The Ukulele Alphabet: Dime Store Cowgirl by Kacey Musgraves

Letter D, Week 2
“Dime Store Cowgirl” by Kacey Musgraves

We took two trips to MASS MoCA (my favorite magical art place) in 2024, and both times, we stayed at the Porches Inn (my favorite cozy luxury accommodation with the best breakfast).

When we visited for my birthday last March, I was simultaneously thrilled to discover that the amazing Studio 9 at Porches was available for guests to wander in at any time (as long as there wasn’t a recording session or private event) and devastated that I’d second-guessed myself and left the ukulele at home.¹

In the famous words of Jack from LOST, I said, “we have to go back.”

So Dan made my dream a reality in November when we returned to MASS MoCA, Porches, and Studio 9.

I obviously had to perform and record that week’s Surprise Songs Set live in the studio, but since we were already there. . . why not get a jump-start on a song from the Ukulele Alphabet too?

“Dime Store Cowgirl” is a song I know forwards and backwards and could play in my sleep, and with curious onlookers peeking through the closed glass doors and wondering what was happening inside the studio, I knew I needed something I could nail on the first try.²

Here’s Casey playing Kacey in Studio 9!

Listen to the original version of “Dime Store Cowgirl”:

What’s the Ukulele Alphabet?

Read all about my 2025 ukulele performance project (and its rules) here.

I want to A-B-SEEEE some more!

Watch all the performances in the Ukulele Alphabet project.

1. Always bring the dang ukulele! This was a huge lesson and one I have taken to heart since that moment. ↩︎
2. Plus, the sunlight was STREAMING in through all the windows and making me all sweaty, and because I was having an eye issue, I had to wear my glasses instead of my contacts that day. And my glasses kept sliding down my face from the sweat, which is why I hate wearing them all day in the first place! But a true professional perseveres. ↩︎