It’s a strikingly apt image. Hit Me Hard and Soft feels immersive and saturated. At times, Eilish’s unique strong-but-delicate voice almost sounds like it’s underwater—and that we, her listeners—have plunged into the emotional depths with her.

I suspect few would quickly compare Eilish with her decade-older contemporary, Taylor Swift. Eilish plays the foil of the alt-goth kid to Swift’s awe-shucks girl next door.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Album opener “Skinny” reflects on the tension between others’ thoughts about Eilish’s weight and her own point of view: “People say I look happy/Just because I got skinny/But the old me is still me/And maybe the real me/And I think she’s pretty.”

That track also reflects on the fickle nature of celebrity (“Am I already on the way out?/When I step off the stage/I’m a bird in a cage”). It also suggests that the online world’s appetite for scandal is insatiable (“And the Internet is hungry/For the meanest kind of funny/And somebody’s gotta feed it”).

While Eilish is known for her skewering cynicism and sarcasm, some moments here feel surprisingly earnest, such as her plea for lasting love on “Birds of a Feather”: “I don’t think I could love you more/It might not be for long, baby, I/I’ll love you ‘til the day I die.”

Several other songs try to make sense of disappointment and loss in the wake of broken romantic relationships (“Chihiro,” “The Greatest,” “L’Amour de Ma Vie”).

“The Diner” offers unsettling commentary on celebrity stalkers, and it’s written from the perspective of the stalker: “I saw you on the screens/I know we’re meant to be/You’re starring in my dreams/In magazines/You’re looking right at me.”

CONTENT CONCERNS

In late 2023, Eilish came out as gay. Only, she thought everyone already knew: “But I kind of thought, ‘Wasn’t it obvious?’ I didn’t realize people didn’t know.”

That personal detail is relevant here because Eilish sings repeatedly about lust and love for other women throughout (a fact that likely influences the way we hear some of the lyrics about love in included in the previous section).

“Lunch” is startlingly ribald as Eilish sings about wanting to perform oral sex on another woman. Some lyrics are too explicit to include here, but it’s worth noting that Eilish says, “It’s a craving, not a crush.”

Likewise, “Wildflower” seems to describe a deeply dysfunctional love-and-sex triangle among three women. We hear lines such as, “And I wonder/Do you see her in the back of your mind?/In my eyes?” A suggestive reference to nakedness turns up on “The Greatest” as well.

On “Chihiro,” we hear about a disappointed lover who perhaps hints at suicide (“And you tell me it’s all been a trap/And you don’t know if you’ll make it back”), prompting Eilish to respond, “I say, ‘No. Don’t say that.’”

There’s a passing allusion to reincarnation (albeit one that’s likely intended metaphorically) in “Birds of a Feather”: “I knew you in another life/You had that same look in your eyes.”

“The Greatest” is a melancholy song chronicling a dying relationship: “And we don’t have to fight/When it’s not worth fighting for.” The song also hints that a couple is cohabitating.

More suggestive innuendo turns up in “Bittersuite”: “I see the way you want me/I wanna be the one/ … Can’t sleep, have you underneath/ … Keep me off my feet.” 

We hear the album’s lone profanity, an s-word, on “Birds of a Feather.”

ALBUM SUMMARY

It’s impossible to know for sure how autobiographical any given artist’s songs truly are. That said, Hit Me Hard and Soft has the feel of something that’s deeply personal and revealing. Billie Eilish paints a complicated and layered self-portrait here of a woman longing for love and deeply aware of the ways she’s had her heart broken … and how she’s broken others’ hearts.

Eilish doesn’t play coy when it comes to the fact that she identifies as a lesbian. “Lunch,” in particular, is shockingly shameless in its depiction of Eilish’s female-focused sexual appetites.

The fact that Eilish sings so matter-of-factly about her same-gender attraction offers stark evidence of how far our mainstream culture has walked down this path when it comes to all things LGBT. It’s hard to imagine such plainspoken same-sex fantasizing from a mainstream pop star even five years ago. I suspect many—including some young people quietly grappling with this issue in their own lives—will hear a deep affirmation of that path here.

That perspective, combined at certain points with other suggestively sensual lyrics, is certainly one of the big stories here–especially for families who might have young fans of Billie Eilish. Those moments offer more than enough reason to hit the pause button on streaming Eilish’s latest, as she veers diametrically from God’s intended design for sexual intimacy between a man and woman in covenantal marriage.

We could easily stop right there. But I think we need to press just a bit deeper.

