Marlo Owczarak’s new song “Cities” is an auditory poem. The classical instruments that fill the introduction draw the audience in like a preparation for a choreographed duet. The melody grows more modern as the song goes on, but the words – the lyrics – flow out like a masterful piece of poetry and of storytelling. “Cities” will connect with anyone who has felt like their “house,” whatever that term means in the moment, doesn’t quite fit in what makes a “home,” and sometimes that change isn’t what is meant to be. Marlo Owczarak says that their song “captures the desire to move to a city to reinvent oneself. The narrator cycles through the realization that changing location won’t solve all of one’s problems. It is inspired by romantic portrayals of cities worldwide in songs/media and by the fictional cities described in the book Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. Escaping to “cities” can be metaphorical – replaced by other versions of the sentiment “if I could just do this one thing, I would find happiness.” This song is utterly beautiful.
Written by Jordan Nickel-Dubin