Ella Langley's 'Choosin' Texas': A full debrief of what the lyrics mean
It's storming the charts!
Ella Langley's incredible hit 'Choosin' Texas' has been a favourite of ours here at Absolute Radio Country since its release all the way back in October 2025 - in fact, it was Number 1 on our UK Country Radio Airplay Chart within a couple of weeks!
However, it's now steadily making its way up the mainstream charts, too - peaking at Number 5 so far and showing no signs of slowing down. To celebrate the success of Ella's incredible song, we've taken a look at everything you need to know about the song, including what the song means and an interpretation of the lyrics.
When was it released?
Ella released 'Choosin' Texas' as the lead single from her second album 'Dandelion' on 17th October 2025.
Where did it get to in the charts?
'Choosin' Texas' went to Number 1 on the UK Country Radio Airplay Chart one month after it was released. It's since made its way up the mainstream charts, and is currently sitting at Number 5 in the UK. It even spent 10 weeks at the top of the US all-genre chart, the Billboard 100!
What did Ella say about 'Choosin' Texas'?
Speaking to us in an interview with The Nashville Show's Kelly Sutton in April 2026, Ella said: "So many things specifically with this song are happening that, you know... I've daydreamed about this job and this career my whole entire life. It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do. It's literally - seriously - been the one dream I've had.
"So this has been a lot of things that I didn't really necessarily dream about, in a way, that I didn't even think was a goal to reach for, you know. I'm just trying to put out music that I love and hope people come to the shows, so this song doing what it's doing... I mean, it's just unbelievable."
Who wrote it?
Ella co-wrote it with country powerhouse Miranda Lambert after the pair joined forces at a writing retreat they were both attending, along with Luke Dick and Joybeth Taylor. Ella asked Miranda whether a story she'd heard about the star was true, and Miranda confirmed that - yes - she'd once been pulled over by a police officer with both a dog AND a kangaroo in her car...!
Ella told Rolling Stone: "We were at this writers retreat, and I just asked her. She had a dog in the back and a kangaroo in the passenger seat, and got pulled over. I said randomly, 'I'm sure (the police officer) was like, 'She's from Texas, I can tell.'"
Miranda told Billboard that she has been surprised by just how stratospheric the song has gone: "It was not on my bingo card for 'Choosin' Texas' to take over the world. I love that song, and it so feels like such a part of me. I’m from Texas, and it was one of those things where we just wrote this song we really loved, and all of a sudden... I’ve never seen anything like it.
"So when Ella calls and is like, 'What does this mean?' I’m like, 'I don't know. You might need to call Taylor Swift right now (and ask her), because this is, like, that kind of big.'"
What do the lyrics mean?
We know the inspiration for the song came from Miranda's hilarious story, but applying it to the lyrics paints a slightly more sombre picture. At the very start of the song, we can hear in the lyrics that Ella is broken-hearted after a partner has left her for an ex: 'I put him right back into her arms / I wasn't a match for that kinda spark.'
We can also hear in the lyrics of the chorus that there's no coming back from it: 'She's from Texas, I can tell by the way / He's two steppin' 'round the room / And judgin' by the smile that's written on his face / There's nothin' I can do / It doesn't take a crystal ball to see / A cowboy always finds a way to leave / Drinkin' Jack all by myself / He's choosin' Texas, I can tell.'
There are plenty of American references too, with Ella mentioning 'the Smoky Mountain rain' and the 'Memphis blues', singing about the I-40 while driving with tears in her eyes and the 'Lone Star State'.
Who is in the music video?
Ella hired a whole host of famous faces to co-star in her music video for 'Choosin' Texas' alongside her. We've got Fifty Shades and Yellowstone star Luke Grimes as her love interest, with his former flame that he returns to being played by Ava Phillipe - the daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe.
Fellow country star and Ella's real-life bestie Kaitlin Butts starred as a fellow drinker who warns Ella that something may be amiss, while Miranda Lambert even had a cameo in the 7-minute long video.
Ella directed the video herself with Wales Toney and Caylee Robillard and it was fittingly filmed at the Stagecoach Ballroom in Fort Worth in Texas.
Has Ella won any awards for 'Choosin' Texas'?
She certainly has. At the ACM Awards 2026 in May, Ella won both Single of the Year and Song of the Year for 'Choosin' Texas', as well as Female Artist of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year.