runo plum shines with a soul-stirring warmth on “Lemon Garland,” a wistful and wondrous reverie that aches with longing, intimacy, and the fragile beauty of togetherness. Speaking with Atwood Magazine, the Minneapolis singer/songwriter reflects on isolation, yearning, and the delicate bonds of friendship, offering a glimpse into the evolving artistry that has made her one of indie folk’s most compelling new voices.
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Stream: “Lemon Garland” – runo plum
I want the music to feel good and hit somewhere emotional and real. I want the thought behind the writing to come through, and maybe people will be able to feel what I felt while writing – to catch the little details, to hear the references, to recognize the care.
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runo plum’s “Lemon Garland” is a song of longing and warmth – a wistful, radiant daydream that aches with tenderness and stirs the soul.
Set in a fairytale world of shared meals and backyard joy, her Winspear debut is as delicate as it is dynamic: An indie folk reverie that yearns for connection, blossoms with compassion, and embraces the intimacy of togetherness. “Give me company, barefoot and muddy,” she sings in the chorus – a line that feels almost whispered into the wind, like a wish. These are the kinds of words you don’t just sing; you feel them in your bones.
windows open, curtains blowing
lemon garland
dark red cherries
we’re spitting the pits into the garden
the garden
“This song is me dreaming and longing for friendship,” the Minnesota-based singer/songwriter tells Atwood Magazine. “I imagine living in a giant old house in the middle of the woods, hosting my friends and feeling pure bliss. I’ve had little glimpses of this over the past few years, but I currently live pretty isolated from the world. There’s a beautiful 12-string on this that adds such fullness to the song, which feels really representative of the community/friendship theme.”
A Minneapolis native with deep roots in the indie folk and DIY scenes, runo plum has previously toured with artists like Angel Olsen and Searows, slowly building a devoted fanbase with her intricate, emotionally charged songwriting. Written during a period of isolation and recorded in a Vermont cabin with co-producer Lutalo Jones, “Lemon Garland” offers an early glimpse into her forthcoming debut album, patching, out November 14th via Winspear. The song captures both the wondrous, poetic nature, as well as the breathtakingly beautiful fragility, of her artistry.
According to plum, “Lemon Garland” came to life slowly – a soft-lit fantasy shaped by real-world loneliness. “This had been a work in progress for the past couple years I’d come to it in moments where I felt really lonely, and I’d find myself dreaming of a time where I wasn’t feeling like that,” she shares. Her vocals are tender and expressive, backed by a lush 12-string guitar and lilting electric licks played by her girlfriend Noa. The result is a soundscape that feels expansive and intimate all at once – a space to be vulnerable, to belong.
plum sends shivers down the spine as she spills her soul over glistening guitar chords, her voice soft and delicate yet no less forceful and full of life:
give me company
barefoot and muddy
give me pointing
at the birds we’ve never seen before
“That chorus was the hardest thing for me to get right lyrically,” she explains. “I was really trying to capture something so pure. It’s just me naming what I want: Connection, playfulness, being barefoot in a backyard with friends. Awhile ago my friend Marlowe, who did the production and creative direction for the music video, showed me a song called ‘Company’ by Amos Heart, who’s a friend of theirs. There’s this line: ‘your company is a part of me, and the best that I can find‘ – and I just remember thinking, damn. That’s exactly it. That’s what I want. Marlowe showed me that song while we were on tour with their partner Alec (Searows), right as the ‘bestiefication’ of our friendship was happening. Thinking of the right words for the chorus, I was reminded of that song, and it felt so serendipitous and special and sort of an ode to that time. It’s even more special to have them both in this music video!”
The idealized vision of friendship that inspired “Lemon Garland” became tangible the day they filmed the song’s music video, transforming art into life. “It is really just a wholesome, feel-good song,” she smiles. “What makes it really special is that the fantasy I wrote about actually became real on the day we filmed the music video. That day felt like a gift. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and most the friends in that video live in Portland, so I only get to see them a few times a year. But ‘Lemon Garland’ captures one of those rare, golden days. I hope listeners feel that warmth, too.”
we’ll stop to pick some veggies
for the big feast at our friendly table
our table
pass the guitar and show me your work
catch me up on what i haven’t heard about your family
your aunt patti
“Lemon Garland” may exist in a fairytale, but it’s the kind of fantasy we all need sometimes – a reminder of how beautiful life can be when shared with others.
“I know that I want the music to feel good and hit somewhere emotional and real,” plum reflects. “If a song helps someone articulate something they didn’t have words for yet, that’s kind of the dream.” runo plum has crafted a song full of heart, magic, and meaning: A soft, stunning ode to presence, companionship, and care. As she sings about company and quilts, garden feasts and muddy feet, we’re invited to pause and imagine that world for ourselves – or maybe even create it. With a gilded hue and gentle stride, this song glows from the inside out.
