The crossroads of life are paved with existential transitions, some of which one might reluctantly step on, if not want to skip at all. These are usually decisions involving risks, career change, new relationships, and, that which all these come with: growing up, which often only becomes more appreciable as soon as one has made it far enough.
With his latest single, "Running", Oxfordshire folk singer-songwriter Henry Taylour reflects on the anxiety brought by being forced to move on due to the inescapable truth that in life, there's no other way but forward. The track evokes emotions common to people who have come to realize it's now time to leave behind their youth and face tougher responsibilities. Guilt-ridden, unsure, hurting, while still leaving room for acceptance.
Taylour refers to the track as a song about Peter Pan Syndrome, which pretty much explains the imagery therein employed through the lyrics. "I've been running, through these years/ From ticking time/ Crocodile coming to kill this child/ I'm slowly breaking, pace slowing, eyes glazing/ I've been running," he sings in the chorus, in a persona seemingly unwilling to let go of being young, thus the refusal to allow time to catch up.
"Running" also captures the feeling of being judged for why one finds it difficult to take on new responsibilities as an adult. "People been talking, people been talking and it's on my mind/ Wolves dressed as sheep, oh like you've never seen/ Did you say you're on my side?" Taylour muses.
And, as the succinct metaphors pile up themselves toward the end, the coda reminds the insatiably young at heart what they wish was possible. "Wendy don't go away," Henry Taylour repeats over the dreamy, absorbing musical bedrock, as though he can fight the passage of time.
Listen to "Running" below.
Sam is a mediocre artist, musician, and the founder and editor in chief of UNXIGNED. He is a Juris Doctor who leads an excitingly boring life in the confines of his room juggling studies with passion and dreams. He is terrible at finding balance but gets by anyhow. He wants you to follow his artist pages and channels for when he decides to up his game. Pretty open for collabs and will mix your would-be hit song for cheap.
You may also like
The Afro Nick wants you to "Get There Before Noon"
By
/ Menaura blend shoegaze and math rock energy in evocative new single "DRM"
By / Benjamin Sheridan delivers poignant reflection on love's end with "Roses"
By / Matu's "My Favourite Song" reflects on heartache and memory
By / Terry Blade's "Tell 'Em" is a telling blues anthem for freedom
By /