wildflower darling

This song was actually inspired by one of my favorite stories and characters - Anne from the Anne of Green Gables books (as well as the 2017-2019 'Anne with an E' adaptation), but it has become a very personal favorite song as well. I wrote it originally for an assigned project during a class on fanfiction and fan works that I took last year in college, as a sort of love letter to the character and the ways in which she has truly inspired and impacted me personally. Anne's connection to nature and imagination is something I have found deeply inspiring ever since I was young. The whole song itself was inspired specifically by a scene in the beginning of 'Anne with an E' season two, when Anne is dancing and wandering around in a field full of butterflies - I think about this scene almost daily and it beautifully illustrates this love of nature and imagination that is so quintessentially Anne, so of course I had to write about it. There are several other references to Anne and either the book or show’s interpretations of her story throughout the song as well. 

The project assignment was to create a fan work that was transformative in some way and made a conscious intervention into an existing fandom. "wildflower darling" is a piece of music inspired by a book/television show, thus translating the material into a different medium and style, incorporating modern instrumental elements in the production to reinterpret the sound ever so slightly as well. Additionally, I approached "wildflower darling" as a love letter song of sorts to a female character written by myself, a queer singer-songwriter - engaging with conversations surrounding queerness in fandom overall as well as specifically within Anne of Green Gables and the 'Anne with an E' adaptation. 

Over all the time I have spent working on this song, it now properly feels like an ode to the aspects of Anne which I try to embody within myself, even though it began more as a fan art project than anything else. As such, it also acts as an expression of self-acceptance and encouragement. I took this short little close video of a butterfly over a year ago and knew it fit the song perfectly. One of my personal favorite quotes from Anne of Green Gables is this one: "Dear old world, you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you." So rediscover that sense of wonder! Reconnect with your own imagination! Find and revel in sources of joy and happiness and good in the world. There is so much beauty here, we need only look for it - now more than ever. 

The journey of "wildflower darling" and its making is certainly not finished (more on this sometime in the future), but I wanted to share this version now - why not?