There are some songs (you all know which ones they are for you) that hit your gut in a particular way that is totally inexplicable. Words aren’t designed for the way certain chord progressions vibrate inside your body and push your internal “tear up now” or “send chills through spine now” buttons. But whatever that mysterious wavelength is, the chorus of this song, “Go Break Some Hearts,” sure does it to me.
David hadn’t played me this song before we went into the recording studio. I think he wasn’t even sure it would make the record. But as soon as I heard the chorus, I made sure he knew that I would be singing lead on it, and he couldn’t persuade me otherwise.
It’s not the words (though they are painful and full of remorse and confusion), but it feels like the music itself triggers something really deep inside me.
I’ve tried to study it using my musical understanding. The chords are I, IV, ii, V — a pretty typical progression. The melody is also fairly straightforward — a rising arpeggio on the one chord, a falling arpeggio on the four chord — nothing too unusual. But maybe that’s where it hits: in the hard-to-put-your-finger-on familiarity of a great song.
I hope you feel at least a glimmer of the almost nauseous nostalgia I feel listening to this song. And the added satisfaction of getting to sing it on stage backed by an amazing gaggle of musicians— it’s hard to fathom how powerful that will feel to me. And hopefully to my audience too. Just hoping I won’t cry too hard to get the words out.
Here it is, the second-to-last song on our album, You Must Change Your Life, out May 5 on Nine Mile Records.
Go Break Some Hearts by David Wax Museum
Incredible sound, vocals, lyrics. Haunting.
Feeling this song for sure...
Congrats in advance on the album drop
❤🙌🏿🙌🏾🙌🏽🙌🏼🙌🏿❤