Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, and Ella Langley (ELLE / YouTube)
Can you guess which lyrics mean the most to Reba McEntire, Ella Langley, and Miranda Lambert?
The three country music powerhouses recently sat down with Elle Magazine to answer that question during a special segment titled Three Generations of Country.
Ella’s Pick: “Butterfly Season”
Country music’s fastest rising star, Ella Langley, released her sophomore album, Dandelion, in April. From that record, she says that the lyric she is especially proud of is from “Butterfly Season,” which coincidentally was written with Miranda Lambert. She highlights the lines:
“Don’t even know her
That girl from last October
Right now, I’d like to show her
Who we’ve turned into
How flowers look in June”
That bridge, says Ella, “sums up her life.” She explains:
“You don’t notice the growth necessarily when it’s happening. It doesn’t feel like growth. It feels more like you’re dragging your feet through the mud. Then all of a sudden you kind of step up and realize, ‘Oh, wow, I learned a lot back there.’”
Miranda’s Pick: “The House That Built Me”
Miranda chose a phrase that she did not write personally. From her 2009 hit, “The House That Built Me,” she highlighted the lyrics:
“And I bet you didn’t know under that live oak
My favorite dog is buried in the yard”
“The House That Built Me” was written by Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin. Miranda describes the ballad as “the most special song,” because it tells not only her story but everybody’s story. She adds:
“I’ll never get over that song. I feel so lucky to have it and get to sing it every night. I’m never tired of it.”
Reba’s Pick: “Is There Life Out There”
With decades of music in her catalog, Reba has many impactful songs to choose from. She picked out the hook from her 1992 single “Is There Life Out There,” which was written by Susan Longacre and Rick Giles.
“She doesn’t want to leave, she’s just wonderin’, is there life out there?”
Reba describes the lyric as “powerful” and highlights how that phrase can apply to so many life experiences, from leaving home to go to college to leaving your family to get married, and more.
She emphasizes that the song is not about giving up on what you have, but going out and experiencing life.
Hear Ella Langley, Miranda Lambert, and Reba McEntire explain their most meaningful lyrics in the video below!