As I listened to each track here—just as was the case on when I reviewed Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets Department—I hear brokenness and longing, a deep desire for intimacy and meaning and connection. Yes, I respectfully believe Billie’s looking for that love in, as the old song says, all the wrong places. But her heart and yearning to know and be known is achingly, painfully present almost from start to finish.

Billie Eilish may not know it—and she (as well as many others, I suspect) might mock me for saying it—but she’s looking for God, looking for a kind of love only He can give her.

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This 34-year-old Irish native is probably best known for his hit “Take Me To Church,” which told listeners that sex was both a part of Hozier’s religion and an act of worship.

So, in many ways, listeners have come to expect Hozier to be lyrically daring. And he continues to be so. Especially on his new EP, Unreal Unearth: Unheard, with his latest single called “Too Sweet.”

While his former hit was bold and basically sacrilegious, “Too Sweet” is so masterfully written that you might not expect it to simply be about how Hozier is not a morning person, while a woman in his life is. And he is, kindly, over it.

POSITIVE CONTENT

It’s true. Hozier is not a morning person (“It can’t be said I’m an early bird/It’s 10 o’clock before I say a word”). But this woman in his life is, and she feels that if Hozier was, he’d be a healthier person (“How do you sleep so well/You keep tellin’ me to live right/To go to bed before the daylight/But then you wake up for the sunrise”).

But that’s not how he wants to wake up. He wonders if she ever wants to just take it easy and “wake up, dark as a lake/Smellin’ like a bonfire/lost in a haze?”.

It’s clear this woman is “drunk on life” and he thinks “it’s great.”

Still, his preferences are vastly different from hers.

He wants to enjoy life with a drink (“I think I’ll take my whiskey neat”), a strong cup of coffee (“My coffee black”), unconventional work hours (“I work late when I’m free from the phone”) and a much later bedtime that’s certainly unproductive in this woman’s eyes (“And my bed at three”).

It seems that she’s the opposite of Hozier in every way. He calls her “sweet.” In fact, she’s “too sweet” for him. Too structured, too put together and too uptight (“You treat your mouth as if it’s Heaven’s gate/The rest of you like you’re the TSA”).

CONTENT CONCERNS

It’s not necessarily bad to be a morning person. It’s not a sin to be a night owl. It’s totally fine to enjoy different things, to have different preferences and to work on a different schedule than most. To view life in a different lens.

Really, the only concerning lyric here is that Hozier thinks it’s strange this woman wants to keep in shape. To which he comments “who wants to live forever, Babe?”.

He also mentions that he enjoys drinking his “whiskey neat.”

TRACK SUMMARY

Of all the things this song says, I think it most clearly communicates that Hozier is a masterful lyricist.

I’ve never listened to a song that basically told someone to enjoy life and not take everything so seriously in such a beautiful way.

As someone who is pretty type-A, I can appreciate a lot of what is being said here. Especially because Hozier is clear that he appreciates this woman’s preferences (“If you’re drunk on life babe, I think it’s great”) and views her as a beautiful creature (“You know you’re bright as the morning/As soft as the rain/Pretty as a vine/As sweet as a grape”).

Just one that needs to calm down and be OK that he too has his own way of enjoying things.

As for problematic content, there isn’t much here to worry about. Yes, Hozier enjoys whiskey. Sure, some of his habits could be called questionable. And he does say that he doesn’t feel life is so great that he’d want to live forever.

But there’s no profanity. No references to sex. No videos from which you’d need to shield your eyes. Just some wonderfully wound lyrics that tell a funny story of sorts.

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Then, he sang at a high school talent show, impressed his listeners and discovered he had a talent for it.

Soon after, he started a TikTok account and, in 2021, auditioned for the 19th season of American Idol and quickly moved forward before withdrawing from the competition.

But American Idol may not be where you’ve heard his voice. Not just because he eventually took himself out of the running, but because his songs are all over TikTok (where he has 4.7 million followers) and Instagram where another 1.4 million people follow him).

The latest single that Boone’s fans are embracing? It’s one that’s climbing the Billboard Hot 100 charts, too–and it’s called “Beautiful Things.”

The song features Boone’s crooning voice, tender guitar and lyrics that seem to encourage listeners to sing along. Lyrics that find Boone asking God not to snatch away all the newfound things, and people, in his life that bring him both peace and contentment.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Boone shares that he has personally struggled for the last four years. But now, things are better for him in every way. He’s close to his family (“I see my family every month”), he’s enjoying where he is in life (“And I think I may have it all”) and he’s even found a girl worth bringing home to meet his parents (“I found a girl my parents love”).

