Merritt Gibson released his brand new debut album "Eyes On Us" today (March 30th) and to celebrate we asked her to tell us about the song "Burning Red Hot". Here is the story:
"Burning Red Hot" came right out of something that happened to me in high school. I went to an all-girls school, and so we didn't see guys very often. But one night we had a dance at an all-boys school, and I met a guy who I thought I clicked with. To be "talking" to a guy was a pretty big deal at a school with only girls, so I was excited to see where it would go. But then it fizzled out after about a week of texting, which made me feel like he was never really interested in me. I didn't know exactly how I felt -- it was this combination of confused, annoyed, and hurt. I put myself out there, emotionally, and was left hanging. It's the kind of thing where you know it happens to everyone, but it feels like it's only you.
When, a few days later, I started writing this song, I was sick with a bad cold. I was in the car headed to the doctor's office when I came up with the phrase "burning red hot," an image that seemed to sum up my feelings of anger, embarrassment, and passion. Too sick to work out, I skipped crew practice and spent the afternoon in the nurse's office at school. I was supposed to be sleeping, but I had my computer out to type up lyrics and record melodies. While I came up with the line "all-consuming fever of the things I'm not," I really did have a fever.
In the studio, I had the sound I wanted for this song on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't quite articulate it. The best I could come up with was the adjective "swampy." What that means, I'm not really sure. After experimenting with different instruments and riffs, the studio musicians and I? hit on exactly what I wanted -- swampy, but with a pulsing beat. I still don't know quite how to describe it, but it sounds how I felt as I wrote it.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!
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