Hannah Hausman’s “whole foods parking lot” will rip you apart before it painstakingly pieces you back together. It’s a song of heartbreaking and learning and most importantly fighting your way through. “whole foods parking lot” will haunt you in the best way, and we’re so excited to premiere it here today on EUPHORIA.
The song was born out of a messy breakup that Hausman went through and a traumatic situation quite literally in the parking lot of a Whole Foods. As someone who pours her heart and soul into her art to channel her feelings, it felt only right to bring all those emotions into a song.
We spoke to Hausman for her story on everything that went into creating “whole foods parking lot” and why she almost didn’t even share it with the world at all. Hit play on the track below and keep reading to hear from the artist herself.
What was the inspiration behind “whole foods parking lot” and what do you hope your listeners take away from it?
Last year, I moved to LA and ended up in a super toxic relationship. We lived together and things ended really badly. I ended up having to run away, moved to Nashville with my sister for a little bit and had to block him on everything. I was terrified of this person I once thought I loved. Two months later, I was in the Whole Foods parking lot in downtown LA and I saw someone drive around the corner in the same car as my ex, a black Dodge Charger. Since the car is so common, I figured it wasn’t his, but he passed me and I noticed that there was a dent in the back left corner, just like his car. Then as I was leaving the parking lot, he pulled up right in front of me. I started having a panic attack and completely froze up. Our ending was so messy and I wasn’t ready to see him yet. I felt like I was just getting over everything and then seeing him sent me spiraling backward. It was such a weird feeling and I didn’t know what to do, so I came home, started playing the piano, and wrote this song.
How has writing this song and putting it out into the world helped you work through what happened with your ex?
Writing this song helped me find a sense of closure — not only for the event, but for the relationship as a whole. In a sense, the song is everything I wanted to say to him in that moment. I never received any closure and I never gave him any. Writing this song helped me find freedom to let go of the bitter, unsettling feelings I was holding.
Initially you weren’t planning to finish or even release “whole foods parking lot” — what made you change your mind?
Any time an event causes a negative reaction within me, I write a song or a poem about it, so that I can create some sort of beauty out of an otherwise negative experience. Initially, I only wrote this song to make myself feel better and to process this event that was filling me with so much anxiety.
I didn’t want to share or release it because it’s so personal and real. Everyone who hears it and knows him will know it’s about him and if he hears it he will definitely know it’s about him. I also didn’t want him to think that I wanted him to reach out to me. It was so hard to walk away from this toxic relationship because over time I had become addicted to the highs and lows that came along with it. With the help of my friends and family, I was able to walk away and completely cut him out of my life. I’m really proud of that and of the progress I’ve made in becoming myself again. My life is a lot more beautiful now without him in it and I would like to keep it that way.
I was so scared to post a video of the song, but I shared a piece of it on TikTok anyway and everyone was so supportive of the song so I decided to finish it and release it.
What’s next for you after “whole foods parking lot,” if you can tease at all?
Hopefully I’ll release an EP later this year!