Multi-platinum artist Bishop Briggs embraces and leans into her “Baggage” in an impassioned anthem of empowerment, emotional reckoning, and self-acceptance.
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Stream: “Baggage” – Bishop Briggs
I’m quite messy. I could say life is messy, which it is, but part of becoming an adult has been acknowledging the messiness that I have, too.
We all have our own crosses to bear – our lot in life that is as unavoidable as it is undeniable ours alone: The weight of our past, of people come and gone, of our own mistakes, shortcomings, misgivings, regrets, and failures – it’s a lot, and the older we get, the more overwhelming that pile becomes. Shoving it all deep down can be useful in the moment, but if generations of human behavior have taught us anything, it’s that ignoring our issues and burying them comes with nasty side effects later on. Therapy helps, especially if you’re looking for helpful tools to navigate the storm, or trying to understand where everything comes from and why it’s with you now.
The truth of the matter is that those burdens aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, so we might as well face the music and welcome them into our lives, as a part of our everyday lived experience. Maybe the best solution is one of acceptance – and what better way to get there, than with a song that soundtracks our very own journey? Bishop Briggs embraces and leans into her “Baggage” on her achingly intense new single, an impassioned anthem of empowerment, emotional reckoning, and self-acceptance.
Can’t write the songs I used to
Cause I’m lucid
In my state of mind
I cut some ties I tried to
But there’s wounds
That I can’t leave behind
I wanna be high
like cinnamon Mulholland Drive
But my enemy’s on the inside
It’s bleeding me, bleeding me dry
Released May 12, 2023 via Arista Records, is a triumphant return for Bishop Briggs. The multi-platinum singer/songwriter’s first song of 2023 arrives in the wake of a slew of singles steadily teased out over the past year, including 2022’s “superhuman,” an intimate and empowering track that came just months after she and husband Landon Jacobs (of Atwood favorite Sir Sly) welcomed their first child into the world (the track’s single art featured a picture of Briggs holding their baby boy in her arms).
Whereas “superhuman” inspired through an uplifting, spirited, you-can-do anything attitude with lyrics like, “The truth is you can do anything… you’ll get through it ’cause you’re superhuman,” “Baggage” inspires through its sheer vulnerability and Briggs’ brutally honest attitude. She comes to a fever pitch in the song’s catchy, cathartic chorus, owning her flaws and fractures, failures and insecurities as part of her truths.
That’s my baggage
This shit gets hard to manage
I’m carrying a casket
There’s no other way
My heart’s so calloused
I’m broken, bruised and damaged
Gave up on feeling balanced
But dammit, that’s my baggage
My heavy heavy baggage
It’s a provocative scene to experience from a listener’s perspective; now imagine her singing these words every night.
For Briggs, writing this song was its own form of therapy.
“I am not perfect. In fact, I’m quite messy,” Briggs tells Atwood Magazine. “I could say life is messy, which it is, but part of becoming an adult has been acknowledging the messiness that I have too. “Baggage” is the first song where I stand in the mud and triumphantly stomp my feet in it. I can only hope that others feel empowered to own their version of messy and know that they aren’t alone in it. I have found that when I unabashedly show my imperfections and my wounds I am growing. So, there you have it, that’s my baggage.”
I wish it wasn’t all true
I’m so cynical and miserable, stay away
Swear after all I’ve been through
It’s a miracle I can even pray
I wanna be high
Like cinnamon Mulholland Drive
But I just can’t be who I’m not anyway
Directed by Anastasia Duchess and Kristen Brancaccio, the “Baggage” music video further accentuates those humanizing qualities that help Briggs’ raw lyrics stand out so intensely, making the overall musical and visual experience so powerful.
“I didn’t know how well I could hide my sorrow until I did it,” Briggs reflects. “Outwardly I would have fleeting moments of socially acceptable niceties and then the minute I was alone I would dissociate, completely unable to function. How could these two extremities exist in one body? It was and is exhausting. I wanted this music video for “Baggage” to show that our blue circles aka our trauma can be meticulously hidden even if someone appears okay on the outside. I hope that whoever watches knows that they are not alone and that there’s a community of people waiting to be supportive.”
That’s my baggage
This shit gets hard to manage
I’m carrying a casket
There’s no other way
My hearts so calloused
I’m broken, bruised and damaged
Gave up on feeling balanced
Dammit, that’s my baggage
My heavy heavy baggage
“Baggage” is the start of a hopeful new chapter for Briggs as she moves forward in her own life, bringing her past with her but no longer letting it weigh her down as she looks toward a brighter future ahead.
“I’m feeling really hopeful that this year will bring some healing,” she shares. “It’s been a turbulent journey to get here and I think we’ve all collectively felt so many feelings all at once. If this year includes lots of laughter from my son and shows where we all feel that electricity, I’ll be very happy. I want this year to be connective through music, energy, and love. Fingers crossed!”
Heartfelt and humanizing, vulnerable and deeply impassioned, Bishop Briggs’ “Baggage” is worth the weight.
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Stream: “Baggage” – Bishop Briggs
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© Ashley Osborn
© Ashley Osborn
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