Lady Antebellum have released a first-rate tear-jerker with their new song "What I'm Leaving For." The ballad from Ocean is everything a parent feels, wrapped up in a tidy three-and-a-half minutes.

"What I'm Leaving For" may not become their most commercially successful single, or even top the charts like "What If I Never Get Over You." But it's among the finest lyrics they've shared with country radio, and it's certainly among the most personal performances. Find three parents candidly pining for time lost when they hit the road, but the song's presentation is open-ended enough to allow anyone with kids to insert their own experiences.

Hillary Scott sings "Baby, kiss me, say you'll miss me / Oh, while we still got time" just before the chorus, and it's waterworks from there. 

Since they started talking about their recently-released seventh studio album, Charles Kelley has been praising Scott's vulnerability in the studio as the best he's heard from her. It's easy to dismiss those words as album promo rhetoric, but "What I'm Leaving For" proves he wasn't just crowing.

Call it getting better with age, or credit her Grammy-winning gospel album, but recognize the total emotional ownership here and elsewhere on Ocean as something to be excited about moving forward. Much like Karen Fairchild became the lead voice of Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum could benefit from this new confidence. The album and this song in particular could be a real turning point in the group's career.

Did You Know?: Between them, Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum have six kids.

Check Out Country Music's Best Duets: 

Lady Antebellum's "What I'm Leaving For" Lyrics:

Keep those lights on / Toys on the front lawn / Disney World trip next summer / Used kit for our little air-drummer / Food on the table / Brand new cradle / For the angel that's coming in a minute / This house and everybody in it.

Got my bags packed, got my ticket / Got a heartache to go with it / Baby, kiss me, say you'll miss me / Oh, while we still got time.

Chorus:
Take a look at our little paradise / It ain't much but baby, you and I / Picked the right stars, made the right wish / Ain't nothing out there like this / And it kills me that I gotta go / Couldn't do it if I didn't know / That every time I'm walking out that door / You know what I'm leaving for.

When I'm out there / I know I'm where / I'm meant to be picking them strings / And getting that small town to sing / On that last turn home / I can hardly wait / To drop my bags, kiss your face / 'Cause all I can do is stop and …

Repeat Chorus

Oh, got my bags packed, got my ticket / Got a heartache to go with it / Baby, kiss me, say you'll miss me / While we still got time.

Repeat Chorus

More From 103.3 WJOD