“Songs come at me fast and furious when I’m busy doing something,” Meaghan Farrell told American Songwriter. That’s exactly what happened this past summer when Farrell moved back to her hometown, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and penned her new single, “My Anarchy.”
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“I moved back home because of COVID-19,” the former Nashvillian explained. “Trying to pay rent with an uncertain touring future made moving home my only option. Moving back after many years of being away brought up a lot of stuff. I wrote this song out of grief and anger and the great feeling of unknown change I found myself in. I was in the middle of moving my mom into a better living situation and the weight of it all just came out while I was moving boxes in a mask in the middle of summer.”
Embodying the headspace she found herself in, “My Anarchy” is an expression of Farrell’s catharsis. Produced by Daniel and Nate Monea of Hey Monea, it speaks to the epiphany of acceptance that Farrell had reached. With soaring vocals, empowering lyrics and a synth-clad arrangement that almost reimagines early R&B, the tune is catchy, dancey and uplifting all at the same time. “The energy and beat of this tune just make me so happy,” Farrell noted. “I wanna dance like a wild thing every time I hear it. The original demo was just me singing ‘ba da da dum’ and Hey Monea just took that idea and built one hell of a track. I hope people get up and dance when they hear this!”
Still, the joyous and upbeat nature of “My Anarchy” doesn’t diminish the song’s potent message of self-love. While Farrell seems to be alluding to the colloquial version of “anarchy” as opposed to the academic study of political statelessness, that doesn’t make her passion any less “radical.”
“‘My Anarchy’ gave me permission to love myself radically,” she said. “To accept who I am fully and let go of what society and others—intentionally or not—made me think and feel about myself that simply wasn’t true. Burn the old stories to the ground. I want people to feel that power within themselves. That they too, deserve their own love.”
Watch the music video for “My Anarchy” by Meaghan Farrell below:
