Letting out jazzy runs, hypnotic hooks, and an unfiltered operatic scream from the gut, Whitney Woerz sparks a physical reaction with every performance in the studio and on stage. With over 135 million YouTube views, 20 million streams, and acclaim from Billboard, Vanyaland, and more, she traces her 2020 10:22pm/Island Records debut back to one such moment and a life-changing realization…
“I fell to the floor,” she recalls. “I discovered my voice, my sound, and my genre in one take. I realized I didn’t have to play by any rules. I could just sing what came naturally. Rather than just touching on it, I’m bringing out what’s underneath the feelings and the sadness. If you analyze my lyrics, they’re real. It’s music that might help you learn something about yourself.”
Whitney discovered herself through music. Singing before she could talk, she enrolled in vocal lessons as early as kindergarten before participating in her first musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a year later. Falling in love with performance, she continued to hone her voice through rigorous traditional training. Studying opera, lyrical, classical, and jazz, her range encompassed an expansive swath of styles.
Facing turmoil in school, she retreated into her art.
“In my hometown, everybody was skinny with straight blonde hair and played sports,” she says. “If you weren’t playing at a high level, you weren’t cool. I got bullied because I did performing arts. Can you believe that? At the time, I was bigger than everyone else and had curly hair. It could be really tough.”
She siphoned that struggle into songs. Retreating to Nashville with GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Glenn Rosenstein [Madonna, U2, Talking Heads], she recorded her independent Behind The Smile EP in 2016. Written after a friend admitted to suicidal intent during an online chat, the single “Ghost Story” took off as an anthem of encouragement and empowerment. Citing the song as “one of the most significant moments of my life, because my friend said it saved her,” the accompanying video went viral with 10 million-plus views. Bring Change 2 Mind—the organization founded by Academy® Award nominee Glenn Close—sought her out as an ambassador. Maintaining this momentum, “Love Me Not” racked up over 60 million YouTube views and 4.5 million Spotify streams in 2018. Along the way, she shared the stage with everyone from Jason Mraz and Jesse McCartney to Nina Nesbitt in addition to performing on The Today Show as Elvis Duran’s “Artist of the Month.” During 2019, she fully realized her sonic identity. Striking a balance between jazz phrasing, lo-fi production, and pop power, Whitney introduces a singular style on Sad Love.
“It’s pop fused with jazz influences and urban elements,” she explains. “It’s left-of-center, and it nods to everything I love. I grew up practicing opera. The theatricality is in there. I love standards by Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holiday, so it has some of those elements. It’s quirky like me. I feel like what I’m doing now really represents who I am.”
The lead single and title track “Sad Love” tiptoes between airy keys and a glitchy beat as her soothing vocals give way to a sassy bridge. Meanwhile, her voice ascends to towering heights with an impassioned refrain, “Baby, that’s sad love,” backed by a revival-style call-and-response.
“I was with the only boyfriend I’ve ever had for my junior year of high school,” she remarks. “I was way too in love with him. He became my life. I didn’t even matter anymore. One day, he came over and he told me he didn’t love me anymore. Then, a few months later when I wrote ‘Sad Love,’ I wasn’t healed all the way. But, then I realized I wouldn’t be anywhere if he didn’t break my heart. I became so powerful in my mind that I took all of me back. I finally became myself again. It’s an oxymoron, but the sadness brought me to self-love. You have to break before you can grow.”
Elsewhere on the EP as her journey carried on, lithe guitar wraps entwine with swells of strings as her angelic delivery emanates through “Philophobia.” Once again, she makes a stark confession, “Philophobia means ‘fear of falling in love.’ I’m admitting that I’m scared of meeting my match, getting attached, and giving my heart without getting it back’.” The droning production of “Weirdos” gives way to a schizophrenic performance as her voice flutters between hushed verses and fits of triumphant as she declares, “The odd are getting even.”
“If you’re weird, embrace it,” she continues. “That’s the message of the song. Weird is the new cool. It’s our turn. Back in the day, I was bullied for theater and singing. I’m taking an awful time in my life and adding light again.”
