For her second piece of music this 2023, Gracie Abrams has decided to go with a single that leaves its true interpretation up to the listener. Is Amelie a real person or an illusion conjured up by some past memories?
“I met a girl once / She sorta ripped me open / She doesn’t even know it / She doesn’t know my name / We sat on the sofa / She asked me a million questions / I answered and by eleven / Memorized her face,” she sings in the first verse, her voice gentle and telling of the sorrow she’s singing about.
This highly relatable track has got fans remembering that one friend they knew for a brief period of time, who disappeared from their lives, but not before leaving a mark. “Where did you go / Amelie, Amelie, Amelie? / Where’d you go? / Or were you all in a dream / Amelie, Amelie?” she asks in the chorus, before admitting that she doesn’t have any idea as to Amelie’s whereabouts.
Abrams’ new song feels like the perfect way to describe looking out the window one day, remembering your childhood moments, and wondering what happened to that one friend you cared about.
Even though it sounds nothing like the songs we find on top of the charts these days, it’s still a strong introduction to her upcoming debut album Good Riddance – out February 26.
Speaking about the album, Abrams expressed it was created out of her need to answer certain questions as she gets older in order to keep herself in check. “It forced me to reflect and be accountable It allowed me to walk away from versions of myself that I no longer recognized. It allowed me to let go,” she said.
“I wanted really badly to get to a place in my life, as I am entering adulthood in a more real way, where I’m being more straightforward with myself and not falling into the trap of victimhood in a situation sometimes, but really owning my shit some more,” the 23-year-old told Rolling Stone in a recent interview.
“Amelie” is Abrams’ follow-up single to “Where Do We Go Now” – another song that asks questions that may or may not have answers.
“I feel really more grateful than I ever have for what songwriting has provided me just as a person outside of music,” Abrams shared. “I grew up using it as a tool to process shit but like…to have done it and to finish something… I very much felt like I had kind of done the grieving and really let go of what I needed to.”
Most of the songs on Good Riddance are written by Abrams alongside Aaron Dessner, who also produced the album.