“Simmer” by Hayley Williams

Hayley Williams’ “Simmer” is premised on the vocalist being extremely angry.  That is to say there is a lot of pent up anger inside of her. And judging by the second verse in particular it would appear that this has something to do with a man, i.e. a romantic interest who didn’t treat her well. And she has come to realize that she was vulnerable to his abuse due to her own self-esteem issues. 

But that being said, the thesis sentiment which “Simmer” is based on is Hayley coming to the conclusion that she needs to “simmer down” instead of letting this anger control her.  And why? Because she has two options – she can either deal with the situation by practicing “wrath or mercy”. But ultimately she chooses the higher road. Or as the singer poetically states in the bridge, she is using “petals for armor”. And stated otherwise yet again, she is not going to let negativity and anger overcome her to the point where she also becomes negative and angry. 

So at the end of the day, we can say that “Simmer” is actually based on the theme of anger management. This is because despite facing a number of frustrations, the singer refuses to let her rage manifest externally.

Facts about “Simmer”

This is the lead single from Hayley Williams’ debut solo album. The album is titled “Petals for Armor”.

The track was released by Atlantic Records on 22 January 2020.

Hayley Williams wrote this song along with Joe Howard and the track’s producer, Taylor York.