© 2024 KOSU
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Shelby Earl Explains 'Strong Swimmer,' An Ode To Trauma And Recovery

"Strong Swimmer" is a song from Shelby Earl's latest album, <em>The Man Who Made Himself a Name</em>.
Genevieve Pierson
/
Courtesy of the artist
"Strong Swimmer" is a song from Shelby Earl's latest album, The Man Who Made Himself a Name.

Shelby Earl's new album, The Man Who Made Himself A Name, features a song called "Strong Swimmer." She says it started out as a song about herself getting over a relationship — but became more about her stepmother, who had just suffered a brain injury.

Earl was living at home, helping the family recover. One day, she decided to play her stepmother a recording of the song in progress.

"And she and her home care nurse both just burst into tears," Earl recalls. "I realized right then: Wow, she is the strong swimmer, not me, and this is so much more about her than it is me — I mean, she was literally trying to re-learn to walk and talk and eat. And the song immediately changed in meaning for me."

Earl shared the story of how the song evolved with Weekend Edition Saturday; hear more at the audio link.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

KOSU is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.