Behind the Song: “Red Hoodie”

October is the month for ghosts. This song is one that haunts me.

This time of year has historically been a challenging time for me. Last year, my first real love and I parted ways, and the year before that my dad had a heart attack (he’s okay now), multiple family friends died, and I went through a rather heavy transformation period.

People ask me pretty often whether or not my songs are true or about me. Sometimes, as a songwriter, songs are written about other people or for other people. Only after they’ve had a life breathed into them do they manifest into one’s own narrative.

I wrote this song about my roommate. When I moved back into my apartment after the pandemic, my roommate’s boyfriend dumped her during my first week back. It came out of the blue. He showed up at our door and made a joke, acted like everything was normal, and then I returned to see my roommate on the floor in tears.

One of the things she was most upset about was this custom red hoodie she had ordered for him because his favorite color was red and she wasn’t sure what to do with it. Later that night, I started writing this song, and it quickly became a favorite.  

This red hoodie that my roommate bought her ex kind of became a symbol of caring about someone more than they cared about you. Sometimes relationships are uneven, but when you’re too close to the fire, it’s hard to see that you’re getting burned. 

I didn’t know I was experiencing that same exact situation until after I had written this song, and then once again after its release. It’s strange when you can consciously connect with a song that you wrote only after the fact, especially when you consider that maybe this song was about you all along.

I would argue that this song is actually one of my most charged songs.

The bridge to this song is probably my favorite bridge that I’ve written. Every time I sing this song, I have the inclination to scream that part and jump around. That feeling was elevated with Van’s totally ridiculously amazing twin fiddles. It was funny; after we recorded this song and I went back home, Van sent me a text reading “Well, I’ve just done something wild. And I just hope you dig it.” The fiddles brought out this angst from the song that I was immediately in love with. Combined with Mya Byrne’s 12 string, Liam Bauman’s Bon Iver-esque electric, and Reid and Taylor’s drums and bass, this song took on an edgy characterization.

It’s delicate, it hurts, and it’s a release.

So here’s to the ghosts, the people, and the music that will always linger near your heart. Thank you for being the muses behind beautiful art.

Love,

P.S... More Behind the Song

Lyrics/Credits Liner Notes

Songs that feel like/remind me of “Red Hoodie”