"Shipwrecked" By Ava Wilds

Cover Art for "Shipwrecked"

Have you ever heard a snippet of a song in passing and, before even giving yourself a moment to realize what the lyrics are, you already know you love it? That is precisely how I feel about "Shipwrecked" By Ava Wilds. From the first Reel She posted teasing the song prior to its release on March 28th, I knew it was going to be a new favorite of mine.

Ava's voice is simultaneously powerful and tender, which, coupled with her intricate Lyrics, Makes it especially easy for listeners to immediately identify with her. Ava's Artist bio states that she wrote this song about "her personal experience with sexual harassment." She communicates her story with such feeling without ever being too direct or explicit, which further strengthens her relatability as an artist. Despite having been written about a very specific type of experience, The themes of the song can be applied to a plethora of different experiences for different people. Also, The song perfectly hits the sweet spot for catchiness. It's been stuck in my head since I've heard it, but I'll never get sick of listening to it.

I had the opportunity to ask Ava some questions about her Debut single, and I wanted to share some of her answers with you.

What inspired you to write this song?

"One thing I think I just kind of kept thinking about was how I just wished more than anything that I could just forget that it ever happened and move on, and not let it affect me, and be stronger. but then coupled with that was this totally contradictory- like I mean, the literal lyric in there being "scared to forget" that it ever happened because I was just so scared…Even though I knew it wasn't my fault, there was still this underlying without-realizing-it kind of feeling [That] in some way there was a part of it that I could've controlled."

Was there Any Specific Reason You Chose to Use the shipwreck metaphor to tell this story?

"I don't know exactly How the whole Shipwrecked metaphor came to me. I think it was just one of those things where it just did. I know that Semester I was in this class… We had to set a music goal for ourselves for the semester, and work out a plan to meet it. my goal was to finish writing a song because up until the end of that semester when I met that goal finally, I had never actually finished a song. I had just started tons and tons of songs over the yearS.…I was really making a big intention to just write down every thought that came to mind and always be in songwriting mode…and so, during that semester, as I was kind of grappling with these thoughts, I somehow, just, the line came to me…and I just remember it resonating with me at the moment, but then I kinda moved on and forgot about it. And then because of everything that happened that semester, I decided to take the following semester off. I did a leave of absence, I stayed home, worked at a coffee shop, and just spent time with family, therapy, and then wrote songs. it was during that time that I wrote "Shipwrecked," which is I think the third song I ever really finished, so it wasn't the one I had done that first semester."

What made you realize you wanted to release this song?

"I knew I wanted to release this one just because of, I mean, I was proud of it, and I felt like I haD been holding onto it for long enough, you know? [I] was ready to just let this one go, and put it out into the world, and I guess make it so it's not just mine anymore.…It just felt like it was time for this one. I think it's got a very important, relatable message.…just like that fear of moving on and trying to let something go, and having something that kind of just haunts [You] in [Your] life a little, and those conflicting feelings I think is a very universal experience."

Since the inspiration for this blog is to create a platform to Share about things that I think are awesome, I want to share some of my personal favorite things about this song. First of all, I am such a sucker for a song that doesn't explicitly explain what exactly it is written about. I love being able to listen to a song about one situation when I'm feeling the same way about a completely different situation. i've already been able to connect to this song through my own experiences that are entirely unrelated to Ava's experience. Secondly, I love the way ava utilizes the dynamics of the song to really evoke certain feelings in the listener. This song genuinely feels like being on an emotional journey of my own, I think both of these things are marks of a phenomenal songwriter. I am so proud to know Ava, and I am at the edge of my seat for what is to come in her artist career.

I would love it if you would join mE in Sharing your own joyful shouts for Ava and "Shipwrecked" in the comments!

Stream "Shipwrecked"