Song Premiere: Emily Cavanagh, “Where Did You Go”

emily cavanagh

Videos by American Songwriter

A new face with an old soul, Emily Cavanagh’s jazzy, vocally-driven pop songs draw as much influence from the 1940s as they do from modern-day songwriters. She keeps things timeless on her new album, Keep it with Mine, a collection of tunes that draw from cabaret one minute and electronic indie-pop the next.

The album hits a fizzy peak with “Where Did You Go.” While a drum machine keeps steady time, Cavanagh sings about long-lost love over swooning strings and a looped keyboard riff. Ever wish The Bird and the Bee would make another album? This song should help tide you over.

“‘Where Did You Go’ is inspired by the idea that life is fleeting, that it all goes by in a blink — and that it is worth celebrating,” she says. “The ‘you’ in ‘where did you go’ is life, represented in the video by a story set to the backdrop of Coney Island. The boardwalk, the beach, and the Ferris wheel are all symbols of longing for a different place in time, a first love, and our youth.”