Nikkie Gallant’s latest single, “Is She Holding You?” addresses the time-honoured themes of heartbreak and loss, but with inspiration indirectly cobbled together from a variety of sources, comprising a patchwork quilt of experience and emotion, the song practically invites wildly speculative interpretations. Which is why, rather than the typical tale of an abandoned lover, we’ve chosen to interpret “Is She Holding You?” as the call of a widow whose partner has been taken by the irresistible lure of the sea. Anything can be nautical if you want it badly enough.
The Prince Edward Island-based songwriter leans into that narrative with the opening chorus: “There’s light out on the harbour, I sink like a stone, heard the creaks in the floorboards, and I thought you were home.” If there were ever a case being made, at least lyrically, for clawing your fisherman friend back from the cold embrace of a selkie three doors down from Davy Jones, “Is She Holding You”” might be it.
“Like many songwriters, I enjoy exploring different emotions through writing,” says Gallant about her crafting process. “My songs often aren’t autobiographical; many times they start off as a collection of captured idea fragments. The fragments mingle with lived experiences and feelings I’ll let myself sink into, and then the whole mixture becomes a song.”
Gallant taps the talents of fellow islanders, Nathan Wiley and Kinley Dowling on “Is She Holding You?” with Wiley wearing his producer hat, while handling both drums and piano and Kinley also playing double-duty on violin and viola. It’s too forlorn to be Klaus Badelt, but he had undead monkeys to consider. This song is strictly in consideration for those left behind and leans more towards the endearingly touch side of things than what might be required of a blockbuster soundtrack.
And just to be clear, this is a fully fabricated narrative super-imposed upon Gallant’s experiences thanks to the inclusion of a few nautical keywords. Art is just like that sometimes. As Gallant points out—and can be shared across this and any number of scenarios, right or wrong—the story behind “Is She Holding You?” is the emotional experience of your hopes getting dashed.
“For this song, I found myself exploring the acute pain that comes with realizing that you’re aching for something you thought you already had,” says Gallant. “Maybe in the song, it’s a relationship role, but it could be any identity we’re clinging to that might not ring true at the time. Even if you might not want the situation to last forever, it doesn’t matter in that moment of undertow. These periods of realization can still be jarring and set you off-balance, until you can get your bearings back and move forward with new perspectives.”
Lost is lost. If you can apply this soundtrack to your life, isn’t that what makes music relatable? My sincere condolences, however, if your lover has another lover in the briny depths. No soundtrack can compete with that sirens call.