Song Premiere: Esmé Patterson, “Valentine”

The Artist: Singer-songwriter Esmé Patterson of the band Paper Bird
The Song: “Valentine,” from new album Woman to Woman out April 15th.
Fun Fact: Each song on Patterson’s album is a response to a popular love song about a woman, showing what the other side of the story might be. “Valentine” was written as a response to Elvis Costello’s “Alison.”
Songwriter Says: “I always loved Elvis Costello’s tune ‘Alison.’ I think I put it on a couple of mix-tapes for my high school boyfriend. As I was getting deeper in writing ‘Woman to Woman,’ I heard ‘Alison’ on the radio and really listened to the words critically for the first time, and was a bit shocked. A song that I loved so much, and thought was a great love song – ‘my aim is true.’ It sounds like a love song, but it’s actually a really bitter guy meeting up with an old lover and being pretty cruel to her, speculating unflatteringly about very intimate moments in her life. My idea for the response was what I think any woman would say over that cup of coffee or martini with an old lover – it’s really none of your business anymore! I’ve moved on, and at this point you’re just breaking your own heart by holding on to something so long in the past.”