A holiday centered on love can be laborious to get through when your heart is broken or hurting, so here’s some real-talk to balance out the romance:
I wrote “Happy Ever After” as a reminder that life is full of surprises, and that people are complex, ever-changing creatures – sometimes the ones we think we know best reveal themselves to be strangers when we least expect it. Because life is also steeped in irony, a few weeks after recording this song, I realized I had written myself less of a gentle reminder and more of an agonizing told-you-so. I’m releasing it into the world on Valentine’s Day because for the first time in a decade, this day is a painful one for me, and in my experience there are few better ways to feel pain than through sharing the art that grows from it.
Many thanks to producers Dango Rose and Evan Reeves for inviting me into the Elephant Collective, to musicians Darren Garvey (percussion, guitar) and MeKenzie Solidago (cello, vocals) for lending their talents to the track, to Dan Rodriguez for the lines that helped me tie the room together, and to all of you for your consistent support of my music and heart. Community is everything in this crazy world, and I’m endlessly grateful for you.
Credits:
Words/Music/Video by Emily Yates
Produced by Dango Rose and Evan Reeves (Rose-Reeves Productions) in association with Elephant Collective
Engineered by Evan Reeves
Mixed by Patrick Tracy
Additional mixing by Max Nordby
Recorded at Elephant Collective Studios, Boulder, CO
Musicians:
Emily Yates – Vocals, Ukulele
Darren Garvey – Percussion, Guitar
Mekenzie Solidago – Cello, Vocals
Erik Yates – Flute
with special guest Elliott Garvey as The Witch