Ella Langley’s ‘Dandelion’: Every Song Ranked

Langley ends the album (before revisiting “Froggy Went A-Courtin’”) with a wistful, acoustic guitar-centered midtempo number about an ex who lives rent-free in her head because everything reminds her of him. It’s a bittersweet paean to the ephemeral nature of love and the persistence of memories. Dandelions get mentioned several times in the lyrics as a subtle, pleasing way to tie back in with the album title. — MELINDA NEWMAN

Langley leans into soulful, pop-tilted territory on this romantic song. Smooth, bluesy guitars and a swaying groove and handclaps build layers of come-hither swagger as Langley beckons her lover to take a break from the hectic schedules to work on their own relationship. “Turn a record on/ Take a layer off,” she sings, setting the stage for some long-overdue romance. – JESSICA NICHOLSON

Instead of having her partner console her, Langley wants to revel in her shattered state — if just for the night. “Just let me, let me, let me be broken,” she sings repeatedly in this vulnerable, slow, guitar-driven tune about not wanting to be fixed but just listened to and understood as she stays in her feels. It’s a message that will certainly resonate with anyone whose partner sweetly but misguidedly rushes to try to make it better when sometimes all the hurting one needs is silent comfort and loving arms. — M.N.

The album’s title track is a testament to both Langley’s allegiance to her Alabama roots, but also her dedication to being her own free-spirited person. Like the resilient dandelion, whose seeds get blown along on the wind, this song stands as a declaration that Langley is hardy enough to stand on her own, no matter which direction others take, while also confident and instinctual enough to follow her creative muses wherever they may take her. Beyond the song’s breezy instrumentation, Langley sings of withstanding being “a little overlooked all my life,” and accepting that while she can lean into glitz and glamour at times, things like jeans, boots and Jack Daniel’s will always be her mainstays. – J.N.

Langley addresses the topic of keeping faith as circumstances become more complicated in adulthood, and sings of finding ways to maintain a spiritual connection in times of feeling unheard. “If your answer’s in the silence I’ll be patient/ But it’s hard to know my prayers are being heard,” she sings earnestly, describing prayers as feeling like a one-way conversation, yet holding fast to hope that a higher power is listening. This marks one of the album’s most vulnerable songs and Langley delivers it with raw honesty. – J.N.

In the midst of experiences that can be exciting, chaotic, disappointing or overwhelming, Langley has a surefire solution to bring back peace and joy. Namely, she sings in “Loving Life Again” of holding close special memories of red dirt, porch swings and her Grandma, or playing an old beloved song to put her back into a sunny frame of mind. Like several songs on Dandelion, “Loving Life Again” employs a gentle melody and peacefully elegant musical framing, while Langley approaches the song vocally as if she’s in conversation with a close friend. – J.N.

Who better to remake Kitty Wells’ 1952 classic than Langley, given that she often seems like a throwback to an earlier time? On this faithful version, Langley does the original justice — or as much as anyone can — convincingly blaming straying men who lead their betrayed wives to do the same. In Langley’s hands, the song, written by J.D. “Jay” Miller, sounds as fresh in 2026 as it did more than 70 years ago. We’re putting in our request now for a full album of covers by Langley featuring classic songs recorded by country’s top women in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. — M.N.

With only one album under her belt, Langley has already established herself as an instantly recognizable voice in country music. Here, you know this is Langley within the first few words with her slightly raspy twang front and center. She confesses she knows she’s living the dream as her career explodes in this musically breezy tune. But when she closes her eyes, instead of reveling in the memories of the bright stage lights, she’s longing for domestic bliss and something simple, including a house on the hill and “a hard-workin’ man taking off his dirty work clothes.” — M.N.

Langley offers up one of the album’s most soulful, sultriest songs on this dramatic, sweeping track. An evening at a bar, subdued lighting, drinks and a suitor she knows isn’t the best for her add up to one temptation too many. “That smoke ring around you oughta be sign/ To turn around and walk, but I’m striking up a light,” she sings. Vocally, Langley can handle stone-cold country songs with ease, but this song shows she can lean into more soulful material with finesse. – J.N.

Let’s give Langley props for hilariously using “panties in a wad” in a song. Think of this fast-paced, tongue-twisting tune as a worthy successor to Patty Loveless’ witty, playful 1994 hit “I Think About Elvis,” complete with blaring, boogie-woogie, barrelhouse piano. It’s nothing but fun as Langley, no matter how much she tries to distract herself, can’t get a certain someone off her mind and a night they spent together on his grandpa’s farm. She even jokingly screams “Scram,” before she comes back for a slowed-down last verse that loses none of the song’s loose-limbed delivery. — M.N.

On this midtempo track, Langley wraps a vintage-sounding vibe and her sultry-gritty vocal around a lyric that finds her confidently insisting that a lover define the relationship and fully commit. “Better hold me like you wanna hold me for the rest of your life,” she sings. A surefire fan favorite. – J.N.

The first verse sounds straight out of a dreamy ‘50s ode, complete with cheesy backing vocals, but then the song bursts into an uptempo mode that advances the time frame up to the ‘70s. Disaster has never sounded so frothy as Langley sings on this delightful throwback about a dissolving relationship that she knows is going to self-destruct. “If we know us, it’s going to take a turn/ If we know us, it’s going to crash and burn,” she sings, but she blithely seems unconcerned that they are on the road to ruin. She even gives a sigh and an adorable little laugh at the end, as if to acknowledge that it’s going to end badly, but she’s enjoying the ride until it does. — M.N.

This mournful, old-soul country ballad finds Langley singing about the realization that a fading romance is reaching its quiet, final moments. Her powerful vocal twang carries a sense of longing over what was, but also an acceptance that they are better off parting ways after meeting up at a favorite bar. “Might cry a couple tears/ We’ll both head on home, but this time, alone,” she sings over a sweeping rhythm and mournful guitar. This barroom weeper is a balm for the heartbroken. – J.N.

The track, which was released in March and is already top 15 on the Country Airplay chart, is bolstered by clever wordplay and an uptempo, swaying feel as Langley, who co-wrote the song with HARDY among others, is consumed by the green-eyed monster. “I just want to be her so bad, it hurts so bad,” she sings repeatedly with the “her” and “hurts” repetition giving the song an appealing, hypnotic feel. Langley never reveals why she’s so jealous of the woman other than in the broadest of strokes, but we feel it with every bone in her body that she is. — M.N.

This collaboration with Miranda Lambert unfolds as a tender, lush meditation on what they call “Butterfly Season,” a time of shifting priorities, new dreams and looking at all the ways a person has evolved. “A good time for leaving behind the old me,” Langley sings on this languid track. Together, these two country music stars pour sage wisdom into the song, affirming the power of having the courage to grow and reimagine who one is becoming. – J.N.

Really, what else is there to say about this song that has captivated listeners across genres and turned Langley into a bona fide star? The sly, two-stepping song has set records across the country and all-genre charts for good reason. Co-written with Lambert, Luke Dick and Joybeth Taylor, “Choosin’ Texas” tells a cautionary story as old as time about helplessly watching your love slip out of your arms into another’s, but Langley makes it sound boldly new and fresh. She and her co-writers smartly tie the song to the past by throwing in classic country song titles that instantly give the listener a warm feeling of nostalgia. Sure to be in the conversation come awards time and become a modern-day standard. — M.N.