The city of Boston sparks creative inspiration. From Transcendentalist poetry to “Good Will Hunting,” the city of Boston has moved artists and creators for decades. A connection between 19th century Ralph Waldo Emerson and 2020s pop star Tate McRae may sound impossible to draw, but they’ve both mentioned the historic city in their respective works.
The sheer artistry Boston draws from creatives was a huge factor behind my decision to attend Boston University. My favorite artists’ references to Boston in their music craft a narrative of the city that influences my own perception of my surroundings.
The first song that made me appreciate Boston was “Augusta” by Gracie Abrams, a melancholic track off of her second EP, “This Is What It Feels Like.” When I first listened to it as a junior in high school, I had never been to Boston, and, funnily enough, it didn’t sound like Abrams had, either.
The song opens with Abrams singing, “Feel like maybe I might go to Boston / Cut my hair in the way that I’ve wanted,” a wistful daydream accompanied by delicate acoustics. Throughout the song, she expresses an all-encompassing desire to escape — a longing Boston personifies. The hook of the song, “I’m lost / I’m lost,” encompasses Abrams’ scattered feelings. She acknowledges that she dreams of a place where she can rediscover herself.
The second song Abrams has written about Boston came three years later on her most recent album, “The Secret of Us,” an upbeat pop track titled “Tough Love.” The song acts as a foil to her slow longing for Boston in “Augusta.” In “Tough Love,” she takes Boston in her own hands, singing, “I took a train to Boston and I wanted to cry.” The rest of the song illustrates her escape to Boston after a destabilizing breakup.
Fast-paced percussion underscores her tale of personal growth as she sinks her teeth into the city. In the second verse, she sings, “The benches by the Charles gave me somewhere to go / I feel like I’m home,” illustrating a childlike wonder as she falls in love with her surroundings and back in love with life. The song acts as a testament to her freedom, friendships and ability to lose herself in Boston.
On her “Secret of Us” tour stop at MGM Music Hall in Boston, Abrams told the crowd of eager New Englanders, “This is your song,” before playing the intro to “Tough Love.” The eruption of screams from the audience indicate that she is by no means alone in viewing Boston as a means of escape, self-discovery and fulfillment.
While Boston is idealized by the aforementioned tracks, other artists write about New England as cursed. Famous for his odes to his home state of Vermont, Noah Kahan’s album “Stick Season” made waves for its brutal description of life in the Northeast. While he often paints New England in a downcast, gray light, Kahan’s intense analysis of how his surroundings affected him growing up read as a fragmented love letter to his home.
In “Halloween,” an acoustic track in which Kahan reflects on a past relationship and stares into Boston in the distance, comes a haunting pair of lines: “There’s a murder of crows in the lowlight off Boston / And I see your face in each one.” While he describes Boston with a melancholy tone, the song is a testament to restoration.
In the chorus, Kahan sings, “The wreckage of you, I no longer reside in / And the bridges have long since been burnt,” an empowering statement about one’s healing process. Once again, Boston is characterized by a sense of personal rebuilding, as a place to escape and find a meaning without help from anyone else.
Boston’s beauty lies in its inherently picturesque and individualistic nature. Artists tell their stories through imaginative depictions as they use the city to discover themselves. Boston is depicted as a place of personal reflection and self-discovery.
The lyrical depictions of Boston portray it as a vessel of restoration, which influences my own view of the city. Even when the sun sets before 5 p.m. or the wind chill dips below 10 degrees, Boston has an aura that catches people’s attention. Boston is immortalized in lyrics and further artistic interpretations that emphasize its striking qualities.