Arlo Parks shared the fourth single from her new album, My New Machine, on Friday, May 12. “Pegasus” features Phoebe Bridgers and is produced by Paul Epworth, Brockhampton’s Romil Hemnani, and Baird.
Written by Parks and Paul Epworth, “Pegasus” is a happy song about the kind of love we all deserve and crave – the kind of love that makes you call your mother just to tell her that you’re happy.
“I span ’round and screamed, I feel elated when you hold me / And you got shy and beamed, I think it’s special that you told me / I think you’re special ’cause you told me,” Arlo Parks sings in the chorus – with Bridgers’ vocals complementing her smooth vocals – of what it’s like for someone to make you feel special.
Writing on Twitter ahead of the single’s release, Park said: “This song is about the purity and rarity of true love, that feeling of solidity, of finding a real home in another human being, of wanting to be better with/for someone but being held as you are. The video captures that frenetic joy and energy – the barren backdrop of the desert, finding relief and color after a long time of being alone – I can’t wait for you lot to peep this oneeee.”
She also praised Bridgers in an Instagram post, calling her “one of the most intelligent and generous creative forces we have.” She also praised Bridgers’ songs “Funeral” and “Motion Sickness” for inspiring her younger years and making her cry.
The single is accompanied by a music video directed by Bedroom, which is shot in a desert landscape. It sees Parks driving along in a car while different people, including a pregnant woman, stop her to hitch a ride. She picks them all up, only for the car to start smoking, leaving them stranded in the desert. However, they pass their time doing different things. She’s also seen having fun with Bridgers in the desert. After watching the video, I believe its meaning is really up to anybody’s interpretation.
Talking about the video, Park says, “The desert landscape has always had a special place in my heart, the scorched land, the dust, the sense of absence. Films like Gerry, My Own Private Idaho, and Paris, Texas all use the desert as its own character representing isolation, nostalgia and the journey to a place outside of yourself. Bedroom did an incredible job of meshing surreal dreamscapes with real intimacy to make one of my favorite music videos I’ve ever made.”