Singer/songwriter Emily Hackett just dropped another new song from her upcoming record. Following the more upbeat tunes "Nostalgia" and "Good Intentions," "Josie" takes on a more somber tone.
In "Josie," Hackett echoes the "Strawberry Wine" feeling of missing innocence, but unlike Deana Carter, Hackett doesn't just look back on her own experiences, but she uses those experiences to advise someone else. The song is about Josie, someone who Hackett obviously feels protective of, but the lyrics are specific in a way that hints at Hackett seeing herself in this girl. She's a teenage girl who reads Jane Austen and romanticizes relationships, something specific to Josie. But the chorus speaks from experience, with Hackett advising, "Once you've tasted his lips, you can't act like you've never been kissed."
The song is fairly comforting in message, but the emphasis on electric guitars beginning after the first chorus and continuing through to the bridge, paired with the lyrics "Save yourself the heartache / Don't you know it's worth the wait / Cause no one can fix what he might break" turns the song into more of a warning. The transition from the acoustic based production in the verses and early choruses to the heavier production adds a more serious tone to the song.
Hackett's final "Oh, Josie," ends the song on a somber, almost desperate note, with Hackett hoping that she has heard her. The almost-forgotten pain weaving in and out of the song reveals itself in that final line. She's praying that Josie will protect her heart, because that was something that it seems Hackett wasn't able to do for herself.
Overall rating: 4 ½ crowns
The song is fairly comforting in message, but the emphasis on electric guitars beginning after the first chorus and continuing through to the bridge, paired with the lyrics "Save yourself the heartache / Don't you know it's worth the wait / Cause no one can fix what he might break" turns the song into more of a warning. The transition from the acoustic based production in the verses and early choruses to the heavier production adds a more serious tone to the song.
Hackett's final "Oh, Josie," ends the song on a somber, almost desperate note, with Hackett hoping that she has heard her. The almost-forgotten pain weaving in and out of the song reveals itself in that final line. She's praying that Josie will protect her heart, because that was something that it seems Hackett wasn't able to do for herself.
Overall rating: 4 ½ crowns