Editor’s Note: Rose Cousins will take part in the Bluegrass Situation Takeover at The Long Road festival, to be held September 6-8 in Stanford Hall, Leicestershire, England.
“One of the most vulnerable songs I’ve written is “Chosen.” I had the steady, rhythmic guitar feel for this for a couple years before I wrote it. I was in the Iqaluit, Nunavut, the Canadian Arctic, in November of 2013. I remember feeling exhausted and being comforted by the meditative pulse of the one string of the guitar as I stood out at the sunny, freezing tundra. I knew that it would turn into something.
“At the beginning of 2015 I was writing in LA and deep into questioning if I had what it took to follow through with a certain relationship and it was such a vulnerable place to be. I wanted so much to be brave enough and I also wanted to run. I wanted to live up to the person I was perceived to be and I didn’t know if I could. Vulnerability is painful and I find it very tough. I suppose I was afraid of failure and disappointment. I remember crying from my gut while writing the song as the truth of the matter came out through the question that kept coming up; wondering if I had what it took to be someone’s person. The steady rhythm of the guitar was the comforting backdrop to these tender thoughts.
“I find this song connects with people in different ways depending on where they are in their lives and it’s also one that I have everyone sing along with at the end. The writing of this song was sort of like a new permission to and for myself to go a bit deeper and more vulnerable in my writing. I’m thankful for it.” — Rose Cousins
Photo credit:Shervin Lainez
