Elle King details how 'a phrase' led to the birth of latest song 'High Road'

Elle King just took the “high road” for this year!

The 35-year-old singer just took inspiration from the veteran and legendary country musician, Willie Nelson, to release a ballad with a twist, titled, High Road, on September 20, 2024.

In a conversation with PEOPLE magazine, she stated, "Since last year, if anything was going wrong or something pissed me off, my manager would say, 'High Road 2024,' and that was our theme of like, 'Take the f****** high road, b****. Be the person that you would hope that you could be through any situation.'"

"And it's just been a phrase that we've used,” King recalled, as she detailed the inspiration for her latest track.

The Worth A Shot singer wrote High Road in the shower and finished it with her friend, bassist Paul DeVincenzo, "We do this all the time: I'll write a song and then we'll play it on tour, and most of the time, it doesn't make the record," said King.

"But now, I've been writing these songs that all tell a story and they're funny, but it's got more of a classic country feel, which is my favorite stuff,” she added.

Gushing over how Elle King has been inspired by the Highwayman hitmaker, she told the outlet, "We've been lucky enough to get to open for Willie Nelson a couple of times, and I've gotten to sing with him. I'm not trying to make a Willie Nelson record, but at the same time, his music and all of that '70s country music has really been so impactful and influential on my storytelling and my music."