‘Wishing Well’ by Ava Valianti is an indie-pop song with elements of folk that tells the story of an almost tragic loss of innocence. Its lyrics guide the movement of the song, allowing the song’s emotion to devolve from a space of nostalgia to a place of grief. Grieving for losing those small pieces of innocence while trying almost desperately to hold on tight to the pieces that remain.
The song’s instrumentation gradually builds from a lone guitar to a subdued but almost intense percussion that highlights those bittersweet lyrics. We’re diving deep into our narrator’s psyche before we even realise it.
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‘Wishing Well’: Bright, Bittersweet Nostalgia
‘Wishing Well’ holds onto its innocence, beginning with a description of a ride down a long water slide that held a lot of innocent joy for our narrator. That slide becomes the listener’s anchor point, an image that feels so bright and innocent before its taken away.
“…My slide was a beautiful structure of yellow and blue…
…On my turn to slide, I’d fly down the slide
And dive head-first into the blue.
The other’s would glide, but it was only mine.
The masterpiece no one else really knew…”.
Soon the song’s lyrics begin to move through vignette’s of a life where more than the slide is taken from our narrator. Moments of innocence and the joy of new experiences begin to fade, leaving behind a jaded perspective that is tinged with an ache of loneliness. The only thing that seems to keep our narrator in place is holding onto her naive, innocent hope that she holds onto, like her bright memory of the slide.
“…I’m still naive, I still believe there’s good in all or even most.
My wishing well’s still full of pennies, filled with all my hopes.
And that means the most…”.
And soon, “…that hurts the most…”.
‘Wishing Well’ by Ava Valianti holds onto a hope that things will never change, though they have. It holds onto that naive hope in a way that pulls at you, highlighting the tragedy of growing older and losing pieces of yourself you didn’t think you would.
The song is almost saying that it will stubbornly hold onto that bright memory even if the world is telling it to move on. And that’s how the lines end.
“…In my mind I’m still sliding into the deep end of the pool”.
The Artist
Ava Valianti is a singer-songwriter from Massachusetts whose distinct voice and indie-pop sensibilities hav garnered her global attention. Her musical style, lyrical depth and infectious melodies draw comparisons to artists like Billie Eillish, Sabrina carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Reneé Rapp and Lana Del Rey.
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Listen to ‘Wishing Well’ here:
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