"Be the Cowboy" is Mitski's fifth studio album and despite the name, it is not an album dedicated to cowboys. Rather, the title "Be the Cowboy" is meant to reference the ideology that cowboys hold. In an interview with KEXP Mitski explained that she is telling her audience to "be the cowboy you wish to see in the world," meaning to, "be the change you wish to see in the world." She wants her audience to stand up for themselves and reach their goals despite all the people that may tell them it is impossible. In an interview with Trevor Noah she goes more in-depth with the cowboy persona saying, "I was so attracted to that idea of freedom and arrogance and not having to apologize," and that the "idea of a man riding into town, wrecking shit, and then walking out like he's the hero" is the energy of an American cowboy that she aspires to have.