The memories I have attached to Hey Rosetta! are fleeting, but very powerful. As such, I wouldn’t consider myself a fan, but I do have a profound appreciation for Seeds, and in particular the tracks “Yer Fall” and “Welcome.” The first time that I actively listened to Hey Rosetta! was in 2011, driving from my apartment in Philadelphia to a friend’s wedding. Not just any friend, but that of my high school crush who I was both fortunate and unfortunate enough to have remained very close friends with for the duration of both high school and college, despite being romantically rejected during my first ever declaration of love. It’s a wound that I’ll never forget, although now I look back at it through a very different lens that both appreciates her honesty and blushes at my own naivety.
Anyway, Seeds soundtracked my drive up the northeast extension of the Pennsylvania turnpike, air conditioner broken while attempting to blast away the sweltering July heat with all four windows down, and “Yer Fall” did what I imagine is the equivalent of reducing a person to tears. I’ve never been able to cry when I’m supposed to – breakups, funerals – much less for the sake of music, but I felt a lump in my throat when Tim Baker burst into the crescendo: “My love, my love is dead I buried it / What a senseless thing! this heart in shreds in the whipping wind!” Something about that line, joined by the wind in my face at 80mph, on the way to the wedding of a girl that I used to love – just obliterated me. It’s a brief memory, but one so palpable and distinct that I can almost slide it out of my memory and right into a picture frame. It’s strange then how at the wedding when they read off the line “love endures all things” that I felt not resentment nor self-pity, but an overwhelming sense of resolution; seeing her happy and in the best moment of her life settled something deep inside of me . I drove home in peace that evening, as if a new page had been turned.
On the flip side of the coin, it’s 2019 and I’m sitting in my living room watching my son roll over and hearing him laugh for the first time, in succession. Naturally, “Welcome” comes on shuffle, a song about bringing new life into the world and having that child immediately validate your entire existence. You’ll be a bright light coming out of the dark. Again, not one to tear up at the big moments in life, I get goosebumps at the sensation of the stars aligning and I can’t help but grin widely. What a difference eight years makes. Despite associating Seeds with songs about heartache and my own painful memories to boot, I still get an uplifting feeling from this album every single time. It’s a strange emotional dichotomy, but one that speaks to the silver linings that Hey Rosetta! are able to infuse into each song with effortless subtlety. I sit back and think to myself, in some form or another, that love never dies – it just changes form. It endures all things: the ups, the downs – and no, you can’t get off . That’s the message I get from Seeds – an album whose darkness blossoms into life-affirming beauty.
I primarily have “Yer Fall” and “Welcome” to thank for that.