If “Lemon Garland” feels like a window into runo plum’s inner world, patching promises a door into the whole house. Out November 14th on Winspear, her debut album expands on the intimacy and longing that shine through this single. Atwood Magazine caught up with plum to talk about her song’s origins, the pull of friendship, and the evolving artistry that has brought her here.
cuddle the quilt that your grandma made
bed on the floor for a movie day
we’re sipping coffee from handmade mugs
give me company
then give me more
give me more
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:: stream/purchase Lemon Garland here ::
:: connect with runo plum here ::
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Stream: “Lemon Garland” – runo plum
A CONVERSATION WITH RUNO PLUM
Atwood Magazine: runo, what's the story behind your song “Lemon Garland”?
runo plum: This song had been a work in progress for the past couple years. I’d come to it in moments where I felt really lonely, and I’d find myself dreaming of a time where I wasn’t feeling like that. I had the verses done for a while but couldn’t quite crack the chorus. I actually didn’t finish the lyrics until after we’d already tracked the whole thing and I was back home in Minnesota recording my vocals. The song was co-produced with my friend Lutalo Jones. We recorded it in a cabin in Vermont in December 2024. There is a really special 12-string Martin on this song that I think perfectly captures the fullness that friendship brings.
I opened a few shows for Lutalo in January after we’d finished recording and brought along my girlfriend Noa to play electric guitar with me. She started playing that main electric melody you hear in the intro, and I was like wait… this sorta needs to be the song. So, we got home and recorded all of those electric guitar parts. We put her amp in my closet, and I made a giant DIY soundproof door from two big cardboard cut outs duct taped together with foam in the middle.
You’ve talked about how this track finds you dreaming and longing for friendship. What is this song about, for you?
runo plum: It really is just that, a big dream. A kind of imagined reality (that I hope one day to be true). The music video has become so tied to the song in my mind that they almost feel like one at this point. There’s this sense of fairytale world that exists within “Lemon Garland.” Something tender and magical. As perfect as that day was, it’s not something I’ve often experienced in my real life. I’ve spent the last five years pretty isolated, and growing up, I moved a lot and never fully “in” any one friend circle. Or I’ve been in friend circles where it just doesn’t feel like the right place for me. In the “Lemon Garland” world, it’s just the right fit, which is sort of ironic because I am wearing this extremely feminine dress which I would never ever actually wear in real life – but it is supposed to be a different realm after all.
“Give me company, barefoot and muddy. Give me pointing at the birds we've never seen before.” These words sent shivers down the spine. Can you share more on what they mean for you, as you read them, as you sing them?
runo plum: Going back to what I said earlier, that chorus was the hardest thing for me to get right lyrically. I was really trying to capture something so pure. It’s just me naming what I want: Connection, playfulness, being barefoot in a backyard with friends. A while ago, my friend Marlowe, who did the production and creative direction for the music video, showed me a song called Company by Amos Heart, who’s a friend of theirs. There’s this line: “your company is a part of me, and the best that I can find” – and I just remember thinking, damn. That’s exactly it. That’s what I want. Marlowe showed me that song while we were on tour with their partner Alec (Searows), right as the bestiefication of our friendship was happening. Thinking of the right words for the chorus, I was reminded of that song, and It felt so serendipitous and special and sort of an ode to that time. Even more special to have them both in this music video.
How does this track fit into the overall narrative of your artistry in 2025?
runo plum: There’s gonna be a lot of yearning coming from me in 2025 from all different aspects of life. “Lemon Garland” is just one expression of that. I’m excited to share more full band, arranged songs like this one, as well as some more classic stripped-down, intimate runo plum tracks. Both sides feel equally true to me right now.
The fairytale world happening in Lemon Garland is pretty exclusive to this song, not necessarily something I’ll be continuing, but it was fun to explore. What you will see from me is gonna be more raw, more grounded, real-life Runo Plum.
What do you hope listeners take away from “Lemon Garland,” and what have you taken away from creating it and now putting it out?
runo plum: It is really just a wholesome, feel-good song. What makes it really special is that the fantasy I wrote about actually became real on the day we filmed the music video. That day felt like a gift. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and most the friends in that video live in Portland, so I only get to see them a few times a year. But “Lemon Garland” captures one of those rare, golden days. I hope listeners feel that warmth, too.
For those who are just discovering you today through this writeup, what do you want them to know about you and your music?
runo plum: I know that I want the music to feel good and hit somewhere emotional and real. I want the thought behind the writing to come through, and maybe people will be able to feel what I felt while writing – to catch the little details, to hear the references, to recognize the care. That’s really matters to me. If a song helps someone articulate something they didn’t have words for yet, that’s kind the dream. Writing does that for me. It feels so good to finally name something I didn’t know how to before.
My music lives in different places, sometimes intimate, sparse folk songs, sometimes heavily arranged indie rock songs. The variation will always be a part of how I write. I want to leave a lot of space for variety of what my sound can be. It’s all still flourishing.
I’d love to say that one day the music will speak entirely for itself, but I’m not sure it’s that simple. I’ve been chasing this feeling of wanting so badly to create a collection of music that truly represents me the most, but I think it might just always be something that’s evolving, because I will always be evolving as a person. Which is sort of a blessing in disguise because it just forces me to continue creating.
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:: stream/purchase Lemon Garland here ::
:: connect with runo plum here ::
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Stream: “Lemon Garland” – runo plum
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© Alexa Viscius
© Alexa Viscius
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