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A Sense of Hope
RD: Did you think you’d be famous?McBride: In the back of my mind, I always thought that I was going to make it. That was my dream. All I knew about the music business was you had to make records, sing onstage, do shows and travel around in a bus—and I definitely wanted to do that.
RD: You grew up in Sharon, Kansas. What was that like?
McBride: The town only had 200 people in it. Everybody knew everybody. I wasn’t a saint, but there was a line you didn’t cross. If you messed up, it reflected on your family. I am still conscious of how I behave and how what I say affects people.
RD: Your dad was a farmer. Did you live on a working farm?
McBride: Yes. When I was seven or eight, we would go every evening to the pasture and herd the cows up the lane so that Dad could milk. I remember feeling like I was doing something important. It’s a good life skill, I guess, to be able to herd a bunch of cows.
RD: Sounds kind of like a Norman Rockwell upbringing.
McBride: I look back and try to find something dysfunctional, but I just can’t. We didn’t have video games; we had three TV channels. So we spent a lot of time together as a family.
RD: You sing about alcoholism, domestic violence, child abuse—yet your life seems untouched by these things.
McBride: I’ve never been in a situation that compares with most women out there who live with domestic violence, but I have felt helpless at the hands of someone else. I have been physically shoved or overpowered in a relationship. Abused is maybe too strong a word, and luckily I got out before it went too far. But when I’m singing songs like “Independence Day,” I feel compassion for the women who live with that. And something about that song gives them courage to take action.
RD: Is it important to you that even your darkest songs offer hope?
McBride: I definitely want there to be a sense of hope. If there is a common theme in my music, I think that’s it.
RD: Women feel a particular kinship with you, as if you’re a friend.
McBride: Through the centuries, we have been kind of forced to find a kinship with each other because there has been oppression. I don’t understand women who don’t support other women. We have to. If my girls start talking about somebody, I say, Let’s think about why this person is acting this way; maybe they feel insecure or are having a hard time at home. Let’s don’t just be mean back.
RD: How do you balance your professional and family lives?
McBride: To make the most of a tour, you should go out for extended lengths of time. It’s not the smartest way to try to do only weekends because the kids are in school.
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