Helen Shanahan lays her heart bare in the lyrics of her latest song, “Canvas.” The song paints a vivid picture of a woman in the wrong relationship. If you love classic female singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Janis Ian, this will be right up your alley.
“The single was inspired by a theme from a songwriting group (I Heart Songwriting Club) I joined in 2018,” Helen said. “The theme was ‘lessons’, and it made me think about how I learnt to make myself small and essentially a doormat for a particular group of people. The song brought up lots of mixed emotions, as it unravelled how that relationship affected my adult life and how I had to ‘unlearn’ my feelings of low self-esteem and worth.”
The song’s themes are mirrored beautifully in the music video, which presents a young girl and eventually a young woman who’s learned to shrink herself to suit the people around her.
“The music video revolves around the concept of what it means ‘to be’ and how we become a summation of our own life experiences,” explained direct Jane Tiouowidjaja. “It’s what we learn over time but also what we decide to tolerate when we relate to those we love.”
“Canvas” is the title track of Helen’s forthcoming album, which drops on March 4. She’ll celebrate its release with a special local launch show at Morley’s Night Owl Studio on March 5.
Image used with permission from On the Map PR
