Elvie Shane has a red light to thank for sparking the inspiration for his powerful new song “Pill.” The song broaches the subject of addiction and how it creates a dark ripple effect on those closest to the person using. Shane bravely wrote the song from his personal experience with drug abuse during college. “I stopped at a red light and I looked over and I see 22-year-old me sitting in the driver’s seat of a car and his girlfriend sitting beside him,” the Kentucky-born and raised singer describes to American Songwriter. “Kind of nicer, newer car that was beaten and banged up and they are good-looking kids, but you could tell they were a little haggard.
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“Seeing them, I saw me and my girlfriend at the time. So I got back home and I started thinking about if my little brother would have written me a letter at the time what would he have said,” he continues. That’s when the opening line, Well, you got just enough money for a little white Bic / And a pack of dirty bird lights / The rest of what mama sent you went to a 45-minute high, came to him, setting the tone for the deeply autobiographical song that doesn’t sugarcoat his earlier reckless lifestyle and how he feels about it now.
In an interview with American Songwriter, Shane opens up about why he chose to write “Pill” from his brother’s perspective, how it serves as an apology, and how he hopes the message impacts people.
American Songwriter (AS): What compelled you to write “Pill”?
Elvie Shane (ES): It’s a true story. One of my biggest regrets from my early 20s, aside from being very much within the lifestyle that’s described in “Pill,” was that I wasn’t a big brother to my younger brother. He was back home, and I was two counties over in a college town, just living recklessly. The original idea was inspired by two things. During that time, I was dating a girl who I had introduced to that lifestyle. It’s not cool to have a memory of bringing someone into something and then seeing them struggle with it for years after you’re out of it, so I was thinking about that…I wanted to really paint the picture of what my surroundings looked like at that time and how I was living. It’s just honest.
AS: How did you end up falling into that lifestyle of partying and drinking?
ES: I’m just one extreme or the other. Two years before that, I was heavily involved in a church, I was an evangelist. I think a common thing with people who end up in that lifestyle—I think it’s just an addict mentality. It’s the same reason that I dove headfirst into the church stuff and then the same reason I went the complete opposite. Once I left that life, I think I was just looking for something. I don’t know what that something is, but I know when I see people who are at the worst end of that spectrum on the sidewalks and on the streets. It sure looks like they’re looking for something to me, I think it’s more than food and change.
AS: You mentioned you had a girlfriend at the time and got her into the lifestyle. How does she show up in this song?
ES: The second verse is —I haven’t talked to her a long time—but it’s almost like an apology. It’s probably one of the worst things I’ve ever done, so I wanted her to hear the song and know that I give a shit about what I did. Hopefully, she will and she’ll understand. I think she’s doing good now…It is a revolving door, so the goal is to get out of the door and help pull people out of it when you can.
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AS: I find it interesting that you wrote this song from the perspective of your brother instead of your own perspective. What inspired that?
ES: I love my little brother, we’re super close now, but it was also an attempt to let him know that I’m sorry I wasn’t around, hoping that he would hear the song and really get a sense of where I was at in life and maybe not be upset with me about it. I don’t think he is anymore. We’ve reconciled, but I definitely missed out on a lot of things. We didn’t really get along very well and I wasn’t really ever around that much. I’m pretty sure he was oblivious to what I was doing at the time.
He’ll also tell me if he doesn’t like something or if he thinks something would be better, but no complaints on “Pill.” My mom can’t listen, she has a hard time. Dad, he’s been there too, so he gets it. But Mom, if she is listening, she’s crying. It’s just too heavy for her. She remembers it too vividly. I can only imagine being a parent and wondering every single day of your life if you’re gonna get that phone call.
AS: Who are you speaking to through “Pill”?
ES: There’s the personal aspect of it with my brother, with the young lady I was with, but also I just want people to know that somebody that’s on the stage singing the song that has the platform is willing to tell the story…hopefully one person is driving down the road and it’s on a playlist and they really hear the song and instead of continuing in that life for the rest of that day, they go home or they go wherever it is that they feel like they can restart or reset and live a safer life…I just want people to know somebody has been there and is trying to tell that story and hopefully provoke them to change their life in some way.
Photo by David McClister / Courtesy of BBR Music Group
