The subject of Elizabeth Covington’s debut song, “sleepovers on the phone,” is quite the opposite of her new single, “prove me wrong.”
The intimacy of falling asleep on the phone with your long-distance boyfriend is far from the sentiment heard on the new track, which is filled with apprehension and mistrust.
She sings, “If I were to call you would you even pick up? If I were to run into you out would you even give a fuck?”
The new lyrics sprang from revisiting past relationships and interweaving those scenarios with personal narratives, like having coffee and fries for breakfast while you ponder the power dynamics behind romance.
“ ‘prove me wrong,’ I wrote like a year ago around this time — I don’t know if Mercury was in retrograde around then too — but all my friends were going through it in their relationships,” Covington said.
“Being a writer, especially a songwriter— most of us are very empathetic. I was the group therapist at the time, giving everyone advice and reflecting on past relationships.”
Covington has always written little stories, but the first fully formed song she wrote was in fifth grade inspired by seeing her classmate reunite with his father after he had been away for two years on active military duty.
She ended up singing at a veteran’s event where Gov. Nikki Haley was in attendance and went on to sing at a military tribute event affiliated with family friend Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish, which isn’t a bad way to start out.
Her upcoming LP out of Coast Records with omnipresent locals Matt Zutell on drums and Scottie Frier on guitar is Covington’s first foray into recording.
Being immersed in creativity at Savannah College of Art and Design has doubled her realization that music is what she wants to do professionally, yet helps her retain a balanced view of her art.
“I go on TikTok and see some of the best singers I’ve ever heard in my life. I’m like, ‘How is this possible?’ I think what keeps me going more than anything is that I have stories to tell which are unique to me, and I want people to hear them.”
When it comes to music as medicine, she feels like listening to the singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Phoebe Bridgers is similar to having someone read out loud to you, reminiscing over pre-COVID times.
“Now people are writing songs about being in quarantine — that’s a coping mechanism in itself. When you’re emotional it’s nice to hear other people going through it and writing about it and making music to listen to for when you’re sad or music for when you’re happy, which is kind of why I did polar-opposite songs.”
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