As promised, breakout country artist, Lainey Wilson, delivered another single today following last month’s “WWDD.”
Videos by American Songwriter
Her latest, “Rolling Stone” helps define what she classifies as “Bell Bottom Country Music.” Backed with the strength of strong-willed industry women, her rural Lousiana soundscape intersects somewhere between pop-country and outlaw. Her sultry twang and raw lyrics reveal authenticity as a born-storyteller, quickly rising through the ranks on her own merit.
“Rolling Stone” heads wisdom with a warning. Wilson empathetically exemplifies the end of a long-term relationship with her childhood sweetheart to get the message straight for potential suitors.
“The one thing all of us songwriters in Nashville have in common is that we all moved here with a dream,” Wilson explained. “A dream to write music and for our songs and hearts to be heard. I dated the same guy for seven years. But when it came time to chase my dreams, I felt like I was being held back. I decided I would not let anything stand in my way, and that meant letting go of him.”
The lyrics lay it out in black and white: “You don’t give a rock to a rolling stone.” The chorus stays well within the bounds of being blunt and turns over any previously held notions that she could be tied down. He is rooted, and she’s a free spirit. However, the opening lines leading up through the bridge suggest a more emotional inner dialogue.
Chugging instrumentation introduces a poignantly painted picture of the point of no return for her relationship. In the same vein, her soulful vocals soar through a bridge that further suggests the break is not personal. Masterfully, Wilson is able to apologize without ever saying anything close to “I’m sorry.”
“Ain’t got a thing to do with love / I was born to roll / Like a tumbleweed does / And I belong to a long highway / And there it goes, calling my name.”
The songwriter-turned-artist held these words close for many years until one of the first meetings with her, “all-time favorite producer, Mr. Jay Joyce.”
“He lit up a cigarette, handed me a guitar, and told me to play something,” Wilson recounted. “I played this song cause we were trying to get to know each other at the time, and I felt like this helped tell my story.”
The two cut “Rolling Stone” in March of 2019.
“It started off with a train beat. I remember closing my eyes and singing while the guys tracked it and it felt like a western movie from top to bottom. Jay’s production brought it to life in that haunting make-ya-feel-something kinda way.”
Watch the visualizer for “Rolling Stone” below. Download Lainey Wilson’s latest single here and look out for number three on the last Friday in May.
