Behind the Song: “Lemon”

“Lemon” started off as a song about a hike. Well, sort of. 

My first date with the person this song is about was to a hiking trail called “Lemon Squeeze.” When we were driving back from the trail, this person started inquiring about my EP, specifically “Right?” They insisted that the song must have been about my own experiences, and at one point during their cross-examination, said something along the lines of “That would be like if I wrote a song called ‘Lemon Squeeze’ about our date today and told people it was about a friend.”

I would be lying if I said I didn’t eventually take that as a challenge.

So, months later, when I came home from university, only to get dumped out of the blue, my sadness and confusion manifested into this semi-diss-track tune. I wrote this song the night I got dumped and all of its lyrics were both intentional and honest. I recounted every brutal detail of the breakup, and purposefully tied in the symbol of our relationship for good measure. Looking back through my notebook now, “Lemon” is much more of a fitting title for a breakup song than it is for a love song. 

At the time I wrote “Lemon,” I didn’t know that the song would go anywhere, let alone be heard by the public, but it helped me get my emotions off my chest and make sense of a confusing situation. Even though I was devastated, it felt a little like my own inside joke. 

A few days after I wrote this song, my parents told me that for my graduation, they had coordinated a recording session with Van Plating as a gift. They weren’t going to tell me until Christmas (I came home in the middle of December) but they wanted to give me something to look forward to. I quickly shared this song with Van in all its teary-incomprehensible glory.

When I got to Lakeland at the beginning of January, my heartbreak had shifted into its stage of anger. When Van came to me with her idea of turning this sob story into a 90s-esque, fast-paced, borderline indie-rock song, it was an immediate “Yes, let’s do it” from me. 

We reworked the melody I sent her and made some quick lyric changes before recording. I remember feeling refreshed by this song. I originally couldn’t get through singing the song in its’ entirety, but the new charge behind the track both empowered and motivated me. Compositionally, this is my favorite song on the record. I love the instrumentation, and the melody work and I think the lyrics play with the whole “It’s not you, it’s me” breakup that we have all heard about and maybe experienced ourselves. 

This song formatted the theme of the record. It was the first one I sent to Van when I found out we were going to make music together and half of the songs poured out as a response to this track. It gave me my storyline and immersed me in the feelings that come with being young, dumb, and in love. 

It once again reinforced the idea that authenticity in creativity is important, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Thanks for listening :)

Love, 

P.S… More Behind the Song

Lyrics/Credits Liner Notes

Songs that feel like/remind me of “Lemon”