ARREN hopes new single "Broken" makes that state feel a lot less solitary than it should
"We'll be singing 'la's," he sings
ARREN, the Dublin-based artist by way of Limerick, released single “Broken” last week. It’s a song he hopes acts as a balm for those going through mental health challenges. In a little over three minutes, ARREN crafts folk-pop that makes its eponymous state of being something that is what it is, for the moment, as well as an opportunity for solidarity.
“I wrote the song during (the height of) Covid, which was the same time I was in a long-distance relationship with a girl who had moved to Australia, so things were quite bleak for me at that time,” he said. “Especially with lockdown, I didn't really have anyone to talk to about these struggles, so I channeled everything into music. If I didn't have songwriting as an outlet for this, I probably wouldn't be here today. The thing that I found about depression and anxiety or any other mental health issue is that even though it is something you are going through, so many other people are also going through that. I found there's community in depression, and since we are all in this together, maybe things will work out one day. That's what 'Broken' is about, and I hope people who listen to it will be able to feel a bit better about their situation.”
In writing “Broken,” ARREN used bits of his situation at the time to craft something he hopes speaks broadly.
“With the lyrics for ‘Broken,’ I wanted to be somewhat vague,” he told Chilltown Blues. “The purpose of the song is to reach out to those who have struggled or may be struggling in hopes that they feel heard or seen, so the idea of not giving a specific meaning to being 'Broken' was important.”
There’s a line in the song — “Phone calls teasing silvers on my nightstand” — that ARREN is happy to let be interpreted in the evocative way it comes with no context of his life when he wrote the song. This listener’s interpretation wondered about silver linings, and for ARREN that works just fine.
“It's interesting you picked up on this line,” he said. “I haven't heard anyone mention it yet. There's no huge analogy for it. It's quite literal. I'm talking about video calls with my girlfriend in Australia and having a silver necklace I bought for her on my nightstand be teased in the back of the frame and to see if she would notice it. The line is just part of setting the scene for the time I wrote the song. I like writing specific lines that only I know the exact meaning of. I think it's important to not be overexplaining things in songs. Songs and lyrics should be open to interpretation, that's how people can connect with it. Teasing silvers is whatever you want it to be.”
The “La”s of the chorus, however, are about “you,” the listener, not being alone.
“… In ‘Broken,’ it represents the community,” ARREN said. “I say ‘we'll be singing,’ not ‘I'll be singing.’ The ‘la’s make the song really approachable. You don't need to know lyrics to be part of it. All of us singing the ‘la’s together says that we are struggling, but things will be alright because we are here for each other.”
When asked whether or not he thinks pop culture focuses on whatever the opposite of brokenness is these days, ARREN said he thinks mental health is becoming less taboo than maybe it was years ago.
“I guess it also depends on the genre of music,” he said. “Folk is making a huge comeback and there are lots of top songs that are driven by mental health. It's great to see. In my own community, I surround myself with artists whose music I enjoy and believe the themes they are explore are important.”
You can find “Broken” on Bandcamp and all major streaming platforms, and you can find ARREN on Instagram @arrenmusic.