Entertainment Music Country Music Lady A's Charles Kelley Shares New Song He Wrote as 'Goodbye Letter to Alcohol' amid Sobriety Journey "So overwhelmed and happy I shared it. Feel like this is leading me to more honest songwriting in the future," Charles Kelley wrote on Instagram By Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis is a senior writer on the music team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2019, and her work has previously appeared in Entertainment Weekly and the New York Daily News. People Editorial Guidelines Published on November 23, 2022 11:05AM EST Lady A's Charles Kelley is opening up about his sobriety journey in the lyrics of an emotional new song. Kelley, 41, shared a demo of a song called "As Far as You Could" to Instagram on Tuesday, which he wrote with bandmate Dave Haywood and Jimmy Robbins. "This song is my goodbye letter to alcohol…" he captioned the post. "This song was very therapeutic to write and I hope it can meet someone where they are." The lyrics to the song chronicle Kelley's struggles with alcohol, from the way he depended upon it to be able to perform, to how it gave him "courage" the night he met his wife, Cassie. "You helped me make her laugh/'Til you helped me make her cry," he sings. "You started out a friend/Turned into something else." The song concludes with an apparent victory over his addiction, as Kelley sings: "'Cause you took me high/You put up a good fight/But look who's standing now/Had to almost lose it all before I understood." Cassie, whom Kelley married in 2009 and with whom he shares son Ward, 6, celebrated her husband's new song in an Instagram Story. "Really proud of how hard this man works daily on his recovery," she wrote. "There has been no greater gift for our family than his sobriety." Lady A's Charles Kelley Thanks Fans for Support on His 'Journey to Sobriety' After Tour Postponement Cassie Kelley/Instagram Other friends in the country music world also offered their support in the comments section, including Carly Pearce, Scotty McCreery, Shay Mooney and bandmate Hillary Scott. Kelley eventually commented that the supportive comments "have brought me to tears." "So overwhelmed and happy I shared it. Feel like this is leading me to more honest songwriting in the future 🙌," he wrote. In August, Lady A announced that they'd be postponing their upcoming tour to 2023 so that Kelley could get sober. Lady A Postpones Tour as Charles Kelley Embarks on a 'Journey to Sobriety' Charles Kelley. Taylor Hill/FilmMagic "Being on the road with our fans is our greatest joy, so it was a hard but important decision to make," the group wrote in a statement. "We are a band, but more importantly… we're family. We're proud to say that Charles has embarked on a journey to sobriety." Days later, the country star thanked his supporters in a message shared on Instagram that said he was "grateful for this time to focus on my family and my health." "I want to thank everyone who has shown me so much support and encouragement so far on my journey of sobriety," he captioned the post. "Y'alls kind words have meant the world to me and really lifted me up over the past few weeks." The musician continued, "I can't wait to get back on the road with Lady A next year. Getting on that stage and being able to see, hear and feel everything through a clearer lens is going to be a gift that I won't take for granted." If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.