I love trying to figure out what events unfolded to inspire songs. And if I can’t figure it out (or if I want to see an abstract connection), that’s when I let my imagination run wild – I theorize about the endless possible incidents that could have sparked the inception of a song. For example, what’s the offense the offending party committed that led to John Newman’s “Love Me Again”? The offense had to be deeply intimate if the offending party is begging the unfortunate recipient to take a chance on loving them once again. During my theorizing, I’ll occasionally stumble upon a song that both answers and satisfies my burning question of what happened for another song. Lily Moore's latest single, "Summer", meets this criteria. Bear with me, now: I think “Summer” depicts the event that inspired Newman’s “Love Me Again”.
“Summer” is a soul-pop single that depicts a conscious party’s regret in a one-sided fling. A one-sided fling involves one of the participating parties being unaware of the connection’s status. This results in the unaware party investing deeper emotions into the connection with the conscious party. “Summer” begins with an infectious drum-driven rhythm that features catchy piano notes as Moore delivers the opening verses. In these verses, it’s established that Moore is singing from the perspective of the conscious party. While they had fun with the unaware party during the hot season – winter is approaching and it’s “time to go”. This is news to the unaware party, though. They were under the assumption that this connection ran much deeper than a fling. Instead of apologizing for the misunderstanding, the conscious party flips the script on the unaware party in the chorus. Moore’s vocals reach a dreamy high here while laying out examples that should have tipped off the unaware party about this connection’s status being a simple fling. From not calling them to kissing them with their “eyes open” – this forces the misunderstanding to become the sole responsibility of the unaware party when this misunderstanding was fostered by both parties. For anyone that’s ever found themselves to be the unaware party within a similar situation, you know how easy it is to put on rose-colored glasses and dismiss these examples as ‘quirks’. To discover that these examples are not 'quirks' while also being made to feel foolish for thinking they were, deals a considerable amount of pain to the unaware party. In the following third and fourth verses, listeners hear an apology for this misunderstanding, but it’s to alleviate the guilt the conscious party feels – not to acknowledge the hurt they unintentionally caused the unaware party. It’s not until the song reaches its bridge that listeners finally hear the conscious party’s regret, encapsulated with soft piano notes as Moore’s voice matches the solemn nature of the situation. The conscious party has come to the full realization of what they’ve done. “Summer” showcases the breakdown in communication within a relationship; highlighting the necessity of directly communicating what each party hopes to get out of the connection instead of relying on gestures that can take on multiple meanings or be misinterpreted.
So, how does Moore's “Summer” relate to Newman’s “Love Me Again”? “Summer” has the capacity to operate as a prequel to “Love Me Again”. When we focus on musical production and the context of the lyrics (while pushing aside the fact that “Love Me Again” is ten years older), there’s similarities and a heartbreaking story to be told by connecting the two songs. The melody of “Summer” features elements that are emphasized and expanded on in “Love Me Again”. The horns within both immediately come to mind. Listeners hear a faint, yet distinct horn note throughout “Summer”. This is similar to the opening note of the horn section within the chorus of “Love Me Again” – the difference is that the first part of this note gets drawn out further. Symbolically, it accentuates the regret that’s felt within the two songs. This is where the overarching story comes into play. Whereas the regret in “Summer” centers on the conscious party’s realization of how indelicate they were with the unaware party’s feelings, the regret in “Love Me Again” centers on realizing that the connection ran much deeper than a simple fling for both parties. The conscious party has transformed into the offending party that’s seeking to reconnect and revitalize the connection. And the unaware party is now our unfortunate recipient faced with the decision of giving the connection a second chance. It becomes a story of not appreciating the relationships we have until they’re gone. But in the end, this is just the imaginings of someone that likes to theorize.
Lily Moore is a singer and songwriter based in London, and graced listeners with their latest EP Before I Change My Mind, Again… earlier this month. The EP marks Moore’s determination and passion for songwriting; doubling as their return to music after enduring unsavory experiences within the music industry. The EP gives listeners’ a glimpse into Moore’s relationships and the lessons learned from them, with “Summer” being one of the six songs to be featured. For fans based in the U.K. there’s multiple opportunities to see Moore perform live this fall. In early September, they’ll be going on The Bookies Favourite Tour. Locations and tickets for the tour can be found here. Then, for all fans’ enjoyment, Moore recently launched their podcast, The Moore The Merrier with Lily Moore. The podcast is set to include multiple friends of the artist throughout the series discussing life with stories of the highs, lows, and everything in-between. And as always, if you've enjoyed Lily Moore's single as much as I have, show them some virtual love in the form of streams, likes, and follows.
Written by Giavanna Gradaille
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