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Tin Cup Prophette was the first local artist I ever saw in Athens, so I thought it would be fitting to start the first entry with the song that opened my eyes to the audio feast in this here college town.
What had struck me most about “Going Numb” was the way the violin complemented the haunting lyrics throughout the song.
For her initial verses we have staccato, plucked violin that creates an alert pace. And when the song crescendos into the chorus, a solemn violin melody is layered on top. That part is pretty freaking euphoric, honestly.
So have a listen here, and read the story behind the song directly from the artist’s fingertips to your eyes.
P.S. the song is the second track on the website.
• What inspired you to write the lyrics? Was it personal experience
or observation?
“Going Numb” is definitely based on a personal experience, but I like to make it ambiguous enough so that people can interpret it for themselves. It is basically about being in a position (having a job, etc) that you really resent or don’t enjoy to the point where all you can do is force yourself to be numb to its affect on you.
• Why did you title it as “Going Numb”?
It is titled ‘Going Numb’ because it best represents the feeling of slowly shutting oneself off to the rest of the world in order to cope with an unpleasant situation.
• Why should your face have no eyes, no scorn, no vacant stare, etc?
What I see as the process of going numb is the slow shutting down of one’s senses: becoming blind to the surroundings.
• Why are you ‘opening fire’ and who is ‘going down like a place I never could admire’?
It’s really just a figurative way of stating my anger for something/someone. It’s a way of saying, I want you to suffer.
• There seems to be a dichotomy between mind and body in the lyrics, is that intentional?
Yes, when you shut yourself off from something, it isn’t just a physical change. It’s a mental one as well. I wanted to create the imagery of slowly feeling less and less with each body part until your thoughts become focused on the lack of feeling, or
numbness.
• Could you describe how you decided on the melody, the pace, the instruments for the song?
Basically, I write all of my melodies on the violin and looping pedals. I just create layer after layer until i feel like there is a complete melody and mood. That song is mostly all violin, even the lower registered stuff; it’s just altered in my pedals. There’s a little ambient guitar noise, a little kee bass, and i like the contrast that the glockenspiel has with the lushness of the strings.
• What do you want the listener to glean from “Going Numb” if anything?
If anything, I want any listener to be able to relate something in their life to something in the song. My lyrics are often misinterpreted, which is OK if it conjures up some distinct feeling in someone, whether it reminds them of a person or a situation. I had a girl who had just lost a baby and said that song helped her cope. So, I wrote a song out of anger, and yet, someone else can relate to it in a much different way.
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