"Ashes" (Tess Posner song) – Queen City Sounds and Art

Tess Posner’s song “Ashes” sounds like a nostalgic look back on an earlier part of life. The uplifting keyboard tones and soft percussion give the song a feel of an affectionate look back at one’s younger self and in some ways that’s what the song is, partly a memory of friends with whom you shared dreams, creative ideas and the shared collective experiences that bond many people for the rest of their lives in some way but other friendships, like some or many relationships, have a place in a very specific part of your life before you grow in different ways that result in a natural drift apart even if the intensity and exuberance of that time felt like it could last forever. Posner also wonders how they could ever go back and find themselves again as is natural when you’ve reached that period in your life where you feel like you’re missing being young and feeling everything is possible (even if it never really is) and that you have all the time in the world relatively unburdened by the demands of adulthood. Posner with the song helps us to understand that these experiences help to shape our lives but do not define them forever nor should they and that we can revisit them in our hearts and maybe, just maybe, reconnect and reminisce with an old friend yet not live in the past.