Courtney Cotter King Evokes a Sense of a Comforting and Reassuring Presence on “Conversation”

Courtney Cotter King and band, photo courtesy the artist

Courtney Cotter King’s the simple yet evocative piano figure that runs through her song “Conversation” is like a comforting and reassuring presence. That melody along with ethereal strings and soft percussion accents set a gentle and patient air around King’s soulful, vulnerable vocals sounding like she has given up on the ego drive to power through life’s challenging situations. In the lyrics it sounds like she feels like she has made some unspoken transgressions felt deeply, the kind that are difficult to discard and purge from your psyche. And guilt from these acts, however minor yet felt in the core of her being, seems to weigh her down with a kind of numbing effect as suggested in the line wanting her hand held “’til I can feel again.” Feel as in feel normal and whole and not burdened by the weight of conscience and seeking to move beyond it. Could be King is calling upon a higher power to aid in this time when it all feels so poignant and inescapable and oftentimes this is what people need to do because their rational mind and its habit of needing linear logic to think things through isn’t always enough because we depend on our own current faculties which may be inadequate to guide us through in the conventional modes of understanding we consciously possess. King articulates this process in the language of a more traditional faith but the emotional impact of the song and the core human experiences expressed transcend specificity of culture. Listen to “Conversation” on YouTube and follow King at the links provided.