Kelsea Ballerini released a four-song EP and short film, titled “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat,” on Valentine’s Day.
The EP consists of six songs that guide listeners through the beginning of a marriage until its eventual end. Her recent divorce from Morgan Evans inspired the songs, although not explicitly stated, but made obvious by a few key lyrics.
All six songs on the EP work together to tell the story of a marriage that no longer has any love in it. The songs serve as a powerful testimony to Ballerini’s experience in the relationship.
The second track, titled “Just Married,” highlights Ballerini’s struggle to play the part of the perfect wife that society often expects of women.
This can be seen in the song’s chorus with the lyrics, “But I wasn’t made for fixing a plate or keeping our problems buried / I wasn’t strong enough to keep on with all of the weight that I carried.”
Listeners can observe Ballerini’s struggle with the feeling of obligation to stay in the relationship in this song and many of the others.
The remaining line in the chorus, “Yeah, it was love / Then it was just married,” is particularly powerful because it emphasizes to listeners that it was not always a loveless marriage, but eventually grew to be.
The other unique quality of this song is how Ballerini juxtaposes the phrase “just married” as a happy, exciting new beginning with a more somber idea: that is simply all they are at this point.
This really allows listeners to feel like they are a part of or can better understand the tragic downfall that took place in the relationship.
The following track, “Penthouse,” works to further call attention to the fact that both of them got to a point where they were pretending everything was fine.
It can be seen in my favorite lyric from the song, “I guess wrong can look alright / When you’re playing home in a penthouse, baby / ‘Cause we were playing home in a penthouse, baby.”
I love that this line compares what they were doing in their relationship to playing pretend house like children. It really highlights the immaturity of all of it.
The line “We played the part five nights, but we were never there on the weekends, baby,” also shows a similar comparison.
You can see signs of the couple’s false front in other songs such as, “Mountain With A View,” with lyrics like “I’m wearin’ the ring still, but I think I’m lyin’ / Sometimes you forget yours, I think we’re done tryin’.”
“Mountain With A View” is the most popular song off the EP and shows Ballerini’s final realization that she has to do what is best for herself. The lyric, “I think that is when I set myself free,” signifies that she has been stuck in a prison of pretending.
It is important to note that based on the lyrics in the songs that it is clear she was the one to end the relationship, but not without lack of effort to repair it first. The track “Blindsided” calls out her partner for not reciprocating that effort, but being surprised when she finally sets them both free, citing years of therapy.
Ballerini deserves all the praise for giving listeners a view into her vulnerability. She eloquently and artistically displays her side of the story that she has every right to tell.