Lizzy McAlpine is planning a funeral in “doomsday,” and she appreciates your heartfelt condolences and your deepest sympathies.
Stream: “doomsday” – Lizzy McAlpine
Lizzy McAlpine is planning a funeral; She appreciates your heartfelt condolences and your deepest sympathies. She assures you, this death wasn’t sudden. Not only does she invite you to the event, but she also invites you to grieve with her. A grim and gifted retelling of heartbreak, “doomsday” is McAlpine’s latest work, and a story of a love that lies beneath the elms. McAlpine carries her heart and mind through a graphic retelling of heartbreak.
Pull the plug in September
I don’t wanna die in June
I’d like to start planning my funeral
I’ve got work to do
Pull the plug, make it painless
I don’t want a violent end
Don’t say that you’ll always love me
‘Cause you know I’d bleed myself dry for you over and over again
McAlpine is a modern star. She gained her following through a series of TikTok and Instagram posts, garnering support for her original songs and pointed storytelling. McAlpine’s songs don’t leave you guessing. She spares no details. Whether it be a The 1975 song that now leaves a sour taste in her mouth or in doomsday’s case, her partner’s fatal narcissism, listeners are privy to secret specifics. McAlpine is recognizable for her trusty acoustic guitar and impressive vocal chops, cultivating a softer sound. She has an effervescent and singular charm, coupled with raw musical ability and the courage to bend genre to her will.
Released October 27, 2021 via Harbour Artists & Music / AWAL Recordings, “doomsday” is a departure. McAlpine tells Atwood Magazine, “This song is about being in a relationship that is so toxic that you know it’s doomed and preparing yourself for that eventuality. It’s heavy in funeral metaphors, because heartbreak to me is like a death.”
We begin with a thick fog. McAlpine’s familiar acoustic sound is clouded with an opaque glow that is unfamiliar, but exciting. Relatively bare, the track holds up McAlpine’s clear and controlled voice. Far be it from McAlpine to sit and wait for the inevitable. Almost conversational she says, “I’d like to start planning my funeral.” Tongue in cheek she adds, “I’ve got work to do.” The guitar and strings join together in the grey overcast and hover above the air McAlpine has created. She starts to delve into her soprano, strong and sweet. We pick up the bows and hear the plucking of the many string instruments as McAlpine’s voice glides over the melodic lines with an overflowing sound. Exhausted, she admits defeat: “Don’t say that you’ll always love me, cause you know I’d bleed myself dry for you over and over again.”
She doesn’t stop there. Almost mockingly she tells her lover, “Doomsday is close at hand, I’ll book the marching band to play as you speak.” The likeness to death continues.
Doomsday is close at hand
I’ll book the marching band to play as you speak
I’ll feel like throwing up
You’ll sit and stare like a goddamn machine
I’d like to plan out my part in this
But you’re such a narcissist
You’ll probably do it next week
I don’t get a choice in the matter
Why would I? It’s only the death of me
Only the death of me
As McAlpine explains to Atwood Magazine, “In the song lyrics I use a lot of funeral imagery and metaphors because to me, heartbreak is like a small death, especially when it’s your first love. When he broke up with me I would actually feel like I was dying.”
With an air of wisdom that can only come from experience, McAlpine paints the picture of dying alone as the music swells. With “no friends and family” to comfort her, McAlpine suffered this loss alone, waking up to find the reflection in the mirror almost unrecognizable. Nevertheless, she persists. Looking straight into the eyes of her former lover she admits, “I feel more free than I have in years six feet underground.”
The death of me was so quiet
No friends and family allowed
Only my murderer, you, and the priest who told you to go to hell
And the funny thing is I would’ve married you
If you’d have stuck around
I feel more free than I have in years
Six feet in the ground
McAlpine reveals to Atwood Magazine, “That line to me is saying that the breakup is ultimately a good thing for me, even though it might hurt in the moment. And that’s really what the song is about. Knowing that even though the heartbreak might feel like a death, it will lead to growth and that is always a good thing.”
“doomsday” is McAlpine’s art piece, once again proving why she is an artist to watch.
There is a newfound maturity here, dramatic yet grounded. It is clear that heartbreak did not get the best of McAlpine; instead, she offers her best to us. Simply put, she moves on and offers the rest. In the end, she reveals, “I feel more free than I have in years six feet in the ground.”
Doomsday is close at hand
I booked the marching band to play as you speak
I feel like throwing up
You sit and stare like a goddamn machine
I’d have liked to plan out my part in this
But you’re such a narcissist
That you did it on Halloween
I had no choice in the matter
Why would I? It’s only the death of me
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Stream: “doomsday” – Lizzy McAlpine
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