Today, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams dropped her new song, “Amelie,” the third single off her forthcoming debut studio album, Good Riddance. “Amelie” follows “Where Do We Go Now?” and “Difficult,” all three of which include production by The National’s Aaron Dessner. The pair have been working together since early 2022, when Dessner co-wrote and co-produced Abrams’ single, “Block Me Out.”
Abrams says Good Riddance is all about asking herself the hard life questions that force you to grow up and “be accountable.” On “Amelie,” those questions all come back to a past encounter with a girl named Amelie. Their interaction was so brief, Abrams worries she might have dreamed it.
On the first verse, Gracie recounts their fateful night together. Their conversation was pretty one-sided, and Abrams worries she didn’t leave an equally lasting impression on Amelie.
I met a girl once
She sorta ripped me open
She doesn’t even know it
She doesn’t know my name
On the chorus, Abrams searches for a sign that the whole thing wasn’t just her imagination.
Where did you go
Amelie, Amelie, Amelie?
Where’d you go?
Or were you all in a dream
Amelie, Amelie?
I don’t know
Unfortunately, distance only made Abrams’ curiosity grow, and as hard as she tries, she’s unable to shake her conversation with the elusive girl.
Why’d it feel louder
When all of it went unspoken?
All I can do is hope that
This will go away
On the bridge, Abrams would give anything to talk to Amelie again.
Tell me more, I would give all my time
All your words felt like a nursery rhyme
By asking the hard questions on Good Riddance, which is set to arrive February 24, Abrams was able to find some much-needed closure. “It allowed me to walk away from versions of myself that I no longer recognized,” she told Rolling Stone. “It allowed me to let go.”
You can read all the lyrics to “Amelie” on Genius now.
