Every Song on Kelsea Ballerini’s ‘Rolling Up the Welcome Mat,’ Ranked
Country artist Kelsea Ballerini released an EP titled Rolling Up the Welcome Mat on Feb. 14. The EP documents Ballerini’s feelings surrounding her divorce from singer Morgan Evans, and Ballerini also released a short film of the same name to showcase the songs visually. Here are the songs from Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, ranked from worst to best.
6. ‘Mountain With a View’
There is nothing wrong with the opener of Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, “Mountain With a View.” It sets up the tone of the EP and contains some gut-punching lyrics as Ballerini sings about realizing her marriage is over.
However, as the album’s opener, it is easy for “Mountain With a View” to fall behind some of the songs that follow it.
5. ‘Leave Me Again’
“Leave Me Again” is the closer on Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. A subdued track, Ballerini contemplates how she will treat herself now that her relationship is over.
“I hope I remember all the pieces/ Of who I was that I lost on the way/ I hope I learn to love myself like I loved you then/ And I hope I never leave me again/For a while the shoe fit, yeah, yeah/ But then I outgrew it/ And staying only made me get real good at pretend/ So, I hope I never leave me again,” Ballerini sings in the song.
The song’s title and hook make listeners think Ballerini could be speaking to a lover leaving her, but instead, she flips the assumption on its head and reveals she is promising to never abandon herself.
4. ‘Blindsided’
On Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, “Blindsided” contains some pointed lyrics toward Ballerini’s ex-husband. With “Blindsided,” Ballerini wonders how a partner did not notice what was wrong in the relationship.
“I know the truth is hard to hear, but it wasn’t hard to find/ Baby, were you blindsided or were you just blind?” Ballerini questions in “Blindsided.”
This lyrical direction is what makes “Blindsided” such a strong country song.
3. ‘Interlude’
The only thing wrong with “Interlude” is that it is not long enough. Part of its beauty is that it serves as a transitional track on Rolling Up the Welcome Mat and tells a story in a succinct fashion.
The production hints at a pop future for Ballerini, which is part of the song’s addictive nature. Even though “Interlude” is meant to be a passing song on Ballerini’s EP, it is hard not to repeat.
To top it off, the “Interlude” section of the Rolling Up the Welcome Mat short film contains some of the film’s most poignant imagery. A man’s hand adjusts Ballerini’s wedding ring to make it picture perfect, not realizing she was reaching out to him for emotional support.
2. ‘Just Married’
Like “Leave Me Again,” the song “Just Married” contains a play on words. The phrase “just married” has a double meaning throughout the track.
At some points, Ballerini uses the phrase to allude to how happy she is at the relationship milestone, while at other points, the country artist looks at the phrase and institution of marriage negatively.
“It felt like forever, that December Two/ A fairytale start, crossing our hearts/ Rode off in a car that said, ‘Just Married,'” Ballerini sings when looking back on her marriage positively.
In the song’s chorus, Ballerini uses the phrase to show how unhappy she is, singing, “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/ Yeah, it was love/ Then it was just married.”
This use of the song’s hook is what helps set “Just Married” apart from other songs on Rolling Up the Welcome Mat and adds layers of complexities to the song.
1. ‘Penthouse’
While it is hard to pick the best song on Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, the emotional delivery in “Penthouse” brings it to the top of the list.
In “Penthouse,” Ballerini sings of all the different ways she played house with a partner. Throughout the song, Ballerini wonders if her partner secretly hates her as soon as he has left their home.
She sings of the relationship ending in the song’s bridge, and in an emotional final chorus, Ballerini sings, “I kissed someone new last night/ But now I don’t know where you’re sleeping, baby/ We got along real nice, until I wanted out, now I know you hate me.”
