Photo by Sean Mundy
Breakups are objectively hard. When it comes to matters of emotional human experiences, one can count on never knowing how another person is going to react. Even if a breakup is amicable and everyone gets out unscathed, there is still a fracture, a hurt deep down. On her soft and tender ode "Lullaby," from her recent record Playing House, Montreal-by-way-of-New-York Common Holly tackles the breakup trope in a refreshingly human way. The indie folk tune begins subtly with acoustic guitar and Common Holly (aka Brigitte Nagar) singing sweetly and intimately, like she's writing a last letter to an aching lover, telling them that they are still loved and her going away is the right choice. Jean-Michel Blais' delicate piano cues up, anchoring the track, making it sound more vulnerable and, to be frank, sad. "Lullaby" offers care and space—even understanding and empathy for the hurt one feels after a breakup."When you receive an aggressive letter detailing the ways in which you have wronged someone, how do you know how to respond? Do you defend yourself? Do you retreat in pain? "Lullaby" is the song I wrote in response to my ex's letter full of "bad words" designed to enlighten me on my breakup behaviour," she tells Noisey via email. "To this day I have only ever read it once, but, after the pain, all I wanted for him to know was that I would be respecting his need for me to go away… that was the winter I learned how to live with silence."Listen to the track below:
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