Country singer Kelsea Ballerini surprised fans when she released a new EP titled Rolling Up the Welcome Mat on Feb. 14. With the mini-album, Ballerini explores the emotions she felt regarding her divorce from Australian country singer Morgan Evans. “Leave Me Again” is the last song on Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. Here’s a look at the lyrics and meaning behind the song.
Kelsea Ballerini sings to herself in ‘Leave Me Again’
With each song on Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, Ballerini comes to a different realization about herself and her marriage.
In the EP’s first track, “Mountain With a View,” Ballerini realizes that her marriage is not meant to last. Meanwhile, in “Blindsided,” Ballerini wonders how her partner did not realize the marriage was not working.
When one first sees the title of “Leave Me Again” and combines that with the message of Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, one might assume that Ballerini is speaking about a partner leaving her in the song. However, Ballerini uses the hook of the song to address herself.
“I hope I remember all the pieces/ Of who I was that I lost on the way/ I hope I learn to love myself like I loved you then/ And I hope I never leave me again/For a while the shoe fit, yeah, yeah/ But then I outgrew it/ And staying only made me get real good at pretend/ So, I hope I never leave me again,” Ballerini sings in the song.
With “Leave Me Again,” Ballerini shares her desire to never lose herself in a relationship ever again.
Kelsea Ballerini wrote the song ‘Leave Me Again’
There are six songs on Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, and all of the songs were written and produced by Ballerini and Alysa Vanderheym. The complete tracklist can be viewed below.
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Rolling Up the Welcome Mat tracklist:
- “Mountain With a View”
- “Just Married”
- “Penthouse”
- “Interlude”
- “Blindsided”
- “Leave Me Again”
Of the six songs, Ballerini wrote “Mountain With a View,” “Just Married,” and “Leave Me Again” on her own. She co-wrote “Penthouse,” “Interlude,” and “Blindsided” with Vanderheym.
In addition to releasing the EP, Ballerini also released a short film with the same name to go along with Rolling Up the Welcome Mat.
“Leave Me Again” is the last chapter in the short film and shows Ballerini playing guitar while sitting on the floor of a closet that is partially empty, implying that she has begun moving out or just moved into a new place on her own.
Why the country singer released ‘Rolling Up the Welcome Mat’
Ballerini and Evans married in 2017 and got divorced in 2022. Just a month after announcing their separation, Ballerini released a studio album titled SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
In a statement to People Magazine, Ballerini revealed her reasoning for releasing Rolling Up the Welcome Mat so soon after releasing SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
“These are six songs I wish I had last year. It’s about the complexities of the feelings you go through during a massive shift at a young age. Rolling Up the Welcome Mat was how I processed everything. It’s the way I got my feelings out of my body and heart and put them to music — which is the purest way I could’ve handled it,” said Ballerini.
