HALSEY’S HIDDEN TALENT REVEALED — PROVING THE GRAVEYARD SONG THEORY (2019)
Guys, we have a winner. Our award for the most beautiful song of this fall goes to… “Graveyard” by Halsey! Painted on the canvas of gentle guitar sound this piece of art radiates the feeling of a warm blanket on a rainy day. With each brush stroke we uncover a coherent picture of vulnerability and discover that music has the power to both reveal and heal. The trick is, there’s no healing without revealing. Grab your brush then and let this music therapy work its magic.
“Graveyard” is a love song. Halsey confirmed the lyrics revolve around caring for someone so much you’re willing to follow them into the dark unknown without realizing how dangerous that might be. Such a grip of the song’s meaning seems obvious and perfectly reasonable. However, I can’t help but feel there is more to this story than meets the ear. Hence my own, equally plausible, theory — what if the concealed message of this music picture was in fact self-care?
Let’s follow the breadcrumbs together. First clue? Halsey revealed the song’s substance was also learning to care for yourself enough not to lose your way. Could it be about your timely reaction to a tiny ball of sadness growing inside of you? This little bastard shows up unannounced as a result of something that happened yesterday or ages ago and anchors in our subconscious mind. So, when the going gets tough, the tough get going, right? Close your eyes, then, wrap yourself in this beautiful song and make a promise…
I keep digging myself down deeper, I won’t stop ’til I get where you are
I keep running when both my feet hurt, I won’t stop ’til I get where you are
When you go down all your darkest roads, I would’ve followed all the way to the graveyard
Second clue — the video. Let me just say, holy smokes, I didn’t know Halsey could paint! Call me uninformed but I thought to myself, this girl on the screen does look like Halsey… but nah, it can’t be. And then, after bringing the most beautiful self-portrait to life in the time-lapse video of the 7-hour process, she turned around and my jaw dropped. Since the painting, which is also the cover of Halsey’s new album, is basically a mirror for her, to me it indicates that the song naturally gravitates towards the motif of self-awareness and self-expression.
Also, when I first heard the opening line — it’s crazy when the thing you love the most is the detriment, let that sink in — I immediately thought of music. More specifically, the hell an artist has to go through when the thing you love to death fails you. It’s heartbreaking. Yet, all hope is never lost and songs like “Graveyard” truly are portals through which you can hold your frightened soul in the warmest embrace. Sometimes you just have to be your own best friend.
Last but not least, the single comes from Halsey’s upcoming album, due to be released in January 2020 (pre-order HERE). And here comes the most significant clue of them all, if that doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will. In one of her Instagram stories Halsey declared that the new record is “an album made by Ashley for Halsey”.*
That’s right, mic drop. My job is done here.
*Halsey is an anagram for Ashley, the singer’s real name.