Still, he wrestles with these good things, believing that God can take them all away if He should so please. And this is exactly what he’s begging God not to do (“But I know the things He gives me He can take away/…I hope I don’t lose you/…I want you I need you, oh God/Don’t take these beautiful things that I’ve got”).

CONTENT CONCERNS

Boone says that he wants his girlfriend to be a part of his life, and remain a woman with whom he’s intimate (“She’ll come and stay the night…/And I hold you every night/That’s a feeling I wanna get used to/But there’s no man as terrified/As the man who stands to lose you”).

He also admits to dealing with anxiety, saying that he often struggles to fully enjoy what he has because he fears he will lose it all (“I’ve got enough/I’ve got peace and I’ve got love/But I’m up at night thinkin’/I just might lose it all”).

TRACK SUMMARY

This song sounds like something I would have obsessed over in college. mostly because I had a really big Indie music phase and this hits all the right notes.

Boone has this voice that some may mistake as a foreign accent. The drums come in at just the right time. The lyrics fuel young adult angst. It’s, like, the perfect combination.

But my college music choices aren’t why you’re here. You want to know what this song is about.

Primarily, it’s about a young man finally doing well in life, finally falling in love with a woman, finally reaching a place of peace… but there’s still a voice in the back of his head telling him none of it will last. It’s all momentary. Fleeting.

And instead of Boone being the one that would screw it all up, it seems that God is to blame here. God is the one who could take all of this goodness away from him. Like the story of Job.

Is he right theologically? Well, that’s up to the listener in this case. But for parents, there’s no profanity. No mention of drugs or alcohol. There is, however, the implication that Boone is sleeping with his girlfriend.

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Let me give you a hint. He’s a filmmaker.  Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the 2009 Star Trek movie, the TV shows Alias and Lost … all him. 

But what about his daughter, Gracie Abrams. Ever heard of her? 

If you haven’t already caught the buzz, let me tell you a bit about this multi-talented, 24-year-old artist on the rise. 

Other than being the daughter of an extremely famous filmmaking father, Gracie is holding her own in the musical world. She opened for Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour tour and Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. And, ironically, she sort of sounds like the both of them combined, while bringing her very own sound (and killer lyrics) to the table. 

She has more than 700,000 subscribers on YouTube, 10.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 2.3 million followers on Instagram. She’s also up for a Grammy for Best New Artist. 

In addition, she released an EP back in 2020, and another in 2021. And now, her first studio album, Good Riddance, houses the song I’m going to talk about today. 

It’s called “I Know It Won’t Work”. And it contemplates a breakup and all the complicated feelings and emotions that come with a decision you can’t help but second guess. 

POSITIVE CONTENT

Gracie is mulling over a relationship that is no more. 

She knows that her ex-boyfriend is still waiting for her to change her mind, and that makes her decision all the more difficult (“Why won’t you try moving on for once? That might make it easy/I know we cut all the ties but you’re never really leaving”). 

She admits that she doesn’t feel like she’s worth his waiting (“What if I’m not/Worth the time and breath I know you’re saving?”). 

Still, she knows that even though part of her would love to continue this relationship, the reality just doesn’t hold (“The whole facade/Seemed to fall apart/It’s complicated”). 

CONTENT CONCERNS

Gracie says that an ex-boyfriend is keeping a part of his home cleared for her, just in case she comes back to live with him (“Heard you keep the extra closet empty/In case this year/I come back and stay throughout my twenties”). 

TRACK SUMMARY 

This is an incredibly vulnerable song. You can feel the emotion in every word she sings.

In my late teens and early twenties, “I Know It Won’t Work” would have hit home in a lot of ways: The desire to move on from a long-standing relationship, and knowing that it’d be for the best–then questioning the decision and every thought that led there. Replaying memories and specific moments in my mind.  

I’d imagine that many can relate to these lyrics, just like I can. And there’s nothing wrong with that. 

There’s also not a lot of negative content in this song–at least compared to so much of what you’ll stream today. Yes, it’s clear that Gracie and this ex had a sexual history. But it’s alluded to without being graphic. There’s no profanity. No crude lyrics. It’s mostly contemplation. 

But listeners–especially those who feel Abrams’ lyrics powerfully–should still be cautious. 

Thinking things through to make a solid decision to move forward is a good thing. Wondering what could have been is also normal. 

But staying in that place isn’t. 

