There are hundreds — perhaps thousands — of songs that funnel the agony of a breakup into a hooky slap in the face. But far fewer distill the relief of a split into the caress of a spring breeze, gradually chasing away a stagnant winter.
That’s what it feels like to play “Butterfly a Moth,” the new tune from Silvie’s Okay (a.k.a. Western Massachusetts artist Vince Thompson). The country tune’s soft, swaying rhythm finds Thompson returning to a place of health and comfort, expressing earnest gratitude for a breakup that recentered his life. The single arrived yesterday (February 13) with an accompanying music video, following news that the musician will be one of the performers repping Massachusetts at this year’s Green River Festival.
Thompson writes from a place of being palpably renewed, and that sense of content lends “Butterfly a Moth” a warm glow — even in its particularly vulnerable first lines. “I wrote all of my best songs about you / I thought singin’ ’em now would make me sick / Thought I’d choke up and I’d crumble / When the memories brushed my lips,” he sings, a peal of twangy guitar underscoring the final words.
“‘Butterfly a Moth’ was such a gift to receive as a song, kind of this full circle moment,” Thompson tells Vanyaland. “It was late spring after a breakup and I was truly the happiest I had ever been in my life. I hadn’t wanted the relationship to end while it was happening — I was holding onto something that was actually hurting me and causing me to regress and act out younger versions of myself, a pattern I had witnessed before when I couldn’t let go of things. As soon as the relationship ended, I turned around and saw the life I had been neglecting.”
He adds: “When I originally started seeing that person, we connected over this idea that finding our own joy and truly taking care of ourselves can be a form of accountability and gratitude for relationships in which we failed to show up for ourselves and others. That is what I tried to capture with ‘Butterfly a Moth,’ and is something I really hold onto now when I have moments of doubting my worth, of questioning if I deserve the care and beauty I give myself and receive in this life — when I feel shame starting to convince me I should punish myself with self-hatred or neglect, that it could suffice as some kind of apology, I remember that choosing my joy and loving myself allows me to continue to grow and heal, and that is the best ‘thank you’ I can offer.”
That’s why it’s no cliche to say that “Butterfly a Moth” is a breath of fresh air — for Thompson himself, and for listeners seeking a nurturing path forward in their own lives.
Tune in below.
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