The story behind the song.
Megan Moroney released a beautiful live performance video of her unreleased song “Beautiful Things,” which is the first time she’s played it live at a concert. She has teased it some before, though, on social media, and it’s an extremely personal ballad she penned for her little niece.
Megan told the crowd at Credit One Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina, that she was inspired after her niece was born to write something that she can listen to one day and not feel so alone.
She explained that it broke her heart in some way looking at this perfect little baby and knowing that, inevitably, the world would be cruel to her and she would lose that sweet innocent the first time she doesn’t get invited to a party with all of her friends, or has her heart broken by a boy for the first time. Megan explained that while it is for her niece, in many ways, the song is for her and a reminder that “we’re all going through something”:
“Would y’all be mad if I played an unreleased song? I’ve never played this one in a show before, so y’all are the very first large group of people to hear it. It’s a song that I wrote for my niece, actually. And when she was born, I remember just looking at her and being like, ‘She’s so perfect, and I just never want anything sad to happen to her.’
Or, you know, inevitably, one day she’s gonna get older and maybe someone won’t invite her to a party, and inevitably she’s gonna get her heart broken one day. And I literally, in ‘crazy auntie mode,’ was like, I’ve gotta write her a song so that she never has a bad day, so that she can always listen to this song.
And what’s really interesting is that in an interview last week, somebody asked me if I’ve ever written a song to myself. And I had to think about it, and I decided that out of all of my discography, I think if I had to pick a song that I would write to myself, this would also be it. Because I was the girl that, you know, in middle school, I didn’t get invited to the party. And when I got a little bit older, I couldn’t make the guy love me and stay with me.
And I just wish I had a song that said exactly this, and so, I think that’s part of the reason why I wrote it for my niece. And I think this song is just a great reminder that we’re all going through something, so just be nice to each other.”
The lyrics deliver a poignant message about how the world is “hard on beautiful things,” as she points out how even “words can make a mockingbird forget they’re born to sing”:
“You’re standing at your bathroom mirror
Cryin’ ‘What did I do?’ tears
Your friends are out and you’re right here
There’s a party, you didn’t know
You just found out from your phone
Did they not want you to go?
Oh yeah, you feel that twisting knife
Oh, I know it ain’t right
Fires burn up canyons
A hurricane can wreck a beach
Words can make a mockingbird forget they’re born to sing
Lies can break a fragile heart
And doubt can crush your dreams
But honey, just take it from me
The world is hard on beautiful things.”
I think we’ve all been there and know exactly what she’s talking about, sadly. The evidence is in the fact that so many of her fans of all ages are relating to the song and it’s gotten a big response on social media, so hopefully we won’t have to wait too much longer to hear the full studio cut. Every little girl deservers to hear the message she put so eloquently here, and I think it will become another quick fan-favorite, which it kind of already is even though it’s unreleased.
Moroney has been teasing new music here and there over the last several months, and fans have been speculating that she might be announcing a new album sometime soon. She released her most recent record Am I Okay? last year, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if she has something in the works coming out in 2026.
But in the meantime, you can watch her live performance here:
