Let’s Theorize About the Cowboy Carter Vinyl

Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ vinyl records and CDs are here, but some of their songs aren’t. The physical editions are missing tracks on top of a few other discrepancies from the stream. So let’s theorize …

Would you like the vinyl edition of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter to have the full album on it? Ya Ya! Well, too bad! Because she’s a clever girl … (we snappin’). Cowboy Carter came out on March 29, and with it came the vinyl preorders, delivered to excited Beyoncé fans across the nation. They put their beloved vinyl record on their record players only to discover that a whole slew of songs on the streaming version of the album is not on their physical copies. “Spaghettii,” “Flamenco,” “The Linda Martell Show,” “Ya Ya,” and “Oh Louisiana” are all missing from the vinyl album. This is especially difficult because “Ya Ya” goes off. When fans attempted to check the track list to see if this was a mistake or intended, the fans learned this was impossible because, instead of a tracklist, the record has a QR code leading them to the full digital track list. So what’s going on? Take your hand off your hostler and let’s chat.

Theory One: The album changed last minute

The most obvious theory is that the album was changed last minute with Bey adding songs to the official streaming version that weren’t intended to be on the record and altering the name of the album from Beyincé to Cowboy Carter. It’s entirely possible. On the spine of the vinyl, there’s a fun little surprise. Where the title of the album would go is not Cowboy Carter but Beyincé — as in Beyoncé’s grandmother’s maiden name, which was changed on Bey’s mother Tina’s birth certificate and which Bey references a few times on the album (including on “Ya Ya,” not that vinyl owners would know that).

“Spaghettii,” in particular, one of Cowboy Carter’s biggest swings, is the most hip-hop-influenced track on the album, so we can see a world in which its inclusion was debated. The fact that there is no track list on the cover indicates that Bey’s team wanted as much ability to alter the album as possible while still prepping the physical records.

Another clue is that the CDs are also not delivering on their full promise. For one, on the CD track list, “My Rose” is called “Mr. Sir,” named for one of Bey’s twins. The new name, however, is on the CD data and can be seen upon playback.

Still, it’s hard to imagine a world in which the run from “The Linda Martel Show” through “Oh Louisiana” isn’t included on the album. For one, “Ya Ya” is one of its best songs, so there’s that. Plus, “Oh Louisiana” ends with an eagle-screech sound effect that leads directly into “Desert Eagle,” the next track on the album. Why would “Desert Eagle” intentionally start with half an eagle screech?

Theory Two: It’s all a big mistake

Okay, so maybe goddesses make mistakes. Other than “Spaghettii,” all the missing songs come in a row, with “Flamenco” running straight through to “Oh Lousiana.” Maybe the team sent the wrong files to the printers; maybe the printers just missed a section in the middle, etc. Maybe someone just made a mistake somewhere and now the vinyl records have a permanent issue. Now, does this explain the changes from Cowboy Carter to Beyincé or from “Mr. Sir” to “My Rose”? We must admit — not really. The bigger problem is that the CDs are also missing the same songs, with the exception of “Flamenco.” Nice, right? Except the CDs were advertised as having an extra song. Does a song that isn’t on the vinyl but is on streaming qualify?

Theory Three: Some combination

This is probably the truth, no? Nothing seems to fully justify the situation. It seems altogether most likely that some combination of last-minute changes on the album and a few mistakes made along the way teamed up for a joint slay that resulted in faulty editions of the record being spread throughout the land. But cheer up, Beyhive, in 20 years, after there are multiple “correct” presses of Cowboy Carter, you’ll have collector’s editions. Who will be laughing then?

This story has been updated.