Hayley Williams has delved into the lyricism and themes of her recent third solo record in an extensive new interview. The Paramore star sat down with Popcast, the podcast from the music team at The New York Times, and spoke about life in a band and how Paramore’s dynamics have changed over time and how important her solo career has become to her. That’s where discussion about the excellent Ego Death At A Bacherlorette Party came in, and Williams states she feels that some of the lyrics on the record are the best she’s ever written.
Highlighting the Ego Death… cut True Believer, which references the Billie Holiday protest song Strange Fruit about lynchings in the US, Williams says it was important for her to face up to the racial injustices and difficult past concerning where she’s from – Williams was raised in Franklin, Tennessee. “I reference this neighbourhood in Franklin, really close to where I grew up, and it was called Hard Bargain,” she explains. “It was 17 acres or something like that that this formerly enslaved man bought from his former enslaver. It’s still there and it’s protected now. But, of course, Franklin and Nashville are being gentrified all the time. I’m really proud of the fact that I wrote about my city but I was also able to inject this history that I’m aware of that I think is really important to pass on. I felt like a real lyricist when I finished that.”
It was important to her that she used her platform, she said. “I’m never not ready to scream at the top of my lungs about racial issues,” she states. “I think because it’s so intersectional, it overlaps with everything from climate change to LGBTQA+ issues.”
When the presenter highlights the opening lyric from Ego Death…’s title track – “I’ll be the biggest star at this racist country singer’s bar” – and asks her to name names, Williams doesn’t hesitate. “It could be a couple, but I’m always talking about Morgan Wallen,” she declares, referring to the Tennessee singer-songwriter. “I don’t give a shit. Find me at Whole Foods, bitch, I don’t care. I just don’t care. When you’re passionate about something and you really believe in something and you have the will to spread that, talk about it.”
Watch the video for that song below:
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