Nashville is a long way from Switzerland—more than 4,660 miles to be exact—but its a distance Caroline Marquard is willing to go on her latest stripped down version of “Only One,” the second in her live video series From Switzerland to East Nashville.
Videos by American Songwriter
Off Marquard’s debut EP The Prologue, co-written with Marquard’s my co-producers Jordan Lehning (Shania Twain, Kacey Musgraves) and Jase Blankfort (Ed Sheeran, Alejandro Escovedo), “Only One” dives deep into the paranoia around finding a true love and how it can fall apart. Originally pulled together from bits of lyrics and a melody that Lehning had sitting around for several years, Marquard had its missing piece.
“Jordan actually came in with the idea and had been sitting on it for a while, but hadn’t been able to finish it,” Marquard tells American Songwriter. “He thought my voice and vibe would be perfect for it and I thought so too, so we finished it together.”
Now a Nashville “native,” Marquard was born in Zurich, Switzerland, but was raised mostly in the United States. She attended high school in New York, tapped into the Berklee College of Music for a bit before the big move to Nashville. “Only One” is one of five tracks off The Prologue documenting Marquard’s musical journey to Nashville, from her first visit in 2016, and everything that happened in her life throughout the past few years.
In the video, shot live Lehning’s Nashville studio The Duck and directed by Jason Lee Denton, Marquard is joined by Lehning on guitar and bassist Michael Rinne.
Haunting and serene, “Only One” is pulled back in its simple instrumentation and resonating lyrics Could it be that I have lost what’s mine / Fell for all those wicked lies through a heartbreaking refrain of Because in my heart and in my mind, you’re the only one.
“My favorite part about the song is how paranoid is feels and sounds,” says Marquard. “I feel like that’s quite unique and relays the message so perfectly.”
The acoustic performance, a follow up to her first for “Never Should’ve Gone,” are part of Marquard’s upcoming live EP, The Prologue: Live Acoustic Sessions, out August 14.
“The live acoustic version of the song is stripped down to the bones of the song, me singing with Jordan on harmonies and guitar with a little bass added, almost just like when we wrote it,” says Marquard. “I’m so excited to release this live EP, because it gives new life to these songs and shows them in a new light—the way we wrote them.”