Remaining in a what-could-have-been state can become extremely unhealthy. It can lead to depression. Desperation. A lack of clarity. Problematic regrets.

So, when you’re ready to make a decision, do it. And then firmly close the chapter, move on and trust God’s leading in your life. It’s always best.

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Country artist Luke Combs recently put his touch on “Fast Car,” a song I often heard while I was working at a local coffee shop in high school.

Back then, I knew this song was originally released in 1988 by singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman. But I didn’t really listen to the lyrics. At least not enough to know how sad it was. 

It’s a story about a young girl that dreams to escape her life with a love interest. But those dreams fall apart as time goes on, and she finds herself trapped in the same sort of life she yearned to escape from. 

POSITIVE CONTENT

Combs sings, word-for-word, Chapman’s version of the song, from the point of view of Chapman’s female protagonist. It’s clear that the young woman in this song wants a better life for herself, and she wants to live this life with the man she loves; a man with a “fast car.” She says, “You got a fast car/And I want a ticket to anywhere…Any place is better/Starting from zero, got nothing to lose/Maybe we’ll make something/Me, myself, I got nothing to prove.”

The fast car though isn’t going to be her only key to freedom, so she leans on hard work (“I’ve been working at the convenience store/Managed to save just a little bit of money”) and a plan (“Won’t have to drive too far/Just across the border and into the city/You and I can both get jobs/Finally, see what it means to be living”).

We also learn that this young woman is compassionate and responsible so when her mother leaves her unemployed, alcoholic father (“See, my old man’s got a problem/He live with the bottle, that’s the way it is…mama went off and left him”), she makes the decision to stay in her dead-end hometown, quit school and care for him (“I said, “Somebody’s got to take care of him”/So, I quit school and that’s what I did”). 

CONTENT CONCERNS

She’s trapped, years later, as a hard-working mom, married to the man with a fast car who used to hold promise and adventure, but is now dead weight (“You got a fast car/I got a job that pays all our bills/You stay out drinking late at the bar/See more of your friends than you do of your kids”). 

She also talks about how she and her beau would drive so fast it “felt like I was drunk.” 

TRACK SUMMARY

The song’s resolution isn’t really a resolution. Although the tune may lead you to think it is. 

It finds a hardworking mom telling the father of her children that he needs to make a life decision (“You got a fast car/Is it fast enough, so you can fly away?/You still gotta make a decision/Leave tonight, or live and die this way”). 

And, preferably, in her view, the decision will take him far away from her (“I’d always hoped for better/Thought maybe together you and me would find it/I got no plans, I ain’t going nowhere/Take your fast car and keep on driving”). 

This is a hard song on a lot of levels. It speaks to that youthful desire to live a full, vibrant life and then to the reality that often, life does not go the way we desire or plan. 

But I think it ends on a positive note. It asks, what will you do when life doesn’t pan out the way you thought it would? Because the answer to that question matters more than you know. 

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Individually, Bryan and Musgraves have each released more than their fare of tear-jerking songs. But now, this dynamic duo have joined forces and recently released a song, a mix of alternative country and folk, and it’s called “I Remember Everything.” 

This somber track sings like a scene from a movie as Bryan and Musgraves tell the story of a former dysfunctional and codependent couple who can’t seem to wash their memories, or expectations, away, no matter how much they drink. 

POSITIVE CONTENT

This song starts with Bryan wondering if an ex-girlfriend remembers all of the passionate, impactful memories that he can’t seem to forget (Do you remember that beat-down basement couch?/I’d sing you my love songs and you’d tell me about”). 

These are the kind of memories that burn in his mind and remind him of deep, vulnerable moments (“The sand from your hair is blowin’ in my eyes/Blame it on the beach, grown men don’t cry”). These memories can’t be erased, no matter how much he may want them to be (“I wish I didn’t, but I do/Remember every moment on the nights with you”). 

CONTENT CONCERNS

Bryan’s solution to forgetting, it seems, is consuming large amounts of alcohol (“Rot gut whiskey’s gonna ease my mind/…Strange words come out of/A grown man’s mouth when his mind is broke”). 

And perhaps he wants to forget because his ex-lover (played by Musgraves), who is also fond of alcohol (“You only smile like that when you’re drinkin’) doesn’t hold her memories of him in high regard (“you’re drinkin’ everything to ease your mind/But when the h— are you gonna ease mine?/…No, you’ll never be the man that you always swore”). 

There are two uses of the word “h—” here. The cover for this song features Zach Bryan smoking a cigarette. 

