Track 6: "Rebecca Henry"

Podcast

Sep 29

Welcome to I Owe You an Explication, I’m your host, Sean Della Croce and today we’re discussing the song "Rebecca Henry".

Stream Illuminations here: https://ffm.to/qqk1jjd

Cover Image by Alex Crawford

All songs written and recorded by Sean Della Croce

Produced by Alan Deremo

What this Song is About

Let's get something out of the way right now—Rebecca Henry is not a real person. Well, she is real, she definitely really exists somewhere. In fact I've heard from an unrelated Rebecca Henry since the song has been out. But any human woman of the same name is not the Rebecca Henry of the song. She is actually really 2 people—when I wrote this song in 2014 she was a philosophy student and a barista. But to you she may be someone else entirely. I mean, YOU could be her.

For the purpose of this song, Rebecca Henry is the most interesting woman you could ever imagine—well that I could ever imagine. She smells like cigarettes, she walks on holy water, she sells her paintings, she knows the truth. You know that saying "we all put on our pants on one leg at a time" — She doesn't. She even puts her shoes on differently. And beneath all of this is a secret. How does she do it? Where is the Walden Pond from which her wisdom emanates. If I could go there, would I finally become the person I'm meant to be? If she could just see me, would I exist?

When I introduce this song during live shows I like to say. "The crush phase of a relationship is really the best. Because you can live in a fantasy world and never be disappointed!...or disappoint somebody else." That's the crux of Rebecca Henry. She gets to be everything in the world you've ever wanted, and she stays that way as long as you never really know her.

The Lyrical Crux

The great irony of the song is that like many things, it's all projection. I've set out to describe an idealized person and all I've actually done is outline my own ideals. The whole thing is a joke. And in some ways the song is completely objectifying—but I think that's a feature not a bug.

For another person to be an object you become a subject. The relationship goes like this: I see you therefore you are—and you are only real in the world insofar as you are real to me. We do this to animals all the time and we also do it to other human beings. Maybe you can think of some examples that come to mind.

The tag at the end of the "Rebecca Henry" chorus turns this whole paradigm in on itself, "Rebecca Henry doesn't see me so I don't exist." The object isn't actually the object after all, she is the subject, and she decides what is real and what is fake. One can interpret this tune as simply a big queer crush song (and it is) but it is also my response to so much of the music I encounter where women are truly depicted as objects and dissected into body parts with no subjectivity or consciousness. It's so old and on some level when I wrote this song I thought, what if it's not "you're lookin' so good in what's left of those blue jeans" but it was "she sells her paintings to her parent's and their friends". One of those images is more compelling to me than the other, but you know, I can't remember the last time I sold out a stadium.

Music Notes

I'm so glad that my producer Alan Deremo got "Rebecca Henry". This song lives in its own world and it is as eclectic and nonsensical as the character at its center. Alan brought in percussion, Mellotron, and a 12 string guitar to create a vibrant universe of sound that compliments the lyrics perfectly. From the lone percussion performance at the outset to the swelling organ through the verses and accordion in the chorus, the song builds to a roiling boil and then cools off just in time for the conclusion.

I also want to call out Mollie Weaver's gorgeous harmonies in the chorus. She hops in on various lines and creates a sort of phantom voice for the character that couldn't be conveyed any other way or by anyone else.

Closing Reflections

When I really think about it, this song emerged from curiosity and to me, by the end that resolves into mystery. We are all unique mysteries unto ourselves with unlimited potential to become new and Rebecca Henry reminds us of that fact.

But that's just one side of the story, and the best thing about music is that we get to share it. So if you like Rebecca Henry first of all, thank you! and second, why? What about this tune resonates with you? Is there a Rebecca Henry in your life? Feel free to comment on the blog post that accompanies this episode.