‘Patterns’ by Kelsea Ballerini – Lyrics & Meaning

In the last two years, Kelsea Ballerini has been no holds barred when it comes to her music.

Following 2022's SUBJECT TO CHANGE, which started the metamorphosis from her signature upbeat, happy-go-lucky offerings to more honest and evocative musings, the Grammy-nominated hitmaker blew the door off its hinges with the surprise drop of Rolling Up The Welcome Mat (RUTWM) and its For Good expanded edition in 2023. Diving into the intricacies of her failed marriage to fellow country artist Morgan Evans and her experiences undergoing such a public divorce, the project felt like the turning of the page in her musical career, and the next chapter has finally arrived with her new album, PATTERNS.

Marking her fifth studio record, PATTERNS continues to draw on the forward-facing emotions heard throughout RUTWM, but this time taking on the form of a series of diary entries across its 15 tracks. Less focused on picking up the pieces, the collection follows Ballerini as she finds love, reflects on the last few years and finds deeper understandings within herself as she embraces the highs, lows and imperfections that life brings.

Kicking off the record is none other than its title track, an introspective self-assessment of where she's been, where she's going and some of the things that she intends to work on to continue the beautiful evolution that we've witnessed over the last handful of years.

As has been the case for the last handful of Ballerini's projects, the entirety of PATTERNS sees her serving as co-producer alongside beloved collaborator Alysa Vanderheym.

Knowing this, it's no surprise that 'Patterns' and the record as a whole straddles the lines of country and pop, almost taking on moniker that can best be described as "genre agnostic." Rather than being put in any singular box – whether it be country, pop, R&B or whatever else – the song and record borrow bits and pieces from across genres, becoming a musical melting pot full of bops, ballads, stripped-down serenades and everything in between.

Opening with an acoustic guitar and mandolin picking along to an eery minor chord progression, 'Patterns' immediately evokes a cinematic and dramatic tone as Ballerini's honey-dipped voice echoes and dances across the layered chorus'.

It's a mostly hushed and stripped down tune up until the bridge, which finds the singer-songwriter chanting and pleading it over and over again, each time growing in intensity and conviction.

"Like the rhythm in my head
Like the blanket on my bed
Always hanging by a thread
I got patterns
Like the stars up in the sky
Like 'I love you' to 'Goodbye'
I got questions, I got whys
I got patterns"

Ballerini opens up the tune by explaining that her patterns and habits are things that have been deeply engrained in her.

Like a song stuck in your head or your safety blanket that's seen you through your darkest days since childhood – maybe it's a stuffed animal for you? – she uses these patterns and rules of thumb to guide her through life, though they may not always lead her to the best outcomes.

She continues to explain that, beyond being so innate in her, they're also unavoidable. Just like the sea of stars in the night sky or her perceived belief that all relationships will inevitably end, these patterns will always stick with her and always make her question both the good and bad things in her life.

"Ooooh, it’s in my generations
It's in my constellations
Moon and Saturn
Ooooh, they’re rollin’ through my bloodstream
I’m coming apart at the seams
I got patterns"

The young singer-songwriter tries to find meaning in these things, crediting it to the generations of Ballerini's that came before her, and perhaps some astrological theories as well.

While we don't claim to be experts on horoscopes and zodiacs, now may be the time to explain that Ballerini is a Virgo thanks to her September 12 birthday. This earth sign is generally said to be logical, practical and perfectionists always looking to improve upon themselves (which is fitting giving this album's themes, but let's not get into the weeds here).

"Maybe more than I like healing
I like the feeling of the feeling
That leaves me staring at the ceiling
The morning after

And maybe I’m the one to blame
For doing the same old same
But hey, what can I say?
I got patterns"

Continuing on her introspective journey to unpack these patterns, she opines that perhaps the feelings of familiarity and perceived comfort (in the name of self-survival but often resulting in self-sabotage) outweigh the feelings that would come from healing from her past hurts.

Wondering whether the only person to blame is herself for falling into the same old ways, she spends the remainder of the song questioning whether she'll ever be able to break these decades-long patterns and habits that she's held onto and let shepherd her over the years.

"Ooooh, it’s in my generations
It's in my constellations
Moon and Saturn
Ooooh, they’re rollin’ through my bloodstream
I’m coming apart at the seams
I got patterns"

In preparation for the highly-anticipated release of her fifth studio album, Ballerini teased and hinted at several things to come from PATTERNS and its 15 tracks.

Deep diving into the songs with media, the Knoxville native explained that "['Patterns'] feels like the perfect kick off to this record because, thematically, it really is like a self assessment. I think something happens as you grow up, especially as you get into your 30s, where you look at yourself differently. You assess your life differently and you find out what's important to you, what you want to move forward into the next chapter of your life with."

She continued on: "That's what the whole album is, but specifically this song, it's that blissful acceptance of what makes you who you are – the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful of all of that. It's saying, 'Alright, there are some things about me that maybe I could work on, but there's also things about me that I love. That's the human experience."

Using PATTERNS as more or less a series of diary entries from the last few years of her life, she notes that within the collection fans will get to see a more raw and introspective starlet that they ever have before.

“I’ve always been an open book, but this is a different kind of deeper. Just like it was scary sharing all the details of a divorce, this is me, now. Yes, I’m in a very happy, almost two-year relationship; but it’s not all the perfect Instagram stuff you see posted. There’s family history, past relationships, all the things you bring with you, friendships, being there, not being there,
showing up, not knowing... I have a massive fear of abandonment, of failing, I’m hyper-sensitive. I want to cut and run when I’m thinking it’s going to fall apart. Those are all patterns," the 30-year-old award winner expressed in the album's biography.

Like the rhythm in my head
Like the blanket on my bed
Always hanging by a thread
I got patterns
Like the stars up in the sky
Like “I love you” to “Goodbye”
I got questions, I got whys
I got patterns

Ooooh, it’s in my generations
It's in my constellations
Moon and Saturn
Ooooh, they’re rollin’ through my bloodstream
I’m coming apart at the seams
I got patterns

Maybe more than I like healing
I like the feeling of the feeling
That leaves me staring at the ceiling
The morning after

And maybe I’m the one to blame
For doing the same old same
But hey, what can I say?
I got patterns

Ooooh, it’s in my generations
It's in my constellations
Moon and Saturn
Ooooh, they’re rollin’ through my bloodstream
I’m coming apart at the seams
I got patterns

Over and over and over again
It’s so much deeper than under my skin
Is this a battle that I’ll ever win?
When does it start, and when does it –

Over and over and over again
It’s so much deeper than under my skin
Is this a battle that I’ll ever win?
When does it start, and when does it end?

Over and over and over again
It’s so much deeper than under my skin
Is this a battle that I’ll ever win?
When does it start, and when does it –

Over and over and over again
It’s so much deeper than under my skin
Is this a battle that I’ll ever win?
When does it start, and when does it end?

One, two, three, four

I got patterns
Yeah, I got patterns

Will I outgrow all these patterns?
Will I unknow all these patterns?

Hey
Pattern

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