Emotionally charged song serves as an elegy for a best friend who was tragically lost
Acclaimed artist City and Colour, the moniker for singer/songwriter Dallas Green, has just released the emotionally powerful new track “Meant To Be” via Still Records, an imprint of Dine Alone Records. “Meant To Be” is the first new music from City and Colour since 2019’s acclaimed album A Pill For Loneliness and comes following a painful, life-changing loss.
The hauntingly melodic song begins with Green’s affecting vocals slowly swelling into the impassioned refrain questioning destiny following a tragic event. In September of 2019, while the band was on a break during an Australian tour, Green received the news that his best friend and longtime City and Colour producer Karl Bareham drowned while visiting the country’s Gold Coast. While still emotionally distraught, Green was requested to identify his friend at the morgue, a chilling experience he still carries with him. As he puts it, “That was the hardest moment I’ve had in my entire life. It changed me forever.” Combined with navigating personal issues upon his return to his native Canada and a global pandemic, Green was struggling and completely overwhelmed.
As he began to cope, the lifelong songwriter Green had not set out to write about the loss; in his heart and soul, he had no idea how he would. But one day, a line suddenly came to him – “the sun kept on rising” – followed by a melody. Green wrote it down and stepped away – it was then that he knew he was on the correct path to honor his dear friend.
Writing “Meant To Be” turned out to be a much-needed pure and cathartic experience for Green. The song is a beautiful, heart-wrenching, and fiery elegy that resonates deeply. Listen to “Meant To Be” here.
