London-based singer-songwriter Susie Merry has shared the latest single to be lifted from her debut EP, ‘Body In Time’, out Sept 8th. Titled “The Well”, the track is a meditation on what the future might look like for Merry, following a diagnosis of endometriosis in 2021. Listen here: https://susiemerry.lnk.to/TheWell
“The Well” was written in one sitting on the day of Merry’s diagnosis, faced with the reality of the condition – which affects approximately 1 in 10 women – and in a moment of rawness. “I was suddenly thinking about things I had never given serious thought to – being a mother – and grieving something I wasn’t even sure what capacity I wanted”. Despite the bad news, the song is as much about remaining hopeful and open-minded so as not to let milestones define her. The track title holds a symbol for women’s collective capacity for depth, and their magnanimous nature in the face of difficulty.
Propped up by the finger-picking and thrumming double bass also heard in debut track “Weatherman”, she visits an uncertain future with tenderness – chants of “Still there’s time / Maybe one day I will stand in line” weave underlying optimism into the song.
On the track, Merry reflects, “I had a lot of anger towards my body, but also a lot of softness and compassion. It gave me an opportunity I usually avoided to ponder about the future – but perhaps most importantly it helped me let go of the idea that life needs to follow certain milestones to be fulfilling, and what it means to be a woman. Structurally, it’s a simple song – I needed to make way for that clarity.”
Whilst there are subtle changes, for the most part, this distinctive style provides the palette for her upcoming EP, Body In Time. Though her body’s message to follow her dreams may have been urgent, the EP itself is about the employment of patience: “You might not be able to control everything that happens to you, or your body, or your relationships – the list is endless. But you can embrace being patient, and you can be graceful in the face of adversity, and you will come out the other side a wiser version of yourself. That’s why the EP is named as such – this is my body, and this is what is happening at this time, and it is what it is.”
Pre-order the debut EP Body In Time here
A charcoal sketch of a woman’s body, the art of the EP lays bare just how essential Merry’s body was to the conception of the EP. “Without the diagnosis, I don’t think I’d have done this. It gave me a renewed and nuanced perspective on what I need for a good life.”