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“Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley: Lyrics & Meaning
- Song Choosin' Texas
- Lyrics“Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Tennessee
I shoulda known better than to take him back to Abilene
I put him right back into her arms
I wasn't a match for that kinda spark
She's from Texas I can tell by the way... - Artist(s) Ella Langley
- Songwriter(s)
- Producer(s)Ben West, Ella Langley
The Background
Ella Langley has built her name on plainspoken storytelling – the kind that cuts straight to the gut while still making you want to roll the windows down. With ‘Choosin’ Texas’, she hits that sweet spot again: heartbreak wrapped in a melody that goes down easy. It’s a song about watching love slip through your fingers, not because of something you did wrong, but because of where his heart truly belongs.
The premise is classic country - the girl versus the other girl; but Langley gives it a fresh twist. This time, the “other woman” isn’t just someone else; it’s an entire place. Texas itself becomes the rival, the lover he can’t quit, the memory she can’t compete with.
Eagle-eyed fans will spot Miranda Lambert's name on the songwriting credits, with Langley penning this traditional-leaning anthem with Lambert, Luke Dick and Joybeth Taylor.
The Sound
Sonically, ‘Choosin’ Texas’ fits right into Langley’s wheelhouse; upbeat, catchy, and full of that Southern grit she’s become known for. It’s got that modern Country Radio polish but still keeps its twang - a steady rhythm, warm guitar tone, and just enough steel guitar to remind you where it’s from.
The melody swings like a line dance, effortlessly upbeat even while the lyrics sting. It’s the kind of song you could cry to in the car or sing along with at a live show, the best kind of country contradiction.
The Meaning
At its heart, ‘Choosin’ Texas’ is a song about inevitability. Langley captures the quiet pain of realizing that love, no matter how good it feels, sometimes can’t outshine the past. From the very first verse, she sets the stage:
“Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Tennessee / I shoulda known better than to take him back to Abilene.”
It’s not that she lost him to someone else, she lost him to the life he left behind. The Texas girl isn’t just a person; she’s a symbol of everything he was before her. Langley watches it unfold in real time:
“She’s from Texas I can tell by the way / He’s two steppin’ round the room.”
That lyric does a lot with very little - the “two-steppin’” says everything. It’s not a grand betrayal, just a shift in rhythm, a look on his face that says he’s already gone.
Later, she wrestles with nostalgia and regret, tracing the moments that now feel like warning signs:
“He always loved ‘Amarillo By Morning’ / I shoulda taken that as warning.”
Langley leans into the poetic irony; she thought she’d changed his tune, but the truth is, some songs never stop playing, with Langley name-checking George Strait's iconic hit, ‘Amarillo By Morning’. By the end, she accepts it with a kind of resigned grace:
“It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see / A cowboy always finds a way to leave.”
That line is the emotional anchor - simple, universal, and pure country. It’s not bitter, just honest.
For the full lyrics to ‘Choosin’ Texas’ by Ella Langley, see below:
Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Tennessee
I shoulda known better than to take him back to Abilene
I put him right back into her arms
I wasn't a match for that kinda spark
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 to 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
Well, I guess he forgot about the smoky mountain rain
Them old Hank tunes the Memphis blues we used sing
He always loved Amarillo By Morning
I shoulda taken that as warning
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 to 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
When I'm eastbound and down and I can't help but cry
Cause I-40 gets lonelier with every mile
I'll know that his mind wasn't ever gonna change
Cause his heart still belongs to the lone star state
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 to do, naw yeah
It doesn't take a crystal ball to see
A cowboy always finds a way to leave
Drinkin' Jack all by myself
He's choosing Texas I can tell, no
Drinkin' Jack all by myself
He's choosin' Texas I can tell
C'mon baby
Ohh yeah
Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Tennessee