In the end, Whitney might just move you emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
“I want you to take away positive energy, encouragement, and unconditional love,” she leaves off. “That’s the most important thing to me. I want to be a light in the world by being real.”
Ghost Story
Whitney Woerz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why you cryin'
Sit me down
Comfort my aches and pains
Wipe your tears
And breathe
Breathe the air you were made to breathe
When your world's a ghost story
And your heart's made of ashes
Your eyes, a shade of black
You don't know where the nightmares begin
And where the daydreams end
Hey girl
Sit up straight
You can't be late
For this life
You were given
Throw the blades down
To your surprise things just got better
‘Cause when your world's a ghost story
And your heart's made of ashes
Your eyes, a shade of black
You don't know where the nightmares begin
And where the daydreams end
Don't give it up mighty one
Just stay strong mighty one
Don't give it up mighty one
Just stay strong mighty one
Don't give up ooh oh oh oh oh
Don't give up mighty one
Don't give up mighty one
Don't give up ooh oh oh oh oh
Don't give up mighty one
Don't give up ooh oh oh oh oh
Don't give up mighty one
The opening lines of Whitney Woerz's "Ghost Story" sets a somber tone as she addresses a young girl who's crying. She then sits the girl down and comforts her aches and pains. Woerz urges the girl to wipe her tears and breathe the air she was made to breathe. The song then takes on a journey through a young girl's life who's battling depression or any mental illness. She's lost in her world of ghosts and feels like her heart's made of ashes. Her eyes are a shade of black and she can't differentiate between the nightmares and daydreams.
However, Woerz's message is one of hope and encouragement. She tells the girl to sit up straight and not be late for the life she was given. She urges her to throw the blades down because to her surprise, things just got better. The chorus repeats the idea that even though the girl's world is like a ghost story and her heart is made of ashes, she should not give up. Woerz reminds her that she is a mighty one and needs to stay strong. The song ultimately tries to reassure the girl that she can get through this and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Line by Line Meaning
Young girl
Addressing the listener who is a young girl
Why you cryin'
Asking why the listener is crying
Sit me down
Requesting the listener to sit down
Comfort my aches and pains
Asking the listener to comfort the artist's physical and emotional pains
Wipe your tears
Requesting the listener to stop crying
And breathe
Encouraging the listener to take a deep breath and relax
Breathe the air you were made to breathe
Encouraging the listener to embrace life and live freely
When your world's a ghost story
Describing an unsettling feeling of the world being eerie and surreal
And your heart's made of ashes
Describing a feeling of emptiness and hopelessness
Your eyes, a shade of black
Describing a feeling of sadness, fear and confusion
You don't know where the nightmares begin
Describing a feeling of being lost and unsure
And where the daydreams end
Describing a feeling of confusion between reality and imagination
Hey girl
Addressing the listener with 'girl' again
Sit up straight
Requesting the listener to sit in proper posture
You can't be late
warning the listener not to be lazy or complacent
For this life
Implying life is valuable, so it's important to be present and active
Throw the blades down
Encouraging the listener to give up harmful behaviours
To your surprise things just got better
Reassuring the listener that things will improve if they make positive changes
Don't give it up mighty one
Encouraging the listener to persevere
Just stay strong mighty one
Encouraging the listener to be strong and resilient
Don't give up ooh oh oh oh oh
Repeating the message to never give up
Don't give up mighty one
Repeating the message to stay strong and keep fighting
Don't give up ooh oh oh oh oh
Repeating the message to never give up
Don't give up mighty one
Repeating the message to stay strong and keep fighting
Don't give up ooh oh oh oh oh
Repeating the message to never give up
Don't give up mighty one
Repeating the message to stay strong and keep fighting
Don't give up ooh oh oh oh oh
Repeating the message to never give up
Don't give up mighty one
Repeating the message to stay strong and keep fighting
Contributed by Vivian S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.