Interview No. 3: Rachel Lynn on Songwriting and Activism
Rachel Lynn is a rising pop star. Her latest release, “She Tried to Drown Me,” tells the story of a mysterious woman in red lipstick who stands before the ocean, pretending she needs help. When the song’s narrator wades into the deep, the woman turns on the narrator, forcing her head beneath the waves:
“She looked me in the eye, and left me there to die. She tried to drown me.”
Half of the proceeds of “She Tried to Drown Me” will be donated to the Audre Lorde Project, an organization that fights for Black Trans rights in New York City.
I spoke on the phone with Rachel Lynn in July of 2020, week 18 of the Covid-19 lockdowns in the United States.
Interviewer: What was the inspiration for “She Tried to Drown Me”?
Rachel Lynn: I was dating someone and a female friend of his was hitting on him pretty aggressively in front of me. I was baffled at that. I’m a proponent of girl power and women sticking together and lifting each other up, and I couldn’t believe her blatant disregard for me and our relationship. Lyrically in the song, there’s a lot of “I’ll teach you how to do this. . . . I’m extending my hand to you.” It was a new relationship for me, and I was excited to meet his friends. I tried to be friendly, but she was disrespectful. The driving emotion behind the song is actually confusion.
Interviewer: What is your creative process like? Do you write the lyrics first or the music? Or both at the same time?
Rachel Lynn: It depends. I’ve been writing a lot lately. One of the things I’m noticing is that quarantine has forced me to get better recording equipment for myself. I should have done this a long time ago. I’m really seeing how it affects the writing process. I’m laying down some chords I like together, flushing out lyrics around it, having fun with new technology.
Interviewer: Where are you now?
Rachel Lynn: We’re in the Poconos. A week after we moved to this house, I went back to New York to do some protesting. Out here I feel removed from the physical part of the movement. I mean, there are more parts to activism than putting your body in it, but I felt compelled to put my body in the fight. That kind of activism is comfortable for me. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, but there’s also marching.
Interviewer: Did you see any police activity?
Rachel Lynn: When I went back, it would have been around June 20th. That week was really interesting because it was the start of the media creating a narrative that the protests were stopping. They became more peaceful. The looting and the rioting was sensationalized in the media, and when the protests became peaceful, the media became bored. We need to keep the momentum up; the fight is still happening even though we are not seeing it written about.
What I saw was peaceful. All the protesters were masked and responsible and safe and obedient in regard to the organizers. There were a lot of police around. Some police were in riot gear which is almost a psychological tactic because it intensifies a situation. It feels intense to see that. And there was one chant that was going on, something like: “Why are you in riot gear? I don’t see a riot here!”
Interviewer: The last time we spoke, you said you weren’t interested in promoting, or even creating, during the pandemic. What’s changed?
Rachel Lynn: We’ve been sitting on this release since the beginning of the quarantine. It was supposed to have been released in early June. The content was already created. This is a project I’ve had for a while, and I’ve been ready to move forward creatively. But I didn’t want to take up space. I still don’t want to take up too much space. One of the things I realize is that the fight for racial justice has to be woven into our lives. I thought, if I do this release and donate to an organization that is fighting for Black Trans lives, that is one way to incorporate the fight into my life.
I put out a song one year ago about veganism and animal rights, another system of oppression. And all the proceeds from that song were donated to Mercy for Animals. I definitely feel like it’s one way I can connect art and my work to activism and social justice. I am kind of a broke artist and this is a way I can make a donation, by linking it to the sales of this project. I probably won’t be doing anything new though, like creating new content.
Interviewer: Why did you pick the Audre Lorde Project to be the recipient of your proceeds?
Rachel Lynn: It almost became a no-brainer. The Audre Lorde Project is local. They fight for Black Trans lives and I definitely want to give in any way that I can to an organization that is doing that work.
Gretchen Elhassani is a stay-at-home mom and freelance writer living in North Carolina.