The dating scene looks very different when you’re in your 30s. “You stop carrying the weight of past lives,” sings DL Rossi. With his new song “Tumbling,” premiering today, the roots-rock musician wrestles with feeling “like a failure again” and accepting things as they are. We’re both too damn strong / And we don’t need no one, he sings, later learning that true happiness lies in one’s own self-worth.
“When I was younger I felt the cliche we all feel: I needed to have a relationship to find happiness,” Rossi tells American Songwriter. “Movies, tv, religion—everything pushes you towards that as a big goal.”
His life changed drastically in his late 20s. Now recovered, Rossi survived testicular cancer—and then went through a divorce. Those events left an indelible impact on his life, causing him to have several important epiphanies. “I realized how much I needed to count on myself and be content within myself. But the side-effect of that has meant it’s really hard to find someone I want to be with for the rest of my life. And I’ve found other people feel the same way towards me. This song is me coming to peace with that dynamic and allowing whatever is gonna happen, happen.”