Lainey Wilson has a Top 30 hit with “Somewhere Over Laredo,” a song she wrote with Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson and Andy Albert, from her forthcoming Whirlwind Deluxe album. For a songwriter who has had a long string of hits in the last five years, even Wilson knows that there is something special about “Somewhere Over Laredo.”

“I’m very proud of this song,” Wilson tells iHeartRadio. “I spend a lot of my time in the air on a plane, headed to the next town, to the next show, and I catch myself just looking out the window and dreaming, and thinking, and reminiscing, talking to God, writing songs. And I feel like this song right here, it gave me an opportunity to step back into a pair of shoes that I wore years ago, and I got to tell a story from that perspective. And that’s what country music is. It’s about taking you back to a certain time and place, and memory and feeling, and that’s what we wanted to capture in this song right here.”

The song is also a nod to the Judy Garland classic, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” from The Wizard of Oz. For Wilson, who is already working on a new album, it’s a way to transition to her next musical chapter.

“These songs that are gonna be on the deluxe, they were all written after Whirlwind was out, so it was kind of like the next step, or what life I lived right after Whirlwind was released,” the 33-year-old explains. “And so, it was cool to be able to tap into that. And also, it’s cool to be able to share that side, too, with the fans.

“I’m really, really proud of this,” she continues. “I mean, I’m partial, but somehow, I feel like we continue to push it and level up, and I feel like even the people that I write songs with, they’re feeling the same way. We’re like, ‘Okay, we really did it with this one.’ And we’re like, ‘Okay, well how does it get better than this?’ And then it somehow does. But that’s a good place. That’s a very good place to be in.”

 

“Somewhere Over Laredo” was inspired by Wilson’s nonstop travels, especially in the last few years.

“When I’m flying between shows I catch myself looking out the window, talking to God, dreaming, or even reminiscing,” Wilson explains. “’Somewhere Over Laredo’ tells a story that speaks to that. I’ve always been inspired by putting myself into other people’s shoes and telling stories from others’ perspective, but I’ve found a new creative avenue with this one putting myself back into a pair of shoes that I wore years ago.”

Wilson has won several awards in recent years, including multiple Entertainer of the Year trophies. Still, the Louisiana native says her biggest accomplishment so far is another award she recently won: the Artist-Songwriter of the Year at the recent ACM Awards.

“When I found out about the Artist-Songwriter, that was one of my biggest accomplishments,” Wilson reveals to CMT. “Because I take pride in writing music. I wrote my first song at nine years old, and I would say that I’m a storyteller before anything. So that one right there … and of course, everything else too. Don’t make me choose.”

Find “Somewhere Over Laredo” and all of Wilson’s music and upcoming shows at LaineyWilson.com.