singer/songwriter in her own right and one of Lambert’s friends.

The duo had different personal experiences with the topic – Little was a victim of domestic violence herself; Lambert thankfully only witnessed the aftermath – but they both understood that writing about such a sensitive subject required a higher level of care than the usual song. “Heather and I started it at her house and we didn’t finish it because we were getting there with it, but we knew it needed to be said in a certain way because it was such a sensitive subject,” she said. 

Even before “Gunpowder & Lead” was released, Lambert began to understand its resonance in her community after she took a gun safety course to get a concealed handgun license after she turned 17. The song found its audience once it was out in the world. The single became Lambert’s first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and became certified platinum in 2010. 

“Gunpowder & Lead” isn’t just a good song. According to Lambert, it’s helped women in peril find the strength to escape. “Women come to me a lot and tell me how that song saved their life and gave them the courage to get out and I feel like that was the point of it and to draw attention to something that’s very real.”

How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.