Lainey Wilson has a Top 15 hit with “Somewhere Over Laredo,” from her Whirlwind Deluxe album. The song already seems to be one of the fastest-rising songs from her career. Keep reading to find out everything to know about Wilson’s hit single.
Who Wrote “Somewhere Over Laredo”:
Wilson co-wrote “Somewhere Over Laredo” with Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson and Andy Albert.
What Inspired “Somewhere Over Laredo”:
Wilson understandably travels a lot for her career. It was during one of her many flights that she had the idea for “Somewhere Over Laredo.”
“I spend a lot of my time in the air on a plane, headed to the next town, to the next show,” Wilson tells iHeart. “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.”
What Song Inspired “Somewhere Over Laredo”:
Wilson was also inspired by Judy Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” from The Wizard of Oz.
“It was cool to be able to tip our hat at the same time to one of the most classic songs of all time,” Wilson says.
How the “Somewhere Over Laredo” Video Was Made:
Wilson enjoyed another career first with the making of the video for “Somewhere Over Laredo,” which shows off plenty of special effects.
“I had the time of my life doing it,” Wilson tells People. “I was doing all kinds of things, pretending to be falling through the air, the sky, and all of these crazy things that I had never done before … I had not had the opportunity to make a video that I felt like deserved that kind of trippiness.”
“When you think about The Wizard of Oz, and you think about the ‘Yellow Brick Road,’ of course, you think of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ and this [song] is an interpolation of that,” she continues. “It’s a way for us to tip our hat to that and acknowledge how timeless of a song that is. It was important for me to kind of draw the parallel between the songs.”
What’s Next After “Somewhere Over Laredo”:
ilson knows that “Somewhere Over Laredo” is likely going down in history as one of the biggest hits of her career. But for Wilson, it’s just an early indication of what fans can expect from her moving forward.
“I’m really, really proud of this,” Wilson tells iHeart. “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.”
Find “Somewhere Over Laredo” and all of Wilson’s music and upcoming shows at LaineyWilson.com.