Check out the new video from Grace Morrison, who calls her style ‘Saltwater Country’ in recognition of the connection we all feel with the ocean and other water sources, particularly its ability to cleanse us both physically and spiritually. Over the course of four albums, she has explored such sentiments, along with the key elements of life, love and loss. Her latest record, ‘Maybe Modern’, was released in April 2023.
‘Wasted’ is a song full of resignation and regret, its lyrics full of authentic detail and feeling and the sense that the song reflects real relationships and real heartache: “I’ve moved on I think // But in quiet moments // Like washing dishes at the sink // I remember…I was wasted all that time // When I was waiting // For your voice, soft and clear // To tell me what I wanna hear // That it wasn’t wasted time.” It’s direct and aching with loss. Beginning with a gently tuneful strum, Morrison then begins to sing and it’s her voice that striking here; it’s a great country vocal with clear tone and excellent range, convincing and engaging throughout.
Morrison says of the song: “When I introduce this song onstage I often say, ‘here is a song about an asshole!’ A few years back I found myself in a relationship that absolutely felt too good to be true. He presented himself as single (he was married). He love bombed me (used love and adoration as a manipulation tool). He controlled the communication (because again he wasn’t even single). And I fell hook line and sinker. It was the most intense feeling of ‘love’ I’d ever felt (it wasn’t love. It was manipulation and infatuation). And when it ended I was broken. I went from the highest high to the lowest low. Sometimes in dreams I’m back in that place. I wake up from those dreams unable to shake the feelings I thought I’d left in the past. I was drunk on love and I wasted so much time on someone who didn’t deserve me. I’d love to be able to go back in time and redo that whole time period. But then again, I wouldn’t have this song that I love singing (my favorite part to sing is the bridge).” ‘Wasted’ is an example of how an artist channels those raw emotions into something positive and creative. Morrison shares further thoughts on the song, video and new album below. Enjoy ‘Wasted’ and then check out the ‘Maybe Modern’, an album that displays Morrison’s fine songcraft.
Morrison shares her thoughts on the song, video and new album:
This song was written in the hopes that I could forgive myself for wasting my time and heart on one
particular nitwit. We’ve all had those experiences that we would take back if we could. This guy taught
me intense “love” (which I now recognize as love bombing) and then intense heartbreak all over the course of
one summer that will always be remembered as my summer of hell. I like to think I walked away from that
summer of heartbreak as a little bit more of a badass than I entered it. But for years after, I was plagued
with dreams that put me right back in it. One day I said to myself, “Enough is enough,” and wrote this
song. It’s worked so far!
This album is about recognizing our personal struggles and either embracing them “we’re all just broken
things” because our beauty and strength can be found in our brokenness, or recognizing them and
moving on. “I didn’t know I could until I did; I just walked out and took a deep breath.” I felt like a new
person after writing these songs and putting together this album, and my hope is that people will hear
themselves in the lyrics. It has been amazing touring this record and having people tell me the songs are
speaking to them.
We wanted to capture a sense of “freedom” or letting go of the past with the video. All of the spaces we
used are places I go to think or reconnect with myself. We filmed at my family’s cranberry bogs, the beach
we spend most summer days exploring (and where we occasionally catch glimpses of James Spader
because he has a home nearby), and the Horseshoe Mill/Conant Hill in my hometown (also the hometown of
Geena Davis!! I’m waiting for the day she tells the world her hometown is Wareham, MA, and not just
a ‘seaside village in Massachusettes’ )
I broke my leg walking a couple of years ago. Not my crowning moment of athleticism or
gracefulness. In fact, it has caused a deep distrust between my brain and my tiny feet (they are
size 5.5….the size of many 6-year-olds). Justin LaRose, who directed the video, kept wanting me
to walk and look “thoughtful” while he filmed me. It’s amazing that everyday things like
walking suddenly become hard when someone is filming you. For some of the shots, I had to
climb up the banks of our cranberry bogs and, ummm…..I had to slide down on my arse to get
back down because falling down the hill in front of him sounded less humiliating. So just bear
in mind how terrified I am in every scene in which I walk. Now that I think of it, most of that
day of filming, my brain was in this “Come on, walk like a normal person! Look cool while you
walk!” thought loop.
