Ella Langley wrote “Loving Life Again” about a time in her life when she “looked at myself in the mirror and I didn’t recognize the person that I saw.”
At a time when her career was on top of the world, her mental health was struggling. Langley stepped back from the spotlight and cancelled shows, spending some time at home nearby her parents as she worked to pull herself out of a deep depression.
Once the clouds started lifting, a conversation with a friend turned into the songwriting session that produced “Loving Life Again.”
What Has Ella Langley Said About Her Mental Health?
Langley shared that story onstage as she talked about her new song, which came out last week.
“I was just born with this little dark cloud that likes to follow me around some days, and some days it gets a little heavier than others, you know?” Langley reflected from the stage during a mid-March performance, admitting that she struggles with her mental health “a lot.”
The singer says 2025 — her breakout year, where she was riding the high of songs like her Riley Green duet “You Look Like You Love Me” — brought a patch of hard cognitive dissonance. All her dreams were coming true, and yet that same success pulled her away from family and loved ones.
“It got to a point last year where I looked in the mirror and I didn’t recognize the person that I saw. The people around me didn’t recognize the person that they saw. And I decided that this thing wasn’t more important than me,” she goes on to say.
Read More: Ella Langley Postpones Several Shows to Focus on Mental Health
That’s when Langley scrapped a couple weeks of tour dates and went home to her recently-purchased house near her parents. She says the experience was restorative.
“I got to read my Bible and be next to my family in a way that I hadn’t gotten to do since I was 18 years old,” she says.
How Did Ella Langley’s Mental Health Struggles Inspire “Loving Life Again”?
As she emerged from that bout of depression and turmoil, musical friends such as Ernest were there to support her.
Langley says that when she returned from the two weeks she spent with her parents, she and Ernest met up on her front porch and he asked her how she was doing.
“I said, ‘Well, looks like I’m back to loving life again,'” she remembers.
They wrote the chorus for the new song right then and there, and a few days later, they fleshed out “Loving Life Again” with help from another songwriter friend, Devin Dawson.
“Loving Life Again” comes off of Langley’s upcoming album Dandelion, which will release in full in April.
Ella Langley, “Loving Life Again” Lyrics
Seasons come like seasons go I guess / Ain’t it just like me makin’ all this mess / Of my head again / I got memories I like to think of / When this big ol’ world gets a bit too much / When days are long I drift away / I play that song I used to play / When skies are always summertime blue
Chorus:
Just like that I’m back to loving life again / Dreamin’ dreams ’bout back home riding on the wind / When I close my eyes / I find some peace in the back of my mind / In between them pines / Where I’m jumpin’ on that quarter horse and then / Just like that I’m back to loving life again
See that red dirt, hear that front porch swing / Is that grandma? I think she’s calling me / When days are long, I drift away / I sing that sweet Amazing Grace / And I’m right there / Where skies are always summertime blue
Repeat Chorus
I know I ain’t the only one who thinks about that setting sun / Settling on down into the night / And puts it on rewind
Repeat Chorus
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Gallery Credit: Evan Paul
