The inspiration behind the brutal yet gentle song.
On the first of August, Morgan Wade released her fourth studio record, The Party Is Over (recovered). The highly personal record features 11 songs, all written solo by Wade as she intensely explored the recesses of her psyche.
A few of the songs on the record also delve back to the early days of her career, before she signed with a major record label, highlighting the “recovered” name of the album’s title. In revisiting these songs, Wade found that they still resonated with the person she is today, and she felt like now was the time to share them with listeners.
When Wade announced the album, she thanked fans for all of their support over the years and explained why she wanted to go back into the archive and include many songs that have meant a lot to her, and to some fans, for a long time:
“A lot of you have been here for a long time listening and supporting me. That means some of you were here before I ever put out my debut record. You heard songs that were demos and early recordings that no longer exist. I wanted to put these songs back into the world and give them life again. Showcase that chapter of my life, and throw in some new songs too.
While these songs might be new to a lot of you, they are old friends to some of you — definitely old friends to me. Hope you enjoy and thanks for everything.”
The entire record is worth a listen, but the song that closes the tracklist hits a very personal note among female fans. The track, “Hardwood Floor,” details the painful struggles of infertility, and hoping and wishing that one day the pregnancy test will come back positive, making the dream of being a mother come true.
“‘Cause I feel like less than a woman
And I pray every night like it’s all I ever wanted
I wanna be quiet, closing a nursery door
I wanna hear little feet on a hardwood floor…”
The song is very personal, but Morgan Wade shared that this song is not just a shared experience among many women… her own journey inspires it. In a recent TikTok post, Morgan Wade writes the following message on screen:
“‘Hardwood Floor’ was born from my own journey with IVF, and the stories of people I love deeply who have dealt with the pain of infertility, and the longing of wanting to be parents. Hearing from so many of you who have walked this road, your messages, your vulnerability has meant the world to me. Thank you for trusting me with your stories. You’re not alone on this floor.”
@morganwademusic We’re not alone on this floor 🤍 #InfertilityAwareness #IVFJourney #HardwoodFloor ♬ Hardwood Floor – Morgan Wade
Learning this about Wade makes the lyrics of “Hardwood Floor” cut even deeper. Morgan underwent a double mastectomy fairly recently after learning that she had a gene that increased her likelihood of having breast cancer. That same gene mutation also increases her risk for ovarian cancer, so Morgan has been undergoing an egg retrieval process in preparation for a hysterectomy. Morgan has admitted that she’s at the age where she would like to have a family and children sooner rather than later.
Fans quickly filled the post’s comments with kind words for Wade, thanking her for sharing the backstory to the song and for providing women going through a similar struggle with highly relatable lyrics:
“Going through my own journey, and at the right time, I came across this beautiful piece. It has truly been so heart-warming. Thank you.”
“My daughter is on this journey right now. She sent this song to me the other night.”
“Even though I am pregnant after 6 years and IVF, the pain and trauma will never leave my heart. Love and prayers to the girls trying for their miracle.”
“5 years of infertility. This song sums it up. Thank you for writing this.”
“All IVF warriors, thank you for a song we can cry to, relate to, and sing to.”
“Wow, so raw, thank you for writing this.”
“IVF was so hard. 2 years with my IVF baby girl.”
I have to admit that I teared up reading through some of these comments. As a woman, the fear of not being able to carry a child is very real. While IVF does help women with infertility issues achieve that dream of becoming a mother, it’s very taxing emotionally, physically, and financially.
While I don’t have a personal IVF experience, I feel much more educated on he experience after hearing Bunnie Xo open up about her IVF rounds. Bunnie has candidly shared her successes and struggles during treatment and admires all other women on the same journey as her, because she now knows it takes a warrior to endure it.
“The women who do this IVF journey are a different breed. It’s crazy, like these women are just straight-up soldiers, man. And I get it, they are on a mission for a goal. But… how bad do I want that goal? You know, like I don’t know if I’m built like them. Maybe that’s why I don’t have kids, because I’m not built like them. I can’t f***ing do it, man. But we are back on track.”
I’ve always admired Bunnie’s transparency during her journey, and now I can add Morgan Wade to this list because “Hardwood Floor” is a beautifully painful song.
Check it out before you go.