TRACK SUMMARY 

This song deals with two elements: a dysfunctional, broken couple and personal trauma that was never properly dealt with. 

Sure, it’s about plenty of other things, and the story that Bryan and Musgraves tell is powerful. The heart of this song is both sad and somber. It shows a man who drinks away his memories and a woman who explains why. 

If I were to pick a line to express the depth of emotion in this occasionally profane song, it would be ““it burns like h—” when two souls meet.”

This feels like the proper cautionary tale for those in relationships: be mindful of whom you choose and how you deal with memory, nostalgia and loss.

The post I Remember Everything appeared first on Plugged In.

Now imagine that you wake up a few days later and that song is topping multiple charts, you have a handful of offers from record companies worth millions of dollars and you’re one of the most talked about men in the country. 

That’s what has happened to Christopher Anthony Lunsford, known more commonly by his stage name, Oliver Anthony.

On Aug. 1, Anthony posted his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” to the internet. Since then, it’s been a record-breaking, viral sensation. The song is currently sitting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and No. 1 on YouTube’s charts with over 33 million views, making Anthony the first-ever artist to debut at the top of the charts with zero prior chart history. 

That is wild. 

But it may not be so crazy when you listen to the lyrics and the message that Anthony delivers. His song is hitting home for millions of people–not just Americans–as he talks about corrupt politicians and the social and economic problems that their lack of care, and skewed morality, has caused. 

POSITIVE CONTENT

Anthony hits on many frustrations and problems shared by a vast swath of people. He talks about working endless hours for minimal pay (I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day”) and then being taxed to the max, with not much left over to show for your hard work. 

He says that the politically elite, these “rich men north of Richmond,” want to control the American people. But he believes the common people are smarter than they’re given credit for (“Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do/And they don’t think you know, but I know that you do”). He also calls out the evils of sex trafficking.

CONTENT CONCERNS

Anthony uses profanity in a few lines to drive home his point, calling average wages “bulls— pay.” He says it’s a “d–n shame what the world’s got to” and recognizes that many people struggle with depression and even choose to “drown” their “troubles away” when they feel their financial situation is hopeless as their dollar is “s—” and endlessly taxed. 

Anthony calls attention to what he sees are huge problems in society–but, of course, that means he talks about those negative problems. Anthony believes that politicians don’t care. And because they choose greed and corruption over the good of the people, Americans suffer high suicide rates (“young men are puttin’ themselves six feet in the ground”) and abuse the welfare system (“Well, God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds. Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds”). 

TRACK SUMMARY 

A few weeks back, the day after this song dropped, my husband pulled it up on YouTube and asked me to listen to the lyrics. He said that he resonates deeply with a lot of what Anthony says. And, evidently, it’s not just him. 

Like I said above, Anthony is the first artist to ever debut on the charts at the No. 1 spot with no prior musical history. That’s gotta mean something. I think it means that many hard-working people in America, and around the world, are sick of the state of their countries and the political climates that contribute to those ills. 

If you don’t believe me, just hop on Anthony’s YouTube channel and read the comments below his video. People are raving about this track.

But even if you agree with Anthony’s sentiments, that doesn’t mean that the song is squeaky clean. Oliver uses a fair bit of profanity to make his point, and he hits on subjects that are both weighty and mature. Yet, given the nature of the track, the heaviness of the song makes sense. 

Oliver asserts that he’s not trying to promote one political side or the other. Instead, he simply wishes to acknowledge that he feels his own lyrics deeply and that he’s written a song for the people, a song that is “not anything special, but the people who have supported it are incredible and deserve to be heard.”

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Big names are being revealed in collaboration with the movie, such as Dua Lipa and Nicki Minaj. And, as of a few days ago, perhaps the biggest name dropped: Billie Eilish. 

Eilish’s melodic contribution to the film comes in perhaps her most coined sounds: ethereal, beautiful and contemplative. 

Instead of choosing something upbeat, which would seem to fit the film well, Elish has written a slow, clean, beautiful ballad called “What Was I Made For?” that asks some big spiritual questions. And with the song garnering over 8.4 million views in only four days, it’s safe to say that this song is resonating with many a listener. 

POSITIVE CONTENT

While Eilish may resonate with everything she’s written on a personal level, she wrote this song from the perspective of Barbie. 

Barbie is beginning to see that her life isn’t what she’s always thought: “I used to float, now I just fall down/I used to know, but I’m not sure now.” 

She wonders: “What was I made for?”

