Charity Children’s beautifully bittersweet “We Loved” cherishes a love come and gone, bringing to life a world of emotion through a stunningly intimate, touching performance.
Stream: “We Loved” – Charity Children
I know that it is something gone, but forgetting your past means you never really move on…
It turns out that Oasis were really onto something with the phrase, “don’t look back in anger.” Negating the past because of present circumstances, or seeing only the bad and none of the good does a disservice to history, to ourselves, and to the ones we used to love – and on their first single in years, indie pop duo Charity Children have found a way to truly internalize that sentiment. A wistful smile is still a smile, a broken heart still beats, and love remains love, even if it is no more. Charity Children’s beautifully bittersweet “We Loved” cherishes a love come and gone, bringing to life a world of emotion through a stunningly intimate, touching performance.
I know that it’s something, I know that it is something gone,
but forgetting your past means you never really move on.
You hurt me with words, yes, you hurt me with the words you spout-
“What a waste of time, ‘cause we never really worked out.”
But we worked,
‘cause we loved each other fully not a half and not a quarter.
We loved like in a desert when a thirsty man drinks water.
We loved for all the lovers stifled in their faith but maybe
we loved each other past the point when the lovin’ made us crazy.
Released March 26 via Charity Children Records, “We Loved” arrived earlier this year as Charity Children’s first song in five years, and the lead single off the band’s forthcoming third album Almost Young, out this summer.
The Berlin-based, New Zealand born duo of now ex-lovers Chloë Lewer and Elliott McKee, Charity Children debuted with a wondrous acoustic folk song on 2013’s The Autumn Came, and released their sophomore album Fabel in 2016. Their first release of the new decade is poignantly autobiographical, speaking not only to their own love and their own breakup experience, but also their shared journey in the aftermath of that split: Their ‘shared custody’ dog Amy has a presence has a presence in their photos, music, and video, but what is perhaps most meaningful about this song is how two exes overcome the sting of heartache to truly appreciate the love they shared:
In grief and your pleasure perhaps it is you disagree
that I’m a part of you, just as much as you’re a part of me.
You say you were foolish ‘cause in us you never had a doubt.
But, even the warmest of flames, yes, eventually burn out.
So don’t feel like a fool,
‘cause we loved each other fully not a half and not a quarter.
We loved like in a desert when a thirsty man drinks water.
We loved for all the lovers stifled in their faith but maybe
we loved each other past the point when the lovin’ made us crazy.
“When reflecting on broken relationships we often mournfully pronounce that ”It didn’t work out”. ‘We Loved’ questions the flawed nature of this common phrase,” Elliott McKee tells Atwood Magazine. “What is ‘working out’ in a relationship anyway? When two people share a meaningful love is it automatically invalidated when it ends – as most things do? Surely not. We did work, and then we didn’t… but we still worked. The song is inspired by the end of our own romantic relationship and our eventual, sometimes formidable decision, not to mourn what we’d lost – but to celebrate what we had.”
But we loved each other.
And loving is it ever wrong?
But we loved each other.
And loving is it ever wrong?
“‘We Loved’ is a song about the dismantling of a relationship, but rather from the perspective of celebrating the good times once shared instead of lingering on the bad memories,” Chloë Lewer adds. “‘We loved, and that is something they can never take away.’ It’s about acknowledging the bond and still holding onto the love thereafter. ‘Forgetting your past means you never really move on.’ It’s the sweetest song on our record and probably the closest stylistically to what we used to write. It’s also the only song on the record that features a ukulele, which used to be our lead instrument and has now been replaced by piano. It was also written with our fans in mind, who have supported us for the last ten years and it’s especially dedicated to those ones who were upset when we broke up. This is us saying, ‘Hey look, we’re fine. The love still can exist in friendship! We’re cool!'”
I‘ve been acting like I don’t give a damn,
but I secretly check your instagram.
Standing back it is hard to watch you grow.
It takes all I have left to let you go.
‘Cause we loved in every season and we did it with compassion.
We loved each other like our love was going out of fashion.
But loved- and that’s what matters- all I really have to say is
we loved and that is something they can never take away.
And that is something they can never take away.
And that is something they can never take.
Blending their voices in sweet harmony, Lewer and McKee sing every word together over dazzling guitars and nuanced drums. Their vocals gently glide and glisten, evoking the deep emotions they so effortlessly embody. On first listen, listeners may feel inclined to hear “We Loved” as a mournful tune lamenting what once was; but that bittersweetness is more sweet than it is bitter. Charity Children’s delicate tune is, in fact, a celebration: Performed with a level of respect for a kind of love you can’t toss out or throw away. As the pair sing, “We loved each other, and loving is it ever wrong?“
Soulful and seductive, “We Loved” fills the room with heartfelt light as Charity Children bask in the glow of their own love’s memory. It’s a powerful first song back after a five-year absence, but a nonetheless welcome return that already has us excited for their third album.
The duo recently released the second single off Almost Young, entitled “Kills Me.” Gorgeous psychedelia swells and swirls as Elliott McKee takes lead vocals on an impassioned and raw plea to a friend. It’s yet another example of what Charity Children can do with lyrics that hit close to home, and sounds that fill our ears with wonder.
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Stream: “We Loved” – Charity Children
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? © Caroline Mackintosh
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