Delaney Bailey Plants a Beautiful, Bittersweet Sonic Garden in “Wella”
Photo: Alexa Viscius
Delaney Bailey is a natural-born storyteller. The 22-year-old artist weaves pristine reflections of life, love, and the little moments in between with the seasoned grace of a singer-songwriter far beyond her age. It’s evident in her breakout single and “j’s lullaby (darlin’ i’d wait for you)”—a time-honored, lovelorn waltz—her 2023 EP, what we leave behind, and her new single, “Wella.”
There is nothing flashy or grandiose about “Wella,” but from within its just shy of three-minute runtime emerges a beautiful and heartbreaking tale of family and traditions passed down from one generation to the next. Co-written with Gabe Simon and Carrie K, Bailey welcomes us into her family’s garden, leaving her scrapped knees and still healing heart laid bare.
“‘Wella’ is a song I wrote while watching my grandma suffer with dementia," shares Bailey. "She kept a beautiful garden and a full greenhouse in her good years, but ripped up her plants when her mind started going. My mom keeps a lot of plants around nowadays in an effort to remember her, and this song is my effort to remember her too. All my music is about her now, my Wella.”
Formed around a simple folk acoustic guitar structure, the true stars of “Wella” are Bailey’s angelic vocals and her innate sense for timeless lyricism. “Does the Earth remember her hands sowing the seeds? / Is it grateful to be useful, does it like the company? / I know the dirt remembers her nails so fondly / But do her nails remember the seeds?” she sings, effortlessly flowing between fond remembrance and wistful uncertainty. Taken altogether, “Wella” is a bittersweet portrait but a portrait crafted to stand the test of time.
Watch the “Wella” lyric video below:
