Casey Ahern is good at tugging at heartstrings — her music is rife with stories and emotions that strike a chord for all who listen and discover her music. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter has just released a brand new single, “The Cows Came Home,” and it’s a quietly joyous exploration of finding love when you least expect it, but it also speaks to the importance of loving oneself first and foremost. It’s dreamy and heartfelt, and it’s a stellar addition to her fabulous catalog of releases.

Vents Magazine sat down with Ahern to talk about the new single, and we took a deep dive into the creation of the song, including its inspiration, and the writing and production process. We chatted about her sound, the impact that living in California and Tennessee has had on her music, and what’s next for this exciting artist.

Hi Casey, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?

Hi, thank you so much for having me! I’ve been good, can’t complain!

You have an amazing new single out now. What can you tell us about it? How did you come to write this song? What inspired it? Was there a specific “aha” moment that made you realize you needed to write this song?

Thank you! The inspiration behind “The Cows Came Home” came to me when I was talking with my boyfriend at the time, who’s now my fiancé, Wyatt. We both had never been in a serious relationship before, and I asked him, “You never wonder what else is out there?” He replied, “Call in the dogs, put out the fire. The search is over. I found the one.” What he said inspired me to write a song based on our relationship and how it hit me when I least expected it.

This was a co-write. What was the songwriting process like?

I wrote “The Cows Came Home” with a very talented songwriter here in Nashville, Caitlin Dykes. When I brought the idea to Caitlin, who is married herself, we shaped the song into something that we found was true in both of our cases: love comes when you least expect it. It was great having Caitlin in the room, because she helped me find the words when I didn’t know where to take the song next.

How was the recording process for the song? Any great stories from the studio? How did the song come together? Who played on the song with you and where did you record it?

We tracked “The Cows Came Home” at Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa in Nashville and then did the vocals at the co-producer Mark’s home studio. We had Tim Galloway on acoustic guitar, mandolin and resonator, Sam Hunter on electric guitar, Matt King on drums, Michael Rinne on bass, David Dorn on keys, Jenee Fleenor on fiddle, Justin Schipper on pedal steel, and Kaci Bolls and my producer, Nathan Meckel, on background vocals.

I think my favorite story from the studio was when we all went down the street to grab lunch between sessions. My sister, Haley, was with us filming the recording session, so she tagged along to Martin’s Bar-B-Que. You should’ve seen the look on all the guys’ faces when she started dumping ranch dressing on her ribs! I don’t think they knew whether to laugh or be horrified, ha ha!

Do you have a favorite lyric line or two in this song? What about those words really works for you or speaks to you?

I think my favorite lyrics, other than the ones Wyatt told me that inspired the song, are the first lines: “It happens when you’re fine with who you are, where you’re at and being alone.” Those really strike a chord with me, because I one hundred percent believe that! I believe that you really have to be happy and confident within yourself before you can leap into a relationship. My parents raised my sister and me to remember that you don’t need anyone to complete you, but when you find another person who is just as happy and confident as you are, it makes the relationship that much healthier and happier! It’s two strong individuals on their own, coming together to form basically a power couple, ha ha!

What do you hope listeners get from hearing the song?

People tend to think finding love is as rare as a blue moon or impossible, such as pigs flying. But I hope that people hear this song and it makes them believe that magic is still out there. That finding true, old-school love in the real world still happens. And, for anyone putting boundaries around themselves when it comes to love, whether it’s “I’m too old to find someone,” or “Nobody is going to love me,” it reminds them to stop looking for it! As opposite as that message seems from this song, it actually is a big point of the song. Enjoy who you are, where you’re at, and being alone, because that’s when the stars align and “the cows come home.”

What does your fiancé think of the song?

He loves it! Don’t tell him I told you this, but he teared up when he first heard it. He says the song really portrays our relationship and that authentic, naturally-found love is still a thing.

You are based in Nashville now. How do you think living there vs. your former home in Southern California has impacted your sound and your music overall? How has it shaped your music?

Even though I’m living in Nashville now, I think my California roots really shaped me as a singer/songwriter. I grew up listening to a lot of the ‘70s folk coming out of Laurel Canyon in California, like Joni Mitchell, and even the ‘80s rock coming out of the Valley, like Tom Petty. So I think the storytelling and lyricism stems from those influences. Also, I tend to write about what I know. So growing up and spending most of my life in California has given me experiences and life lessons that I don’t know I could get anywhere else.

What else is happening next for you? More new music? Any tour dates?

Honestly, I’m taking this next chapter of my life to really focus on what I want out of it and taking the time to fall back in love with music. As an independent artist, a lot of the business side of things, such as marketing and social media, is on you. I found myself getting so caught up with that, that I forgot to just enjoy music as an art form. For now “The Cows Came Home” is the only slated release, because I feel it is the most authentic song to where I’m at right now in life.