Sometimes the weight of our feelings control how we treat others. We can get lost in our own thoughts and drown in our distorted perspectives. Reaching out for help and letting someone in when you’re going through a hard time can sometimes make it more complicated. “Bring You Down” by Eliza Harrison Smith is about shielding the hurt you’re going through and masking your own emotions to prevent the people you care about from worrying about you.
In the first verse Eliza takes us through how she’s feeling singing “I don’t think I’ve slept in weeks/ December’s got the best of me/And I’m just hoping you can’t see it”. She wants to just carry on and make sure that no one is aware of how she might’ve changed. The lyrics “Is it inconvenient that I’m crying/ Bet you think I’m just tired/ So I guess I’ll let you believe it” show that she doesn’t want the fact that she’s not okay make everyone worry about her. She would rather deal with everything on her own than let anyone in. Opening up and admitting that you are struggling takes a lot of courage and leaves you in a very vulnerable place. It's also difficult when there are other people involved in your own feelings.
The lyrics in the chorus “Cause I don’t want to bring you down/ I don’t wanna freak you out/ If I say it all out loud/ We’ll be under the same dark cloud” is Eliza admitting she doesn’t want anyone to worry about her. When you see a dark cloud, you know there’s going to be a big rainstorm. Her dark cloud is filled with all the negative thoughts she has. Her rainstorm could be all those pent-up emotions flooding out. She wants to protect her people from the rain but doesn’t know that they would gladly stand outside with an umbrella. She doesn’t know how to speak up because she doesn’t want her feelings to impact anyone else and the lyrics “It’s probably nothing that you haven’t felt/ And I know you would wanna help/ But I always keep it to myself” reflect that. She knows she isn’t a burden but knows her pain can cause pain to the people she cares about which is why she'd rather stay silent.
“Keeping it close is worth it/ Or is that just a story I tell?” is her convincing herself that suppressing her emotions would benefit everyone around her but she knows deep down that might not be true. There's symbolism in the lyrics “To the place I’ve been, if I let you in/ I can’t lock that door again/ To the place I’ve been, if I let you in/ Will you regret it, will I regret it?”. Locking the door is storing those emotions and keeping them hidden. Opening the door allows them to come out. Once she opens it, she might never go back to that room alone again. Regret can cause feelings of guilt and shame. If she has regrets she would want to un-do her actions, but if they have regrets, how will that impact Eliza?
The song opens with a beat that immediately caught my attention. Produced by Christian Harger, “Bring You Down” is an indie-pop song about not knowing if you should turn to the people closest to you for help when you’re struggling or if you should keep everything to yourself. It starts out with a techno-electronic beat but when the guitar comes in, it changes the sound of the song. Eliza’s voice is smooth, and I really like how you can tell when she emphasizes certain words. When she sings “Cause I don’t wanna bring you down”, it scratches a part of my brain that makes me want to rewind that section over and over. When you really listen you can hear the backing vocals which sound like an echo. They also add reverb to the song. The backing vocals also make the lead vocals sound more prominent in the recording, almost like they push them forward. In the song Eliza goes back and forth contemplating her decision to speak up and in doing so she also describes her fears with either outcome. This song has a really important message that combines a serious topic with an upbeat production. This song has the power to start a bigger conversation surrounding mental health.
Eliza Harrison Smith is an indie-pop singer from Washington, D.C. and has since moved to Nashville to further her career. She’s released multiple singles over the years like “August” and “Didn’t Love Me”. She has over 25,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Eliza’s ready to make her mark on the music industry. She has already performed at several iconic music venues across the country. Her talent has earned her an honorable mention in the American Songwriter’s 2022 Song Contest. Her 2023 single “Back Of My Mind” has over 450,000 streams on Spotify. She is set to release an EP later this year. Eliza is a rising star, check out “Bring You Down” and give it a listen!
Written By Alexa LaMalfa
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