Miranda Lambert released an audio version of “Automatic,” the first song released from her new album, Platinum. The new record is scheduled for release June 3, 2014, and is her fifth album and first to be released since 2011, when she dropped, Four the Record.

“Automatic,” released in early February, and has been well received by fans, topping the charts within weeks of its debut. The song is a glimpse into Lambert’s youth when she lived a quiet life in the country with her parents. She sings about a simpler time, when life was slowed down, there was less technology, and people were willing to wait in line and take turns.

“Automatic” also speaks to the change in our society’s lifestyle over the past 20 years. As technology advances, we have become accustom to a more automatic way of life. Our cars start themselves, windows retracting at the push of a button. Music can be obtained instantly through downloads; we can communicate with a simple text; and in enjoying the instant gratification that comes with everyday living, we have lost the ability to develop patience. In addition, when we can so easily get what we want, the things we have tend to decrease in value.

While some of the imagery in the song may being lost on young people (pay phones, pocket watches), others will remember the excitement of receiving a package in the mail. Others will remember the days before GPS, when handing Dad the map was a big thing. Children learned to read roadmaps, helped their mothers fold sun dried towels and went shopping to buy clothes instead of ordering them online.

Automatic is a sweet melodious song, filled with imagery, calling us back to a simpler time when we weren’t in such a hurry to download a song (in less than 30 seconds); when it took time to get things, and thought to compose a message to a friend.

Automatic Lyrics and audio

Quarter in a payphone
Drying laundry on the line
Watching Sun Tea in the window
Pocket watch tellin’ time
Seems like only yesterday I’d get a blank cassette
Record the country countdown ’cause I couldn’t buy it yet

If we drove all the way to Dallas just to buy an Easter dress
We’d take along a Rand McNally, stand in line to pay for gas
God knows that shifting gears ain’t what it used to be
I learned to drive that 55 just like a queen, three on a tree

Hey, whatever happened to waitin’ your turn
Doing it all by hand,
‘Cause when everything is handed to you
It’s only worth as much as the time put in
It all just seemed so good the way we had it
Back before everything became automatic

If you had something to say
You’d write it on a piece of paper
Then you’d put a stamp on it
And they’d get it three days later

Boys would call the girls
And girls would turn them down
Staying married was the only way to work your problems out

Hey, whatever happened to waitin’ your turn
Doing it all by hand,
‘Cause when everything is handed to you
It’s only worth as much as the time put in
It all just seemed so good the way we had it
Back before everything became automatic

Automatic

Let’s pull the windows down
Windows with the cranks
Come on let’s take a picture
The kind you gotta shake

Hey, whatever happened to waitin’ your turn
Doing it all by hand,
‘Cause when everything is handed to you
It’s only worth as much as the time put in
It all just seemed so good the way we had it
Back before everything became, automatic

In an interview with theboot.com, Miranda talks about the album. She says this is a feminine album, filled with humor and nostalgia. The songs, 16 in total, reflect her maturity, her more settled married life, and embracing the good and the bad of life.

Other Songs on the Album

• “Bathroom Sink” deals with the self-deprecating way women tend to perceive themselves when studying their reflection in the mirror. Miranda says today there is “definitely more pressure on women, and we put so much pressure on ourselves to look a certain way, to look like other women.”
• “Priscilla” talks about the constant divorce rumors that have plagued her and her husband, Blake Shelton.
• “Something Bad” is a duet Miranda performed with Carrie Underwood. Miranda shared she was intimidated by Carrie Underwood’s talent.

For more news about Miranda Lambert’s Automatic, and the upcoming album, Platinum, visit her website.