I have really high hopes for the music that is being created during this weird time in our lives. I am hoping that there are songs being written with better content than going out, getting drunk, and texting your ex, since no one should really be doing that right now.
During this quarantine, we’ve had a lot of time to spend alone with our thoughts and feelings, the ones that we often try to avoid. Some of us have still managed to avoid them by picking up new hobbies, but on the other hand, deep feelings often lead to some pretty great songs.
Of course, Luke Combs already released his new song, “Six Feet Apart,” which is bound to be a hit because he’s Luke Combs and we can all relate. But I’m talking about songs that are less literal and more introspective.
We actually have received a few songs like this since the quarantine began. Songs that dig deep into who we are as people, what we’re struggling with, and how we can be better. Two that stand out to me are “Brave” by Ruston Kelly and “War with My Mind” by Flatland Cavalry. Both of these songs were written long before this pandemic and inspired by other things in the writers’ lives, but are also incredibly relevant during this time.
First, “Brave” is a solo write by Ruston Kelly, where spends a little time reflecting on past mistakes, but most of the time focusing on the battle to move forward and wondering how he will be remembered when he dies.
When you’re listening to this song, you can really start to think about changes that you’ve made or changes that you can make from here on out to live a better life. There is no way after all of this that life will go back to “normal.” Normal doesn’t exist anymore. So how can we improve ourselves to live in this new normal so that it’s a better place for everyone?
Second, “War With My Mind,” written by Flatland Cavalry’s lead singer, Cleto Cordero and Kaitlin Butts, talks about being stuck wrestling around with all of your past mistakes and poor coping mechanisms.
The song ends on a positive note of realizing that you won’t always be stuck in this difficult place and things will be better. All of that is incredibly relatable to the current situation we’re living. Feeling like prisons in our homes with nothing to do but think about the things we used to stay busy in order to block out.
It’s good to know that we aren’t always going to be stuck in quarantine, but what will we realize about ourselves when we’re on the other side?
These songs help show how universal it is to struggle with things like addiction or mental illness, but they also show how we can keep fighting and move forward to better days and a better life.
This is the kind of introspection I hope more songwriters are inspired to work for in the songs they are creating during this quarantine. We all struggle with different things at different times, but right now, everyone is dealing with the quarantine in one way or another. And hopefully, when the smoke clears and the dust settles, we all emerge from it better than we were before.
