Be Her

Album: Dandelion (2026)
Charted: 2
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In "Be Her," Ella Langley looks at her own her messy, image-obsessed reality and compares herself to a woman who's living a life of simplicity and emotional clarity.
  • The chorus, built around the confession, "I just wanna be her so bad, it hurts so bad," turns it inward. Rather than envying the other woman, Langley confronts the distance between the chaotic life she lives and her counterpart's stable, drama-free existence.
  • Langley wrote the song with Hardy, Jordan Schmidt and Smith Ahnquist. Langley previously teamed up with Hardy and Schmidt to pen her single "Never Met Anyone Like You."

    Hardy said he "knew 'Be Her' was a hit the second we started writing it," adding that the song "basically wrote itself" and they were done in about 30 minutes.
  • Langley produced the song with fellow country singer and close friend Miranda Lambert, along with Ben West. Ben West plays Wurlitzer piano, and Jordan Schmidt supplies percussion. The other musicians are:

    David Dorn: synthesizer, celeste, Hammond organ.
    Tom Bukovac: electric guitar.
    Ben Flanders: electric guitar.
    Charlie Worsham: banjo, acoustic guitar.
    Spencer Cullum: pedal steel guitar.
    Rachel Loy: bass guitar.
    Aksel Coe: drums, percussion
  • The "Be Her" video was co-directed by Ella Langley and frequent visual collaborator Wales Toney. The clip leans into a bold red aesthetic: Langley performs while off-screen hands pass her objects referenced in the lyric - a glass of wine, a cigarette, a single rose - mirroring the feel of juggling expectations in real life.
  • "Be Her" appears on Langley's sophomore album, Dandelion, a project built around themes of personal growth, lived experience and self-examination. Within the album's broader storyline, the track functions as one of the clearest statements of the album's growth theme, zeroing in on self-comparison and the painful but hopeful process of becoming the person you admire.
  • When "Be Her" reached #1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart, it delivered songwriter Smith Ahnquist his first chart-topper after 15 years under a publishing deal. The long-awaited breakthrough was especially meaningful given his close friendship with Hardy, who refers to Ahnquist as his best friend - he even got him to officiate his wedding.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Amanda Palmer

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger

Kelly Keagy of Night RangerSongwriter Interviews

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger tells the "Sister Christian" story and explains why he started sweating when he saw it in Boogie Nights.