Newcastle-based singer/songwriter Joe Ramsey leans into the liminal space between who we are and who we want to be in “Mornings,” a beautifully introspective indie folk song that reckons with presence and purpose, disconnection and desire.
Stream: “Mornings” – Joe Ramsey
There’s a raw kind of reckoning that happens when the world is still; when we wake up late again, unsure of where the time went or what it’s all for.
In those moments – hazy, disjointed, half-lived – we’re faced with the uncomfortable truth that time doesn’t wait. It’s the one thing we never get back, and yet we spend so much of it feeling stuck, uncertain, or out of sync with ourselves. “Mornings” lives in that in-between: The pause between who we are and who we want to be, between the life we’re living and the one we long for. Joe Ramsey leans into that liminal space in his latest single, a beautifully introspective song that aches for presence, for purpose, and for peace.
I keep missing the mornings
And I wish I was awake
There’s no lessons I’m learning
Sleeping in a state of all that it takes
To make a lining in the sand
To cross the desserts of the land
Do I own it?
The differences are plain to see
The less I breathe it openly
Do I long for it?
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Mornings,” the latest single from Newcastle-based singer/songwriter Joe Ramsey. A melancholic yet quietly hopeful indie folk track, “Mornings” finds its strength in stillness, swelling from a soft acoustic hush into a soaring full-band crescendo. It’s a bold yet intimate return for Ramsey, whose 2022 debut EP Making Notes introduced his seamless fusion of solo lyricism and indie rock dynamism. With “Mornings,” he opens a new chapter – one built on reflection, intention, and the deep desire to make your time here count.
“‘Mornings’ explores the haze of brain fog and the feeling of disconnect that defined my mornings during an unconventional time,” Ramsey tells Atwood Magazine. “I would then feel productive later in the day, where the reason behind the line ‘am I living all the lives that I craved’ was inspired – questioning whether I was doing all I could.”
That question pulses at the heart of the song – and it lands like a gut punch:
Have I been losing all the time that it takes?
Of course it is
And do I recognise the life that I lead?
I know it is
A privilege to render
Imagining the waste
Have I been living all the lives that I craved?
Built around themes of time, self-inquiry, and emotional inertia, “Mornings” is a meditation on how we show up – or don’t – in our own lives.
The lyrics teeter between exhaustion and yearning, asking not just how we spend our days, but why. It’s a quiet confrontation with the version of yourself you thought you’d be by now – and the tender admission that you’re still trying.
I keep missing the mornings
And I can’t say it’s a mistake
I’m realising that it’s all too long
A subconscious thing to break it away
To write a letter in the hand
To make myself a better man
Do I long for it?
Have I been losing all the time that it takes
Of course it is
And do I recognise the life that I lead
I know it is
A privilege to render
Imagining the waste
Have I been living all the lives that I craved
The question is…
Musically, the song is lush and alive. Produced by James Kenosha (Mosa Wild, Gavin James), “Mornings” blends bright guitar lines with a grounded rhythm section, allowing Ramsey’s voice – warm, emotive, and understated – to shine. Fans of Ben Howard, Leif Vollebekk, and Ken Yates will find plenty to love in its layered textures and lyrical vulnerability.
There’s a standout emotional resonance in the song’s refrain – the repeated “hold tight or let it go” – that encapsulates its central tension: between control and surrender, between who we are and who we want to be. It’s not just a question; it’s a way forward.
Hold tight or let it go
I’ll try it on my own let’s go
Don’t keep the curtain closed
It’s too hard only December knows…
“Mornings” doesn’t offer easy answers, but it offers space to ask the right questions – and in doing so, it becomes more than just a song – it becomes a pause, a mirror, a breath.
Stream “Mornings” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and take a few minutes to check in with yourself, courtesy of Joe Ramsey. Are you where you want to be? Have you been living all the lives that you craved?
Have I been losing all the time that it takes?
Of course it is
And do I recognise the life that I lead?
I know it is
A privilege to render
Imagining the waste
Have I been living all the lives that I craved…
— —
:: stream/purchase Mornings here ::
:: connect with Joe Ramsey here ::
— —
Stream: “Mornings” – Joe Ramsey
— — — —
Connect to Joe Ramsey on
Facebook, 𝕏, TikTok, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
© James Grant
© James Grant:: Stream Joe Ramsey ::
