Everything has an ending point. All experiences must come to an end sooner or later. Recognizing when that point arrives and then actually letting things end can be one of the toughest experiences in anyone’s life. Still, it’s the healthy, correct thing to do in order to move forward. That struggle and recognition informs many artists, including Chicago-based songwriter Taylor Rogers. She’s put this tug-of-war into her new track “BE4U” (pronounced “Before You”), which we’re thrilled to premiere on Substream today.
As is deserving of the subject matter, “BE4U” is thoughtful and measured. Rogers–an accomplished guitarist–anchors the song with deliberate chords on her acoustic guitar and vivid natural imagery, equating this natural cycle of letting go to the cycle of the natural world. Still, the process can be challenging and leave us feeling exposed, which she movingly explains on the chorus, singing “Fire burns out, river runs through, water runs dry, laying me bare before you.” The rest of the instrumental is a delicately structured construct, and special note goes to cellist Shannon Hayden, whose work elevates “BE4U” greatly. This is no easy subject to talk about, but Rogers does an incredible job explaining it on “BE4U.”
Rogers got into the meaning of the song with us, saying “Sometimes the simplest expression of love for oneself or another, is to let go. The process of letting go is so hard, and left me feeling helpless and vulnerable in ways I had only experienced as a small child. The feeling of emotionally clinging to something already gone is very present here.”
You can listen to Taylor Rogers’s new track “BE4U” below.