Premiere: The Touching, Quiet Beauty of Emilia Mårtensson’s “Weariest River”

A poignant song of tenderness and knowing, love and pain, Emilia Mårtensson’s “Weariest River” speaks to all who have felt a loved one’s suffering.

Stream: “Weariest River” – Emilia Martensson

And though you can be sure that those glory days are gone, beauty remains in even a half remembered dawn…

Second hand pain is different from the direct thing; we process them differently, and experience them in vastly divergent ways. When someone else we love is struggling or going through a difficult time, it is our acknowledgement of their burden and our supportive presence – however that manifests itself – that allows us to connect with them and their emotions on a deeper, meaningful level. Singer/songwriter Emilia Martensson embodies this experience in her melancholic new song “Weariest River,” an ode to her mother during a time full of sadness and strife.

oh mother, you’re trying your heart out,
but he’s slipping, through your grasp,
in to the long green grass, that will cover us,
just be there, just be there, just be there,

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Weariest River,” the second single off London-based Swedish singer/songwriter Emilia Martensson’s forthcoming album, Loredana. A lauded artist with considerable acclaim, Martensson has over a decade’s worth of experience recording and touring throughout the UK. She wears her heart openly in every performance, and her time-tested passion and charisma can be felt clearly and truly in her latest release.

Written by Jamie Doe (better known for his artist name, The Magic Lantern), “Weariest River” finds Martensson dwelling in a space of reflection – stepping out of her everyday to recognize those forces around her that are bigger than her, and mean the most to her.

“When I told Jamie about my idea to write an album where I celebrate and explore the adversity and wilderness about the term ‘Mother’, he went home and wrote the most beautiful song for his own mother,” Martensson tells Atwood Magazine. “His songs sing to me. I am moved by them to a point where I have to sing them. ‘Weariest River’ to me is about showing gratitude towards my own mother at a time where she was caring for my late grandfather. It was written at a time where I needed to sing it the most, and I am so grateful to Jamie for letting me do my own rendition of his very personal and uniquely stunning song.”

you’re not supposed to know
what to do when
your best friend forgets you,
or how to do this at all,
when an empire falls,

but beauty remains, there are wild flowers in the cracks,
and sometimes it rains, and the past comes flooding back,
and though you can be sure
that those glory days are gone,
beauty remains in even a half remembered dawn,
in even remembered dawn,
in even remembered dawn.

Aching lines portray a somber Martensson reaching out to her mother in a soft sonic environment, with the light support of a warm guitar providing the only backup to her flawlessly expressive voice. “Weariest River” speaks to all who have watched a loved one suffer; all who have helped those who are struggling, and borne their pain in some meaningful way.

A song of tenderness and knowing, love, affection, sorrow and sustenance, “Weariest River” is well worth the listen for the comfort it gives, and the connection it offers. Stream Emilia Mårtensson’s latest single exclusively on Atwood Magazine!

Stream: “Weariest River” – Emilia Martensson

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