Today’s classic song that packs an emotional punch is one you might not have heard but are going to love. The song is “Emily” by Beth Nielsen Chapman, off her 1990 self-titled debut album. This one knocks me out every time.
“Emily” starts out as a song about two old friends catching up after many years apart. That, in itself, brings out the feels. The two ladies talk about their kids, what they’re doing now, how the old town has changed. As the lyrics say:
Best friends are made through smiles and tears
And sometimes that fades over miles and years
But I knew right away when I saw you again
Emily, we’ll always be friends
It’s the end of the song that really gets you, though, when you realize just why the singer is visiting her old friend. It’s all in the final verse, between the lines:
We can’t stay, it’s gettin’ late
And they said not to let you get tired
We’ll just be up the street
The number’s right here by your side
Oh no, it’s no trouble
I don’t want to hear about how all this changes my plans
I’ll see you tomorrow
Call me tonight, Emmy, please let me do what I can
Yes, “Emily” is a song about reconnecting with and possibly losing old friends. I cannot listen to it dry-eyed.
(Neither, apparently, can country music superstar Garth Brooks. You can see him wiping away tears at the end of this live performance. If a song gets to Garth, you know it’s a good one.)
Beth Nielsen Chapman is one of the most talented songwriters of the past several decades. She’s written or co-written a ton of songs that were country hits, including “This Kiss” for Faith Hill, “Five Minutes” for Lorrie Morgan, “Here We Are” for Alabama, “Simple Things” for Jim Brickman, “Down On My Knees” for Trisha Yearwood, “All the Reasons Why” for Highway 101, “Happy Girl” for Martina McBride, and “Strong Enough to Bend” for Tanya Tucker. Her own albums are simply superb, filled with some of her best compositions. She even teaches songwriting classes and seminars and such. She’s a real pro.
Here’s Ms. Chapman talking about “Emily” and its inspirations:
“[‘Emily’ is] one of the most requested songs that I’ve written. Every time I perform live, somebody from the audience calls out for that song. It took a couple of years to write. I just noodled around with it and I didn’t even know who in my life it was specifically about. It’s really about friendship and was emotionally a result of the combination of two important friends in my life; one was a high school girlfriend and one was my boyfriend at about the time I was 18, who died suddenly of a brain tumor. So the story of ‘Emily’ is like a collage of these two powerful relationships and the impact of death on my life. It was many years later that I wrote the song. Sometimes all that stuff of life has to process down deep inside until it comes back through a song.”
The result is an emotionally powerful piece of music. I defy you to listen to “Emily” all the way through without breaking out the tissues. It will remind you of the friends you’ve had and the friends you’ve lost. That’s the power of the song, capturing those memories and emotions. It’s testament to Beth Nielsen Chapman’s songwriting prowess that we get all of that in just a little over five minutes, and without getting sappy. “Emily” is a song that never fails to touch me; it may be the most emotional song I’ve ever experienced.