And this thought plagues her as she thinks through different moments in her life (“Taking’ a drive/I was an ideal”), wondering if she’s a real person or just “somethin’ you paid for.”

She’s accustomed to being happy and cheerful for herself and those around her, but she can no longer relate to those feelings (“I don’t know how to feel/But I wanna try/…I’m sad again, don’t tell my boyfriend”). 

However, she realizes that although she’s not happy anymore (“Think I forgot how to be happy”),  she can be and was made to be (“Somethin’ I’m not, but somethin’ I can be/Somethin’ I wait for/Somethin’ I’m made for”). 

CONTENT CONCERNS

None.

TRACK SUMMARY

I find this track to be really interesting. While it was written for the upcoming Barbie film, the song still fits Eilish well. 

While Eilish’s fanbase has grown accustomed to her writing dark music with troubling lyrics, her music has shifted in the past few years as she admits to unhealthy patterns and relationships and yearns to be healthy. 

And now she’s written a song that, although it’s from the perspective of Barbie, asks big, spiritual questions about her existence: What was she made for? 

Before you think I’m reaching too far, Eilish sat down to chat with Zane Lowe from Apple Music and had this to say about the song: “Every single lyric is about my life.” 

She goes on to say that although she wouldn’t have thought to write this song without the push of needing to do so for the soundtrack, she feels these lyrics deeply and thinks about this question often. 

That feels like a step in a very positive direction. 

As Christians, we know that the purpose and the meaning of our lives are rooted in Jesus, and perhaps as Eilish searches she too will find that she was made for more than fleeting, happy moments. Perhaps she’ll find that there is a joy in Christ that can never be taken away. 

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This song, which as of early May already had 4 million streams on Spotify, is a bit different from Horan’s former works. It’s still  pop, but there’s a layer of alternative synth involved. And while some of his older music includes sexual innuendo, this track is about being present for someone as they wrestle through moments of anxiety. 

POSITIVE CONTENT

Whoever Horan is speaking to in this song, it’s clear that he intends to be present for this person as they work through very difficult moments (“Losin’ your mind in the mirror like you have to/Screamin’ in your car in the driveway/Spinnin’ out, think your life’s going sideways”). 

And even though some moments feel as if they’ll never turn upward (“When you’re hittin’ the wall/And every star falls”), he assures this person that “this too shall pass” and that “when it all melts down, I’ll be there.” 

CONTENT CONCERNS

Some of these scenarios sound hopeless (“One broken glass/Turns to total collapse), but the point of the song is that although you may be overwhelmed for a moment, you are not alone and even the toughest moments eventually change. 

TRACK SUMMARY

In a message to his Instagram followers, Horan posted about this song, saying that it is “basically about feeling anxious and being in that kind of freaking out moment but knowing deep down that everything will be alright.”

Sonically, the music reflects this as it keeps a quick pace. Lyrically, it expresses something that everyone has felt at some point in life: anxiety. And whether or not you’ve dealt with moments like those shared in this song, hopefully you can walk away knowing that, as he says “this too shall pass.”

The post Meltdown appeared first on Plugged In.

Sure, this UK native and Grammy Award winning artist hasn’t made every track to pull heartstrings, but most of them end up at least fiddling with them. Just like his latest, “… Boat.” 

This guitar-led single gained more than three million views in four days on YouTube. And for good reason. It’s something that many can relate to. It’s a slow, soulful song about clinging to hope through loss and pain.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Sheeran tells us that nature and familiar routines often help him to regain a fresh perspective (“I came in for the embers/And stayed out for the breeze/I need to feel the elements to remind me/There’s beauty when it’s bleak”). 

And this is a necessary ritual, because it’s clear that life and loss have taken shots against him (“The more that I love, the less that I feel”) to the point where he’s not certain if he’ll ever fully recover (“They say that all scars will heal, but I know/Maybe I won’t”). 

Yet, even if he doesn’t fully heal from his pain, he’s determined to persevere (“The waves won’t break my boat”).

CONTENT CONCERNS

The singer seems to be working through heart-wrenching loss, change and even depression in this track.

TRACK SUMMARY

Not all of Sheeran’s songs are family-friendly, and that’s especially true of his newer work. But this track is. It’s poetic and, although it’s sad in nature, the heart of it clings to hope even when things feel hopeless. 

He uses a boat as a metaphor to tell listeners that although he has experienced loss that has gripped him, he will do whatever it takes to keep the waves of grief and loss at bay that threaten to break his boat.

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