“Erase Me” by Lizzy McAlpine (ft. Jacob Collier)

In a recent post, we pointed out how some female artists of the day are, historically speaking, taking a very liberated approach in terms of the lyrical content of their music. In some songs that reality is manifest via such artists relying on NSFW terminology. And in others, such as “Erase Me”, it may be their frankness in terms of detailing sexual matters. 

Remember that there was a time in Western music industry history, not even that ago really, where a female vocalist singing about sex, even if it were like with her husband, could promptly lead to a banning. But in this case, here now in 2021, we even have this song by a young lady centered, in part, on her being caught up in a cycle of post-breakup promiscuity.

But truth be told, even though this is very much an adult subject matter we’re dealing with here, Lizzy takes a very artistic approach. That is to say a listener would likely have to be an adult him or herself in order to grasp that aforementioned aspect of the narrative.

But ultimately, that’s not what this song is about per se. Indeed the lyrics of this piece are very poetic and accordingly, to some degree, open to interpretation. Or put differently, a lot of assumptions have to be made in the name of ascertaining the meaning of “Erase Me”. 

Addressee of “Erase Me”

And by the looks of things, the primary addressee would in fact be the vocalist’s ex. And most simply put, it appears as if she is concerned that as time progresses he will forget about her, i.e. “erase” Lizzy from his heart and soul. 

And on one hand, some listeners may be thinking something like if you already broke up with somebody, who cares if they’re still thinking of you or not? But that brings us to another assumption that must be made in properly analyzing this piece – that the vocalist was and still is in love with the addressee. Or more simply put, she is heartbroken. 

And anyone who has ever been through such an ordeal would likely verify that yes, under such circumstances you may in fact wonder if your ex has forgotten about you, even if he or she literally doing so is impossible if said romance was true love.

But that said, it appears that the addressee too is gradually “fading” out of the vocalist’s life. So it can be further ascertained that she is afraid – for lack of a better word – that she will rather end up forgetting about him.

Furthermore, it may be that by the time the chorus concludes, Lizzy is addressing more guys than just her ex, i.e. her current lover(s) also. And that would be why she is ‘wondering who will erase her’. She is wondering how many of these loose, unfulfilling sexual relationships, such as the one detailed in the first verse, will just be forgotten, by both herself and the other party involved, over time.

Conclusion

So as implied earlier this is a deceptively deep outing. It is one that tries to poetically capture the psychological and romantic aftershocks of a lady having her heart broken. No, not every individual who finds themselves in such a predicament, i.e. missing an ex from a serious relationship that obviously ended prematurely, would react like this. But many of us do, which is what this song is in part meant to point out.

Lizzy McAlpine and Jacob Collier

Lizzy McAlpine is a, as it currently stands, lesser-known singer from Philadelphia, with in fact AWAL, aka Artists Without a Label, being the distribution company behind “Erase Me”. And to note, she is 22 years old at the time of the release of this track.

Meanwhile, Jacob Collier is a vocalist from the UK. He has a more notable discography than his co-vocalist. Collier’s first two studio albums, 2016’s In My Room and 2018’s Djesse Vol. 1, both topped Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart stateside. 

And despite not being a household name, Jacob has in fact managed to win a multiple Grammy Awards between 2017 and 2021. Additionally he has also worked with some A list musical acts, such as Coldplay and Sza, in a behind-the-scenes’ capacity. And furthermore, it should be stated that even though he is a featured artist on “Erase Me”, he doesn’t have his own verse therein. He only appears in the chorus.

Facts about “Erase Me”

Both Lizzy and Jacob are given songwriting credits for “Erase Me”, in conjunction with Jordan Rakei. Philip Etherington produced “Erase Me” along with Ehren Ebbage.

Beside AWAL, the other listed label behind this track is Harbour Artists & Music. 

The music video to this tune was directed by one Gus Black.

“Erase Me” came out on 17 November 2021.

Lizzy McAlpine is slated to perform Erase Me on the 22 November 2021 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.