"Love Me More" paints a vivid picture of what it looks like to be trapped by your own mental health. It also describes what it looks like for the love you have for others to be affected by your mental health. We gain an understanding of what it's like to feel like, due to the war in your mind, you're not only failing to show up for your partner but also for yourself. "Love Me More" is packed with strong lyrics that help break this concept down in a clear and relatable way. One of my favorite lines says, "What if you love me more than I can return? / Like a building on fire by a cigarette burn / You love me more than I can give back / Penny laid down on an old train track / Are you choosing me while I'm losing you? / What if you love me more than I do?" I think these lines speak volumes on how scary it can be to not know if you truly love yourself. One of the most impactful and heartbreaking lines comes towards the end of the song when it says, "And I'm always tongue-tied at the wrong time / For a long time / And I know that you get your strength back / When I lose mine / And I always lose mine / So, here we go again, here we go again / Bring me back again, bring me back again." The artist makes his feelings very clear within these lyrics. It allows us to shoulder some of the pain and hurt regarding the situation, which makes the song even more beautiful.
When it comes to the tone of "Love Me More," I would say it is very tender and introspective, with a sprinkle of longing and vulnerability. The artist longs to love the other person in a healthy way. He longs to love himself in a healthy way. By putting these emotions out there, it leaves him very vulnerable. We get a look at the complexities of love and the emotional journey that we go through when faced with such challenges. This helps set the mood, which seems a bit more melancholic due to the overall message of the song. There's a very beautiful mix of instruments throughout the song, including the acoustic guitar, piano, and some subtle percussion. These instruments work in harmony with the lyrics which helps amplify the emotional weight. The way the lyrics weave into the instrumentation helps create space for the heartfelt message behind the song.
David Wimbish & The Collective is a Saxapahaw, North Carolina-based band. They place emphasis not only on their music itself, but also interpersonal community and relationships as well. This emphasis has allowed them to generate tens of millions of streams, log many hours on the road, and become recognized by American Songwriter, Glide, Parade and more. They also landed on NPR's Tiny Desk Judges' Picks, all before signing their first record deal with Nettwerk Music Group in 2022. They have lit up many festival stages and traveled the country with the likes of The Oh Hellos, RIPE, Tall Heights, and Sammy Rae & The Friends. This past January, they released their EP "How To Survive an Ending." When asked about "Love Me More" Wimbish said, "Love Me More is an accidental prophecy. A song born of deep-seated fear that my depression handicaps my end of romantic mutuality, and eventually erodes my partner's energy for me. And it did." He continued on saying, "A few short weeks after writing 'Love Me More,' the relationship it grasped for ended. That ending, however, confirmed the suspicions echoed in this song. Maybe my mental health struggles wear on the relationship less because of how I show up for my partner, and more because of how poorly I show up for myself. 'Love Me More' is a vulnerable challenge to love myself better, and thus the people that care for me." Check out the song "Love Me More." You won't regret it.
Written By Destiny Rundquist
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