Lady Antebellum’s latest album, Ocean, is probably their most personal and vulnerable album they’ve ever recorded, so it’s no surprise that parts of the recording process were very emotional. Charles Kelley says, “It was funny, with ‘What I’m Leaving For,’ there were two songs on this record that Hillary had to kind of stop mid-vocal and walk out of the room because she was crying so much. And ‘What I’m Leaving For’ was one of ‘em and ‘Ocean’ is the other.”
Hillary knew she was going to struggle with “What I’m Leaving For.” In fact, Charle says, “I remember you said before you went in, you were like, ‘I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to sing this song and get through it. But you did, and it’s one of my favorites. It’s so relatable. I mean it is our story.”
The reason Hillary was overwhelmed with emotions while recording the song is because she’s been the child she’s singing to, and now she’s the mom singing to her own kids. “I grew up in a musical household. Both my parents traveled in a touring band with Reba, and so I was that kid that I’m singing about and now I’m that mom, and so, having both perspectives was really powerful. I mean, I bawled my eyes out the first time I heard it.”
Just listening to the demo of the song, which was co-written by Ryan Hurd, Sam Ellis, Laura Veltz and Jon Green, Hillary says, “I remember texting or emailing Charles and Dave and our team and being like, ‘I’ve just gotta go crawl in a ball and like, have a good cry about this, just because I have so many memories flooding back of my childhood, and then I also have so many memories and present moments of where I am in my life now.”
Lady Antebellum has received a lot of feedback from fans about “What I’m Leaving For,” letting them know that the song is universal for so many parents, whether they travel for work, or are away in the military, or even if they have to leave their kids every day to go to work for the day.
Lady Antebellum – tough to record What I’m Leaving For 1:02
Charles Kelley – “It was funny, with ‘What I’m Leaving For,’ there were two songs on this record that Hillary had to kind of stop mid-vocal and walk out of the room because she was crying so much. And ‘What I’m Leaving For’ was one of ‘em and ‘Ocean’ is the other. And I remember you said before you went in, you were like, ‘I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to sing this song and get through it. But you did, and it’s one of my favorites. It’s so relatable. I mean it is our story.”
Hillary Scott – “It is, and for me I grew up in a musical household. Both my parents traveled in a touring band with Reba, and so I was that kid that I’m singing about and now I’m that mom, and so, having both perspectives was really powerful. I mean, I bawled my eyes out the first time I heard it, and just felt like … I remember texting or emailing Charles and Dave and our team and being like, ‘I’ve just gotta go crawl in a ball and like, have a good cry about this, just because I have so many memories flooding back of my childhood, and then I also have so many memories and present moments of where I am in my life now.”